transformation of the term "Lag"

TheGreySpectre

TheGreySpectre

Limp Gawd
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It used to be fairly generally accepted that lag was network latency related. This makes sense in the context of the definition of the word. Because you have a higher latency there is a delay before things happen for you...you are lagging behind everyone else.

As time has progressed and gaming has become a more widespread activity I have found that the term has transformed. Now "lag" seems (at least to the majority of the gaming populace) to refer any sort performance issue that is usually not network related. When I describe a "Lag spike" I think of a short period of time when my latency skyrockets, however recently (especially in MMOs) I have started to hear the term being used to describe fps drops.

Has anyone else seen this or other terms in gaming where their meaning has shifted or a good portion of gamers can no longer identify the origin?


/it might also be that I am just bored and crazy yelling at all these damn kids to get off my lawn.

edit: maybe I really am crazy as the forum added posted by mobile device to this post...which I posted from firefox on a desktop
Posted via Mobile Device
 
I totally agree with you, to me, "lag" has always meant poor network performance, usually a spike in latency.

I see the term "fps lag" to refer to drops in fps which I think is acceptable, but a lot of people say just "lag" to mean fps slowdown. I guess with the actual definition of the word fits in with fps lag, but I think people should just say "low fps" or something along those lines
Posted via Mobile Device
 
I've noticed this. I've also noticed that the term "micro stutter", which was originally coined to describe a unique kind of stutter that was only associated with multi gpu setups, is now used to describe any stutter. The terms "stutter" and "lag" I've also noticed are now used interchangeably.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
Playing world of warcraft last yar I noteced a lot of people referred to dalaran (the primary city at the time) as lageran. However ping remained the same in and out of the city, just many people either had not enough ram, crappy video cards, crappy cpus or a combination and hence recieved low fps.

With broadband internet and server based games, I find that actual network latency lag is not really that common. It can pop up in small instances in fps games with advantages of fractions of milliseconds, but it is nothing like it used to be where people were running 200+ ping on dialup. I do see lag issues pop up with matches that are not hosted on servers, but this is more common on consoles then PCs, because with a few notable exceptions PC games are played on servers with extremely high bandwidth capabilities and people just choose the lowest ping servers they can play on.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
Lag is my friends excuse when someone is able to kill him in an FPS :rolleyes:
 
I believe you are correct in saying that a portion of gamers are no longer able to identify with the origins of terms like lag. It's probably because the younger generation of gamers only know broadband. If they'd ever experienced lag while on a MUD over dialup they'd understand latency.
 
Lag has always referred to any kind of a delay, I don't think it was ever exclusive to network latency.
 
Jellylesg said:
Lag has always referred to any kind of a delay, I don't think it was ever exclusive to network latency.
Click to expand...

This pretty much sums it up and meets with the actual definition of lag (comparative slowness or retardation). There is network lag, graphics lag, if you're old like me, severe brain lag.
 
Jellylesg said:
Lag has always referred to any kind of a delay, I don't think it was ever exclusive to network latency.
Click to expand...

In the context of PC gaming it was generally exclusive. FPS drops were usually referred to as FPS drops, stuttering, or slowdown (which to me is a misuse of the term because slowdown has its origins with NES games and the like that would actually drop the speed of play rather than just becoming choppy).
 
Jellylesg said:
Lag has always referred to any kind of a delay, I don't think it was ever exclusive to network latency.
Click to expand...

This is true, but classically lag (in online gaming) has been used to refer to network lag, while low FPS was generally described as stuttering. So what it boils down to is not so much that they are using the technical meaning of the word wrong (which they aren't), but are using the colloquial meaning wrong (or, depending on how you look at it, are changing the colloquial meaning to be closer to the technical meaning). I don't see a huge problem with it, but I still use it exclusively to refer to latency.

"Cheesing" on the other hand is a term that is starting to be used in a much different way than it was originally intended. The original meaning was simply an unexpected strategy or something outside of the norm. Today, it's become synonymous with annoying or cheap play, and in some cases, out right cheating. It's essentially used as a blanket term to de-legitimize your opponents victory. Suggesting that they aren't playing the correct way, because if they had, you would have won. Originally, cheesing wasn't viewed necessarily as a bad thing. In many cases it could be considered a compliment because you were able to come up with a strategy that caught your opponent off guard, thus out thinking them. Now, everything from Proxy Gateways, Thor Drops and Map Hacking in Starcraft to Glitch Bitching and Rocket Catching in Madden are considered Cheesing.

But, that's how language works. It's always changing, always evolving, and not always for the better. 40 years ago "Gay" meant happy and "Fag" meant cigarette. 40 years before that, it meant an ugly or unkempt woman. 40 years before that it meant a low wage worker. 40 years before that it was a bundle of sticks. You get the picture.

Just the way of the world.
 
DDigital said:
This is true, but classically lag (in online gaming) has been used to refer to network lag, while low FPS was generally described as stuttering.
Click to expand...
No, low FPS and stuttering are two different things. Consider the recent issue with Magicka as an example. When I first tried the demo I had quite a bit of stuttering, but my framerate was still extremely high. I've always used lag to refer to both network latency and low framerates, and I don't think anyone has ever had an issue with that.
 
I've seen "newb" transform to "noob" and then "n00b", becoming more of an insult every time.

It used to just mean that you were new to the game, and could use some tips or advice from more experienced players. Now it's just a generic insult that is used without regard to how long the player has been playing the game. There are plenty of new players that are good at the game right away, and plenty of old players that still aren't that great at it, and the latter is generally referred to as "n00bs".
 
It's been a while, but I thought the terms lag was used before there were network games.
 
Yes, I have noticed people saying a game is "laggy" and I can't be sure what exactly they mean. I prefer to qualify it with an adjective as in "input lag" or "network lag," as it's just too broad to be used on its own unless the context has been established.
 
Yup, ever since I really got into pc gaming (around 2003), I've thought of the word lag as any sort of performance slow down below normal. I either have to pick up the type of lag from the conversation or I'll just ask if they mean network lag or fps lag.

I'd say lag is an appropriate term for low fps, at least to some extent, because the vid card is lagging behind its expected (or minimally acceptable) rate of producing new frames.
 
Agreed, "lag" should be used in reference to network latency .. however over the past 2-5 years its been used to describe game performance slowdowns in general. It bothers me, but not enough to want to really complain about it.

Its the same as someone telling me, "I just downloaded all my pictures to Facebook." I cringe inside, but my day continues on .5 seconds later and I never care to look back.
 
Jellylesg said:
Lag has always referred to any kind of a delay, I don't think it was ever exclusive to network latency.
Click to expand...

Considering the term was originally used for text-only MUD/MUSH/etc. games I can 100% guarantee it was originally a network lag related term, not a video lag term.
 
I had my first introduction to network games/MUDs etc around 1997 and I too only heard or used the word lag in relation to network latency back in the day.

Offcourse truth be told back then network latency was a bigger problem than fps slowdown was, with most home connections being 28.8 dialup around my area.

edit: and while I realise the term had now evolved to mean any kind of performance slowdown for many, when I type it it still means network latency.
 
I get this all the time in games, for instance... in l4d2 theres this guy who was always saying on the mic "OMG LAG!!!!" and I noticed all our pings were green. I asked when exactly does the game lag, and he says "When theres a lot of zombies I get tons of lag". Yeah.......
 
The reason that 'lag' now refers to any slowdown issue is because people are too defensive when referring to their PC problems. Since ALL gaming PCs are considered top of the line by their owners, it hurts their egos too much to believe the problem could be caused on their end by their machine. In order to placate their ego, using the term 'lag' now defers the problem to the network, game servers, etc.

Bunch of punks need to get off my internet lawn.
 
Zero82z said:
No, low FPS and stuttering are two different things. Consider the recent issue with Magicka as an example. When I first tried the demo I had quite a bit of stuttering, but my framerate was still extremely high. I've always used lag to refer to both network latency and low framerates, and I don't think anyone has ever had an issue with that.
Click to expand...

No, they are not. It's just that "Stuttering" (and chop) can be used to describe other issues as well as FPS drops (things that cause a stutter). However, the vast majority of stuttering is caused by frame rate issues, and so the common use of the term was to describe those.

Like I said before, I don't have a problem with people using "Lag" to refer to low frame rates. What I was saying is that in terms of online gaming, "Lag" was originally used to describe network slowdowns. Now it's a blanket term for any type of slow down or performance issue. The common usage of the term seems to have changed over time, but that's nothing unusual.

What people generally think of as a "Hacker" used to be called a "Cracker". "Hacker" was originally used to describe a person who solves problems in unconventional ways by "hacking away" at it. But, as a younger generation started getting into the scene, the difference between the two terms was lost. The reason being that people new to the subculture heard the term "Hacker" describing someone and assumed it was a blanket term for the whole community (rather than a specific sub-section) and started using it as such. The same thing happened with the term "Lag". A bunch of people who were new to online gaming heard the term used to describe a network issue and assumed it was a blanket term for all performance issues, and started using it in that way.

That's just how languages evolve over time. If you met an English speaker from 100 years ago, you would have a hard time understanding what they were saying a lot of the time (and they you). Go back 500 years, and the language would be almost unrecognizable. Sure all the basics are still the same, but none of the conversational aspects are even remotely similar. So these changes aren't really a bad thing, nor a good thing. They just are.
 
arentol said:
Considering the term was originally used for text-only MUD/MUSH/etc. games I can 100% guarantee it was originally a network lag related term, not a video lag term.
Click to expand...

I could be wrong but I thought lag was used to indicate any sort of delay between an input and the observed outcome. Be it in social trends shown in graphs, a delay on an intercontinental phone call or network delay.
 
TheGreySpectre said:
It used to be fairly generally accepted that lag was network latency related. This makes sense in the context of the definition of the word. Because you have a higher latency there is a delay before things happen for you...you are lagging behind everyone else.

As time has progressed and gaming has become a more widespread activity I have found that the term has transformed. Now "lag" seems (at least to the majority of the gaming populace) to refer any sort performance issue that is usually not network related. When I describe a "Lag spike" I think of a short period of time when my latency skyrockets, however recently (especially in MMOs) I have started to hear the term being used to describe fps drops.

Has anyone else seen this or other terms in gaming where their meaning has shifted or a good portion of gamers can no longer identify the origin?


/it might also be that I am just bored and crazy yelling at all these damn kids to get off my lawn.

edit: maybe I really am crazy as the forum added posted by mobile device to this post...which I posted from firefox on a desktop
Posted via Mobile Device
Click to expand...

This is due to gaming becoming more accessible to people who are less technically inclined.
 
Standpoint said:
The reason that 'lag' now refers to any slowdown issue is because people are too defensive when referring to their PC problems. Since ALL gaming PCs are considered top of the line by their owners, it hurts their egos too much to believe the problem could be caused on their end by their machine. In order to placate their ego, using the term 'lag' now defers the problem to the network, game servers, etc.

Bunch of punks need to get off my internet lawn.
Click to expand...

Not true at all imo. I can't play crysis on decent settings on my system, and I would say that its laggy for me. I have no problem clarifying by saying my comp cant handle it. The term lag has just been generalized to mean any type of slow down or below minimally acceptable performance. After all, according to dictionary.com it means "to fail to maintain a desired pace or to keep up" which can easily be applied to video performance, or input. It may have been applied to network performance first though.

"Downloading to facebook" on the other hand is much more black and white. That one annoys me but, except for occasionally with my friends and family, I just let it slide.
 
TheGreySpectre said:
It used to be fairly generally accepted that lag was network latency related. This makes sense in the context of the definition of the word. Because you have a higher latency there is a delay before things happen for you...you are lagging behind everyone else.

As time has progressed and gaming has become a more widespread activity I have found that the term has transformed. Now "lag" seems (at least to the majority of the gaming populace) to refer any sort performance issue that is usually not network related. When I describe a "Lag spike" I think of a short period of time when my latency skyrockets, however recently (especially in MMOs) I have started to hear the term being used to describe fps drops.

Has anyone else seen this or other terms in gaming where their meaning has shifted or a good portion of gamers can no longer identify the origin?


/it might also be that I am just bored and crazy yelling at all these damn kids to get off my lawn.

edit: maybe I really am crazy as the forum added posted by mobile device to this post...which I posted from firefox on a desktop
Posted via Mobile Device
Click to expand...


I've noticed it too. It used to be just for latency issues, but slowly over time has evolved to include framerate issues as well. Which makes sense if you think about it. If a game is running at 60 FPS and all the sudden spikes down to 10 FPS, that person is right in saying he's lagging, perhaps not within the networking related definition but it does fit into the classical definition. ie

Lag

Verb

* S: (v) lag, dawdle, fall back, fall behind (hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc.)


Now "lag" seems (at least to the majority of the gaming populace) to refer any sort performance issue that is usually not network related.
Click to expand...

Disagree, it's still widely used for this as well.
 
I've always used lag as not keeping up, or slower than normal.
 
I only see it in my mind as related to network latency. We already have other terms for any other slowdowns, like "low framerate", "stuttering", "input lag". We should use them.

If we lump them all together under one umbrella term, we become like our elderly family members who don't know the names of anything and make conversation and troubleshooting a living hell for us :eek:
 
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