Back in 2004, I came to WoW from a game called legend of mir 2 and 3, everyone in these games referred to their characters as their chars or their character. However upon my arrival to wow, I discovered people referred to their characters as toons. I remember asking about it back then and they said everyone on DAOC (dark age of camelot) called them toons and that’s where they had come from.
For some reason, this never sat well with me. I guess because at the age of 18/19 (in 04), the connotations of cartoon for me were childish and something kids watched on tv. So I was really quite surprised to hear it! (fully aware I was playing a video game :D)
Does anybody know where or why this char / toon division started?
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I’m an ex mir player to 
I used to play with the calacirian guild on dragon server. You can call your alts or char whatever you like I still use mir slang pots instead of flasks etc it’s completely up to you we will still get yeah
I have always referred to them as my chars (characters). I’ve been playing since TBC 
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Fingers. I call them fingers.
Playing since wotlk.
Dunno why fingers
Back in the mid 1990s, graphical virtual multiplayer/-user worlds became popular. They were kind of a mix between games and chat services. I participated in a few and remember that in various of them characters were called “avatars” (e.g. WorldsAway) and in some characters were referred to as “toons” (e.g. The Realm). The usage goes back to at least that time, but probably further. The “avatar” term was also around earlier, e.g. in the Ultima series and in Habitat/Club Caribe (an online world that ran on the C64, in the late 1980s).
I call them characters. Took me ages to get used to using “avatar” for a forum portrait instead of a character!
Character. “Toon” never feels right.
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I would use both but I prefer character.
and now its called a profile pic.
what a twist!
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In some games they are refered as avatars or dear god CACs…
Only characters only hardcore!
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I remember display pictures being called avatars…i’ve no idea when that stopped hahah
I usually say “characters”, “chars”, or “dudes”.
I play a Character and I have Alts.
Char / Chars all the way.
Toons? Looney Toons only 
“Chars”, when referring to my ‘characters’.
“Toons”, to me, are things you watch on TV. I met many people who referred to their characters as toons and understood what they meant, but it never made much sense to me.
“Avatar” is usually a broad reference to the things that represent you/your character, which is why it applies to in-game characters as well as forum images. There are many games that will regard your in-game character as ‘your avatar’, whereas forum avatars have been a staple for me since Aug 2000 and totally the norm. If you have multiple ‘avatars’ (in-game) then you would refer to them as your ‘chars’, not your ‘avatars’. It is mostly used in an external sense.
Are all your characters males? Or do you call female chars ‘dudes’ as well?
Just curious 
I call them my characters. I have rarely heard anyone say ‘toon’ and I’ve been here for a while.
Yep, all males. Totally not sexist or anything! I just find it hard to play games using the opposite gender
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My main will always be female for that same reason 
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In all games I play males, where I can. Except Warcraft. And I have no idea why it is so. I jsut do not like playing females in games - as males often look cooler in their armour, sound better and are less dramatic as characters.
can relate to this. I like when other female individuals play female dudes tho