Yields additional flavor by allowing one to. 'DDT commands comeĬausing something to be FLAVORFUL. This is put into context by the accompanying definition of FLAVOR:įLAVOR n. The earliest recorded version of jargon.txt is v1.0.3, which includes the following definition of vanilla: However, this usage of the word is possibly as old as 1975, as it is also referenced in the original jargon.txt file that forms the basis for Raymond's dictionary.
In searching for a viable reference to my theory, I discovered that the term was referenced in The New Hacker's Dictionary, first edition circa late 1996 (Oblivion was released in 2006). I read somewhere several years ago that the term vanilla, in this usage, was coined after the release of the game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, due to the colour of the original box.
