[ACow_Adonis]

Indeed. I can't remember whether it was used before then on BBs (it would surprise me if it wasn't to be honest), but it was definitely in use widely by the time all the mIRC customisation scripts began to be a thing.

Due to the time-frame and the crowd I hung out with at the time, i can definitively say that was between '94 and '97.

I would find it very hard to believe that Australian high schoolers were at the bleeding-edge however, no matter how advanced we were, which tells me the real origin of the term must be significantly earlier than that...

[jacobtracey]

A lot of high school kids, some in Australia were in the top warez groups back in the day.

Very few people with full time jobs had the time to be super active in the 'scene'. It was almost entirely highschool and college students.