Where did the term AFOL originate?

BooTheMightyHamster

Hi,

I'm composing a blog post based around the term 'AFOL' and my dislike of it, and I'm wondering where it originated. Does anyone know if it was a LEGO term to describe a demographic, or whether the community themselves came up with it?

Thanks!

Dedgecko

I'm not a kid any more, I'm an adult fan of lego. Seems like it's a community term, or it's TLG's demographic assignment that covers ages 19+.
Why complain about the designation? Rather than voice your disdain for the term, come up with something better and make an attempt to make it stick.

Good luck.

BooTheMightyHamster

It's just a personal thing, and I'm sure many people are absolutely fine with the term. It was certainly around long before I came out of my dark ages, so I'm not expecting the industry / community to change it just for me.

Just wondered if anyone knew where /when the term started.

BrickDancer

Originally posted on the 'Pronounciation' thread:

And a tidbit about the origin of "AFOL", it was coined in June 1995 in a USENET discussion group at rec.lego.toys by a Jeff Thompson. But no hint at how it was intended to be pronounced.

BooTheMightyHamster

@BrickDancer‌
Thanks! Less than 20 years. Surprising - I thought it would have been older than that.

bluemoose

Looks like Jeff was the first to use the "adult fan of lego" phrase online, but it was just as a bunch of words rather than as a 'thing'. This was on 13th June 1995.

At the end of much longer post he said:
"Good luck in your LEGO hobby! And don't give it up as you get older - it's fun being an adult fan of LEGO because at least you can decide for yourself how much money to spend on LEGO. However, it can be challenging to convince your husband or wife to agree."

The next day Matthew J. Verdier posted :
"Anyone else notice that this is an acronym of sorts. AFOL (sounds like "A FOOL")"
This looks to be the first use of the 'AFOL' abbreviation online.

You can see it here:
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!searchin/rec.toys.lego/"adult$20fan$20of$20lego"/rec.toys.lego/BMEGUTUovRw/oLS7M1CrnS4J

BooTheMightyHamster

Thanks @bluemoose‌ !

snowhitie

Interesting question and answer - thanks!

chuxtoybox

So it's supposed to be pronounced AY FUL? I always thought it was AY EF OH EL (I'm an A F O L) but I have never actually spoken to anyone about the hobby, only learned it from reading this site.

blarghiflargh

In my head I always pronounced it as 'offal.'

Paperballpark

a fol. Rhyming with 'a doll'. Lower case 'a' intended.

Oldfan

I always spell it out: "Aye Eff Oh El". My wife, if she knew the term, would probably use the pronunciation "AW-FUL", given her non-fan status...

Shib

@BooTheMightyHamster‌ have you written this blog post yet? If so have can you post a link? I'd love to give it a read, I have a similar dislike of the term MOC, although I accept it is ingrained in the hobby now so use it out of convenience.

BooTheMightyHamster

I have.
I was expecting it to be some long, rambling diatribe. Turned out to be a bit shorter in the end!

Aanchir

BooTheMightyHamster said:

I have.
I was expecting it to be some long, rambling diatribe. Turned out to be a bit shorter in the end!

Good read. Personally, I don't mind labels. I like being able to say not just "I like this thing" but "I AM this thing". Rather than putting myself in a box, I feel like adopting a label helps me add new facets to the way I define myself.

However, I do have some of my own issues with the term AFOL, which are almost the opposite of yours. Instead of the term suggesting to me like being an ADULT fan is something strange or bizarre, I feel like the term sets up an unnecessary boundary from other LEGO fans. Kind of like how the Man Upstairs said in The LEGO Movie that "the way I'm using it makes it an adult thing". Sometimes when I see the term AFOL being used, I feel like it throws an unnecessary barrier between "adult" LEGO play and "childhood" LEGO play, as if one is a legitimate hobby and the other is just kids' stuff.

Not all of my LEGO communities online are AFOL communities. On sites like BZPower and deviantART, I regularly interact with BIONICLE and Ninjago fans who are considerably younger than 18. And sometimes I feel like I have more in common with these younger fans than with many of my fellow adult fans. I'm the kind of person who immerses myself in the stories of LEGO themes, and who buys sets as characters or playsets rather than just as display pieces or parts packs. And as such, I don't think it makes sense to try and divorce that experience from the way kids or teens enjoy LEGO sets.

Andor

That is particularly amazing @Aanchir‌ I feel the same way about LEGO themes. The development of the Ninjago characters is rather interesting.