55 replies to this topic

[Coolant]

Know how I can tell there are many players on the forums that never played MW4:Mercs? Because never once in the ~7 years I played Mercs did I ever hear the word meta.

[Dingo Battler]

old words can take on modern meanings. Meta in the gaming world means the most popular and powerful selections in the game, whether it be heroes, gear, las0rs, etc. with the added implication that it can change with revision/patches.

Instead of saying "The most powerful thing meta-patch", they just shorten in to "OP!" or "meta"

[Soy]

the op is one of those mental midgets that can't handle that etymology is a cultural thing

it's not in your control

it's in everyone's control

how they choose to use the word meta is their choice

btw we been usin it in games like M:TG in the exact same contexts since before online gaming as you know it existed

george carlin warned about ppl who can't handle this stuff

[Trev Firestorm]

All I hear when ppl talk about "the meta" in games is "meta meta meta, I can't think for myself, meta meta meta"

[Nathan Foxbane]

OP, think of it as a great example of the elasticity of language. Just like "awful" once meant full of awe or inspiring the greatest of awe rather than the current usage of being synonymous with terrible.

[Trev Firestorm]

Nathan Foxbane, on 04 August 2015 - 07:41 PM, said:

OP, think of it as a great example of the elasticity of language. Just like "awful" once meant full of awe or inspiring the greatest of awe rather than the current usage of being synonymous with terrible.

Awe inspiring terrible :-p

[IntX]

I like how OP basically dismisses metadata because he thinks data is just data... Thousands of DBAs must be wrong...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata

[Lexx]

Regardless of what the actual meaning is, we all know what it's referring to when someone says "meta" here. The meaning is widely understood and accepted, so no matter how much it bothers you, the usage is correct.

It's just like the term "hacker", which is used incorrectly 90% of the time, but everyone knows what is being referred to.

Lighten up dude, it really doesn't matter what the exact meaning is. What matters is that you understand what is being talked about when terms are used. There is no reason for communication to be a precise art with so many stupid rules and exact terms. As long as we understand each other, we are communicating just fine.

[RoboPatton]

Well you heard him guys. We can't say meta!

I'm sure the whole community will gladly embrace the change, I mean, it is MWO afterall. Truly a beacon for civility and decency.

Edit- **** not saying "meta" lol

Edited by RoboPatton, 04 August 2015 - 09:02 PM.

[McMatt]

So, if I read about meta mech, that is meant for mech, that has been changed after some experience in battle. Changing mech configuration from what was as I bought it to something more practical for me. Or did I get it wrong?

[Speedy Plysitkos]

meta=leets (its in every game)

[Aresye]

Congrats, you r smart. The rest of us gamers are going to continue using meta in the ways our simpleton minds have come to understand it.

kthxbye

[SmoothCriminal]

In b4 K-town as this thread is pointless BS.

Edited by SmoothCriminal, 04 August 2015 - 10:53 PM.

[Sarlic]

TLDR: laser scrubs.

[STEF_]

Azmaril, on 04 August 2015 - 04:21 PM, said:

words

To my students, and anyone who know something about "logos", it is very clear that a word's meaning(s) change, and it(they) can change upon different time/space/people.
So, it is totally insignificant that the word "meta" has other meanings in different context, such as the ones you have reported.

Here, in mwo community, "meta" has ITS OWN meaning. Period.

A community develops its own "logos", this happens between 2 lovers, in a game community, in a city, and so on.
Words ARE NOT permanent.

For the ones interest in language philosophy, good reading:

https://en.wikipedia...ig_Wittgenstein

[STEF_]

Coolant, on 04 August 2015 - 07:27 PM, said:

Know how I can tell there are many players on the forums that never played MW4:Mercs? Because never once in the ~7 years I played Mercs did I ever hear the word meta.

Because as said before, word changes its own meanings/forms according to time too, inside the same community!

Words are a plastic mean to describe concept. Nothing is established and fixed, the "rules of communication" are decided by the community itself.

[Darlith]

Language is fluid and constantly evolving. Just as many words today have different meanings than in the past, so too can meta change as it is used differently. See with language being primarily a means of communication, all that matters is that a group of people have agreed on what a word means, generally through common usage. After all, that is how we arrived at those meanings in the first place. I am going to assume for the sake a reasonable discussion that you don't think god gifted us with a language fully developed with meanings that will never change.

Now, you could choose to dismiss the meaning of meta as used within online gaming culture as puerile slang. That could even be seen as a valid criticism, after all it does fit the criteria. It is a word that has taken on a different meaning within a certain culture or subculture, and as such is perfectly understandable to the people within that group. Which means when talking to other online gamers the use of Meta to describe what works best and most people will be running around using, you are communicating effectively and the dictionary meaning of the word does not matter.

This applies when you are referring to the meta of MWO as "lasers, lasers, everywhere" or the meta of EvE Online as "Droneboats dropping sentries" or the meta of world of tanks as "Everyone scatters about and gets picked off by tank destroyers" or whatever the hell the meta of that game would be.

All that is a whole lot of words to say that dictionary definitions of meta don't matter when speaking on these forums. No amount of lecturing about its meaning will change how it is used within this subculture. You are essentially screaming at a brick wall and expecting it to take two steps to the side so that you might pass unhindered at this stage.

[Lily from animove]

Mors Draco, on 04 August 2015 - 05:27 PM, said:

The op's post was so meta.

WOAH dude my meta now feels so meta I need to invent a metalanguage to describe it.

[Joseph Mallan]

Azmaril, on 04 August 2015 - 04:21 PM, said:

Hi, I see quite a few people get confused and don't know what the word meta means.

Today we see the word meta in Planetside 2, DotA 2 and many more games, but I really see the word meta used, abused, and smacked around all over the place in MWO forums and fan-sites.

Before we look at the word meta, lets take a look at words and start with Romans.

-Immune

A roman soldier would have many tasks to do, such as cook, clean and fetch water. If you had certain skills, such as smithing or hunting, amongst others, you were known as an immune. You didn't have to do those basic tasks.

-Decimate

Decimate can be seen as decimal as in the number ten and execute.

If a roman legion ran from battle, but the Romans were victorious, then the soldiers would draw lots, and every tenth man was put to death as both punishment and to set an example to the rest of the army.

Switching now to latin and we get:

-Nihilsm

Nihilsm translates as nothing.

I stopped at this point. I figured the rest of the post would be Nihilistic.

[Yosharian]

Stop being so godamn meta