It's from video games. People started using it because you might have an optimal strategy but then people started using strategies to counter the optimal strategy. A meta strategy. It makes sense when you have PvP but it's also used to indicate general strategy now. Meta might change if the game changes or if someone figures out a more optimal strategy. So it means "the currently perceived optimal strategy, taking into account other strategies".
I'm pretty sure that form of meta doesn't actually have anything to do with the prefix/adjective. In games it's just an acronym for "most effective tactic available" i.e. in your example the first strategy would be called "the meta" until the second one came along.
edit: I realize you kinda mention acronym thing at the end of your comment. Not originating from the prefix "meta-" is my main point though.
This is the first I've ever heard of it being an acronym, and it seems unlikely to me. The origin was around tournaments where there was a degree of changing one's own choices based on the likely match-ups you would face. E.g. for something like magic, if everyone is on a slower control deck, you can take advantage of metagame knowledge and run a aggro deck even if the cards are not quite as powerful in that card pool.
26 Comments
ChocoboEnthusiast@leminal.space · 36 pts · 1y
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 16 pts · 1y
*space alien person is the proper nomenclature, dude.
HikingVet@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 1y
Extraterrestrial persons is their preferred label though.
xkbx@startrek.website · 5 pts · 1y
That’s so Terra-centric 🙄
OldSageRick@lemm.ee · 1 pts · 1y
Xenos
foggy@mander.xyz · 4 pts · 1y
bogos binted?
NotProLemmy@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 1y
👽
KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 1y
Perhaps
Turret3857@infosec.pub · 24 pts · 1y
Nicole fell off, millions of lemmings must conspiracize!
turdburglar@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 1y
to me the biggest bummer about lemm.ee shutting down is that when i made my .zip account i lost my messages from nicole.
DrunkAnRoot@sh.itjust.works · 17 pts · 1y
ppl dont trust google sites or github sites just send them the raw html files
surewhynotlem@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 1y
Ok, someone please help me. The definition of meta changed, and I no longer understand it.
It used to be an adjective, now it's a noun?
ryedaft@sh.itjust.works · 12 pts · 1y
It's from video games. People started using it because you might have an optimal strategy but then people started using strategies to counter the optimal strategy. A meta strategy. It makes sense when you have PvP but it's also used to indicate general strategy now. Meta might change if the game changes or if someone figures out a more optimal strategy. So it means "the currently perceived optimal strategy, taking into account other strategies".
surewhynotlem@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1y
Oh. So they just noun-ified the adjective. Neat. I like it.
kartoffelsaft@programming.dev · -1 pts · 1y
I'm pretty sure that form of meta doesn't actually have anything to do with the prefix/adjective. In games it's just an acronym for "most effective tactic available" i.e. in your example the first strategy would be called "the meta" until the second one came along.
edit: I realize you kinda mention acronym thing at the end of your comment. Not originating from the prefix "meta-" is my main point though.
too_high_for_this@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1y
That's absolutely not true. It's a clever backronym, but not the origin of the term.
chortle_tortle@mander.xyz · 4 pts · 1y
This is the first I've ever heard of it being an acronym, and it seems unlikely to me. The origin was around tournaments where there was a degree of changing one's own choices based on the likely match-ups you would face. E.g. for something like magic, if everyone is on a slower control deck, you can take advantage of metagame knowledge and run a aggro deck even if the cards are not quite as powerful in that card pool.
ryedaft@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1y
Exactly!
killeronthecorner@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 1y
It's a shortening of metagame
KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 4 pts · 1y
I'll try my best but it'll probably be wrongish.
It usually relates to a notable thing happening in a closed community or specific subject.
There was PM spam from "the fediverse chick" a while ago, and that became the Lemmy meta for a bit.
RiceMunk@sopuli.xyz · 5 pts · 1y
Sorry, I only care about the space aliens that are not people.
ouRKaoS@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 1y
So how many tentacles we talking here?
YourMomsTrashman@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1y
Deme@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 1y
I remember seeing some posts by that user. Genuine schizoposting.
mojofrododojo@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y
space alien people.
as opposed to land alien people, and the water alien people.
checks out.
Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y
Perhaps!
KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 1y
Mayhaps