fromfiction:

I hate to say this but I think that the way the kin community uses the term ‘source’ these days likely IS strongly influenced by it’s use in the plural community. In the old days on livejournal and early tumblr we used terms like “universe” and “canon” rather than “source.”

I was curious myself, so I went back and checked through my old websites, and through the from_fiction livejournal, and the terminology is absent from discussion.

We said things like “who are you? what’s your kintype? what universe are you from?” when we discussed that type of thing.

That said, its absolutely ridiculous to say that only one specific group is allowed to use a perfectly generic and normal word like “source.” Source is just a word. It means point of origin.

The idea that “source” can somehow be a system exclusive term is like allowing Disney to copyright the word “princess.”