wingsandsword
Legend
No it isn't.At the same time, there is no citation given before 2007.
A lot of people seem to remember it from earlier, but the onus is on them to find an earlier written use.
I clearly remember the term in use before then, because I remember people I haven't seen since 2006 introducing me to the term when I talked to them in person a decade and a half ago. It was a term that was in use, I have no idea about how widespread it was online, but I know actual meatspace humans were using it in conversation.
I'm not going to go around digging through the archives of the web for some reference to something. . .when for all I know it wasn't in widespread use on the internet and was a term my friends were using.
It's possible the term was created independently by several different groups offline before it caught on online. Or they could have met at conventions and the term spread from there.
I know the term existed before then. I don't feel the need to prove it to anyone.
What this thread has taught me is:
1. The term became a LOT more popular in the 2000's, and spread online via messageboards in the early 2010's.
2. Some people think if they can't verify it in a quick internet search, and that what's in Google, UseNet and Dragon Magazine archives is a complete and infallible archive of gaming culture and that anyone disagreeing with it must be lying.