Why Do Bears "Woof"?

The Etiquette of “Woof”

We do it online plenty. You see an attractive guy’s profile and you drop him a line to say “woof”.
Some people only use it as a measure of attractiveness (woofiness), Some as a greeting, “Woof, cub.” Some use it as a catcall, “Woof big boy! Wanna hang out in the pool?”

Some guys even find it offensive, saying that it demeans human sexuality to the level of animals.
But why do we woof?

It’s origins may have more to do with the internet than I previously thought.
It seems that a man named George Madison is alleged to have used the term first on a message board/forum in March of 1990.
 What we now know as the bear community was just then finding itself and coming to terms with their rejection of the “gay ideal” of a man as a hairless muscled 20-something.
I can’t say that I’ve ever heard someone legitimately say “woof” around me. I’ve said it plenty of times jokingly or ironically but I can’t say that I’ve ever actually woofed at someone in real life. Maybe it’s a disconnect from the anonymity of the internet.