[Barry Warsaw, on the origin of BDFL]
I’d put my money on Uncle Timmy coining that term,
Don't be insulting, Barry. I have no patience - let alone love - for frivolous wordplay.
It wasn't me, but Guido doesn't remember either. Here's his best guess:
Short course: BDFL first appeared in a 1995 email sent by Ken Manheimer summarizing a PSA meeting. Guido was apparently named at that meeting as
First Interim Benevolent Dicator [sic] for Life
and
While I can't prove my title (with or without the First Interim prefix) was never used before, I'm pretty certain that it originated in this meeting. Given what I know of how their minds work, it was most likely invented by Ken Manheimer or Barry Warsaw, though it may well have been a joint invention by all present.
Some titles just _fit_. Like Kim Jong Il's
Great Man, Who Is a Man of Deeds
and
Dear Leader, who is a perfect incarnation of the appearance that a leader should have
More inspiring ideas where those came from: