Abuse as correct, frequent use





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In the context of videogames, mostly competitive, PvP videogames, it is at least somewhat common slang to say that using an ability correctly and effectively or frequently is abusing the ability.



This seems to be the opposite of the normal use of the word abuse, where abuse usually carries a connotation of harm and misuse.



Is "abuse" used this way outside of gaming as well?



An example of usage in a videogame context:




[the ability] boosts [...] damage by 75 if she hits the tip [...], she can abuse the extra 75 damage every 2.5s (or 1.5s with Allegrissimo).




from https://tempostorm.com/articles/math-of-the-storm-orphea










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  • 1




    I've personally never heard it used this way. In gaming contexts, I'm used to this pattern of activity being labelled "spamming" of the ability, and it can be used pejoratively or melioratively.
    – Dan Bron
    Nov 15 at 14:06












  • Interesting observation of usage, but your question may be off-topic here if you are looking for anecdotal experiences with this reverse sense of the word abuse. Are you familiar with Bill Withers' (1971?) song "Use Me"? The lyrics are here: tinyurl.com/y8ftg4wj, but you can hear him sing it on YouTube. Close, but no cigar.
    – Mark Hubbard
    Nov 15 at 14:48










  • I'm not sure which experiences count as anecdotal, but I was looking for this kind of uses in books, magazines or newspapers, or maybe TV shows or movies or something.
    – Martijn
    Nov 15 at 15:01










  • Thank you for the clarification, Martijn. I'm sorry that I was unable to find any examples for you.
    – Mark Hubbard
    Nov 15 at 15:19

















up vote
1
down vote

favorite












In the context of videogames, mostly competitive, PvP videogames, it is at least somewhat common slang to say that using an ability correctly and effectively or frequently is abusing the ability.



This seems to be the opposite of the normal use of the word abuse, where abuse usually carries a connotation of harm and misuse.



Is "abuse" used this way outside of gaming as well?



An example of usage in a videogame context:




[the ability] boosts [...] damage by 75 if she hits the tip [...], she can abuse the extra 75 damage every 2.5s (or 1.5s with Allegrissimo).




from https://tempostorm.com/articles/math-of-the-storm-orphea










share|improve this question




















  • 1




    I've personally never heard it used this way. In gaming contexts, I'm used to this pattern of activity being labelled "spamming" of the ability, and it can be used pejoratively or melioratively.
    – Dan Bron
    Nov 15 at 14:06












  • Interesting observation of usage, but your question may be off-topic here if you are looking for anecdotal experiences with this reverse sense of the word abuse. Are you familiar with Bill Withers' (1971?) song "Use Me"? The lyrics are here: tinyurl.com/y8ftg4wj, but you can hear him sing it on YouTube. Close, but no cigar.
    – Mark Hubbard
    Nov 15 at 14:48










  • I'm not sure which experiences count as anecdotal, but I was looking for this kind of uses in books, magazines or newspapers, or maybe TV shows or movies or something.
    – Martijn
    Nov 15 at 15:01










  • Thank you for the clarification, Martijn. I'm sorry that I was unable to find any examples for you.
    – Mark Hubbard
    Nov 15 at 15:19













up vote
1
down vote

favorite









up vote
1
down vote

favorite











In the context of videogames, mostly competitive, PvP videogames, it is at least somewhat common slang to say that using an ability correctly and effectively or frequently is abusing the ability.



This seems to be the opposite of the normal use of the word abuse, where abuse usually carries a connotation of harm and misuse.



Is "abuse" used this way outside of gaming as well?



An example of usage in a videogame context:




[the ability] boosts [...] damage by 75 if she hits the tip [...], she can abuse the extra 75 damage every 2.5s (or 1.5s with Allegrissimo).




from https://tempostorm.com/articles/math-of-the-storm-orphea










share|improve this question















In the context of videogames, mostly competitive, PvP videogames, it is at least somewhat common slang to say that using an ability correctly and effectively or frequently is abusing the ability.



This seems to be the opposite of the normal use of the word abuse, where abuse usually carries a connotation of harm and misuse.



Is "abuse" used this way outside of gaming as well?



An example of usage in a videogame context:




[the ability] boosts [...] damage by 75 if she hits the tip [...], she can abuse the extra 75 damage every 2.5s (or 1.5s with Allegrissimo).




from https://tempostorm.com/articles/math-of-the-storm-orphea







slang






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edited Nov 15 at 14:18

























asked Nov 15 at 14:05









Martijn

115115




115115








  • 1




    I've personally never heard it used this way. In gaming contexts, I'm used to this pattern of activity being labelled "spamming" of the ability, and it can be used pejoratively or melioratively.
    – Dan Bron
    Nov 15 at 14:06












  • Interesting observation of usage, but your question may be off-topic here if you are looking for anecdotal experiences with this reverse sense of the word abuse. Are you familiar with Bill Withers' (1971?) song "Use Me"? The lyrics are here: tinyurl.com/y8ftg4wj, but you can hear him sing it on YouTube. Close, but no cigar.
    – Mark Hubbard
    Nov 15 at 14:48










  • I'm not sure which experiences count as anecdotal, but I was looking for this kind of uses in books, magazines or newspapers, or maybe TV shows or movies or something.
    – Martijn
    Nov 15 at 15:01










  • Thank you for the clarification, Martijn. I'm sorry that I was unable to find any examples for you.
    – Mark Hubbard
    Nov 15 at 15:19














  • 1




    I've personally never heard it used this way. In gaming contexts, I'm used to this pattern of activity being labelled "spamming" of the ability, and it can be used pejoratively or melioratively.
    – Dan Bron
    Nov 15 at 14:06












  • Interesting observation of usage, but your question may be off-topic here if you are looking for anecdotal experiences with this reverse sense of the word abuse. Are you familiar with Bill Withers' (1971?) song "Use Me"? The lyrics are here: tinyurl.com/y8ftg4wj, but you can hear him sing it on YouTube. Close, but no cigar.
    – Mark Hubbard
    Nov 15 at 14:48










  • I'm not sure which experiences count as anecdotal, but I was looking for this kind of uses in books, magazines or newspapers, or maybe TV shows or movies or something.
    – Martijn
    Nov 15 at 15:01










  • Thank you for the clarification, Martijn. I'm sorry that I was unable to find any examples for you.
    – Mark Hubbard
    Nov 15 at 15:19








1




1




I've personally never heard it used this way. In gaming contexts, I'm used to this pattern of activity being labelled "spamming" of the ability, and it can be used pejoratively or melioratively.
– Dan Bron
Nov 15 at 14:06






I've personally never heard it used this way. In gaming contexts, I'm used to this pattern of activity being labelled "spamming" of the ability, and it can be used pejoratively or melioratively.
– Dan Bron
Nov 15 at 14:06














Interesting observation of usage, but your question may be off-topic here if you are looking for anecdotal experiences with this reverse sense of the word abuse. Are you familiar with Bill Withers' (1971?) song "Use Me"? The lyrics are here: tinyurl.com/y8ftg4wj, but you can hear him sing it on YouTube. Close, but no cigar.
– Mark Hubbard
Nov 15 at 14:48




Interesting observation of usage, but your question may be off-topic here if you are looking for anecdotal experiences with this reverse sense of the word abuse. Are you familiar with Bill Withers' (1971?) song "Use Me"? The lyrics are here: tinyurl.com/y8ftg4wj, but you can hear him sing it on YouTube. Close, but no cigar.
– Mark Hubbard
Nov 15 at 14:48












I'm not sure which experiences count as anecdotal, but I was looking for this kind of uses in books, magazines or newspapers, or maybe TV shows or movies or something.
– Martijn
Nov 15 at 15:01




I'm not sure which experiences count as anecdotal, but I was looking for this kind of uses in books, magazines or newspapers, or maybe TV shows or movies or something.
– Martijn
Nov 15 at 15:01












Thank you for the clarification, Martijn. I'm sorry that I was unable to find any examples for you.
– Mark Hubbard
Nov 15 at 15:19




Thank you for the clarification, Martijn. I'm sorry that I was unable to find any examples for you.
– Mark Hubbard
Nov 15 at 15:19










1 Answer
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0
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Perhaps the word is used neutrally, or even entirely positively now, but I think it's pretty clear that its meaning morphed over time from a more typical, negative, use of abuse.



I'm most accustomed to hearing abuse collocated with mechanic, for example, I found a discussion on Reddit with the title "What mechanic do you abuse the most?" The questioner is asking about what tactics players exploit in order to succeed in the game - and although the content of the post doesn't mention anything about unfair exploits, that might reasonably be interpreted from the use of abuse in the title.



Look at the top answer:




Being able to barricade my base off with a layer of cars around it as a wall. They can't do much currently. Hope this gets fixed with animations update.




The poster explains the tactic, but hopes that the game developers will fix the bug, or whatever it is that allows this exploit to work. This is a hope, because although the tactic works, it is seen as unfair.



This looks to me like a very typical use of abuse. The player is abusing some AI weakness - abusing because this is not thought to be fair play; this is not how the game should work.



Here's another example from the same discussion:




The knife mechanic feels very overpowered at times




For whatever reason, this player thinks that the knife mechanic should not be so powerful, and so its use qualifies as an abuse.



However, in the same discussion, we can find other answers that describe tactics totally neutrally:




Sound. I love being able to lay a few traps, use an old alarm clock to call a herd in, and then just let loose. You can clear a good chunk of a town that way, and it's so easy.
Set up a trail of alarms that go off 5 minutes apart, starting in the center of town. Make sure you have plenty of time (set them to go off overnight), and place them near buildings and alleys. The herd will slowly wander off down the road and by morning your neighborhood is a lot safer.
If you have a single remote noise trap set up near your "driveway" you can avoid becoming beseiged for too long.
Taunt zombies to pull the fringe of a herd toward you, allowing you to slowly kill them off.




This answer to the question "what mechanic do you abuse" seems to interpret abuse in the same way as the original quotation. Abuse basically means make effective use of. And it's fairly easy to see how a term originally meaning take advantage of a broken part of the game would transform into take advantage of a broken part of the game.






share|improve this answer





















  • Given your final para, you might be interested in this older Q about "broken" and "overpowered" (OP).
    – Dan Bron
    Nov 15 at 16:43












  • Thank you for finding this, the third one is pretty much what I was referring to. I was looking for this kind of use outside of gaming though .
    – Martijn
    Nov 15 at 17:18











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1 Answer
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1 Answer
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active

oldest

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votes








up vote
0
down vote













Perhaps the word is used neutrally, or even entirely positively now, but I think it's pretty clear that its meaning morphed over time from a more typical, negative, use of abuse.



I'm most accustomed to hearing abuse collocated with mechanic, for example, I found a discussion on Reddit with the title "What mechanic do you abuse the most?" The questioner is asking about what tactics players exploit in order to succeed in the game - and although the content of the post doesn't mention anything about unfair exploits, that might reasonably be interpreted from the use of abuse in the title.



Look at the top answer:




Being able to barricade my base off with a layer of cars around it as a wall. They can't do much currently. Hope this gets fixed with animations update.




The poster explains the tactic, but hopes that the game developers will fix the bug, or whatever it is that allows this exploit to work. This is a hope, because although the tactic works, it is seen as unfair.



This looks to me like a very typical use of abuse. The player is abusing some AI weakness - abusing because this is not thought to be fair play; this is not how the game should work.



Here's another example from the same discussion:




The knife mechanic feels very overpowered at times




For whatever reason, this player thinks that the knife mechanic should not be so powerful, and so its use qualifies as an abuse.



However, in the same discussion, we can find other answers that describe tactics totally neutrally:




Sound. I love being able to lay a few traps, use an old alarm clock to call a herd in, and then just let loose. You can clear a good chunk of a town that way, and it's so easy.
Set up a trail of alarms that go off 5 minutes apart, starting in the center of town. Make sure you have plenty of time (set them to go off overnight), and place them near buildings and alleys. The herd will slowly wander off down the road and by morning your neighborhood is a lot safer.
If you have a single remote noise trap set up near your "driveway" you can avoid becoming beseiged for too long.
Taunt zombies to pull the fringe of a herd toward you, allowing you to slowly kill them off.




This answer to the question "what mechanic do you abuse" seems to interpret abuse in the same way as the original quotation. Abuse basically means make effective use of. And it's fairly easy to see how a term originally meaning take advantage of a broken part of the game would transform into take advantage of a broken part of the game.






share|improve this answer





















  • Given your final para, you might be interested in this older Q about "broken" and "overpowered" (OP).
    – Dan Bron
    Nov 15 at 16:43












  • Thank you for finding this, the third one is pretty much what I was referring to. I was looking for this kind of use outside of gaming though .
    – Martijn
    Nov 15 at 17:18















up vote
0
down vote













Perhaps the word is used neutrally, or even entirely positively now, but I think it's pretty clear that its meaning morphed over time from a more typical, negative, use of abuse.



I'm most accustomed to hearing abuse collocated with mechanic, for example, I found a discussion on Reddit with the title "What mechanic do you abuse the most?" The questioner is asking about what tactics players exploit in order to succeed in the game - and although the content of the post doesn't mention anything about unfair exploits, that might reasonably be interpreted from the use of abuse in the title.



Look at the top answer:




Being able to barricade my base off with a layer of cars around it as a wall. They can't do much currently. Hope this gets fixed with animations update.




The poster explains the tactic, but hopes that the game developers will fix the bug, or whatever it is that allows this exploit to work. This is a hope, because although the tactic works, it is seen as unfair.



This looks to me like a very typical use of abuse. The player is abusing some AI weakness - abusing because this is not thought to be fair play; this is not how the game should work.



Here's another example from the same discussion:




The knife mechanic feels very overpowered at times




For whatever reason, this player thinks that the knife mechanic should not be so powerful, and so its use qualifies as an abuse.



However, in the same discussion, we can find other answers that describe tactics totally neutrally:




Sound. I love being able to lay a few traps, use an old alarm clock to call a herd in, and then just let loose. You can clear a good chunk of a town that way, and it's so easy.
Set up a trail of alarms that go off 5 minutes apart, starting in the center of town. Make sure you have plenty of time (set them to go off overnight), and place them near buildings and alleys. The herd will slowly wander off down the road and by morning your neighborhood is a lot safer.
If you have a single remote noise trap set up near your "driveway" you can avoid becoming beseiged for too long.
Taunt zombies to pull the fringe of a herd toward you, allowing you to slowly kill them off.




This answer to the question "what mechanic do you abuse" seems to interpret abuse in the same way as the original quotation. Abuse basically means make effective use of. And it's fairly easy to see how a term originally meaning take advantage of a broken part of the game would transform into take advantage of a broken part of the game.






share|improve this answer





















  • Given your final para, you might be interested in this older Q about "broken" and "overpowered" (OP).
    – Dan Bron
    Nov 15 at 16:43












  • Thank you for finding this, the third one is pretty much what I was referring to. I was looking for this kind of use outside of gaming though .
    – Martijn
    Nov 15 at 17:18













up vote
0
down vote










up vote
0
down vote









Perhaps the word is used neutrally, or even entirely positively now, but I think it's pretty clear that its meaning morphed over time from a more typical, negative, use of abuse.



I'm most accustomed to hearing abuse collocated with mechanic, for example, I found a discussion on Reddit with the title "What mechanic do you abuse the most?" The questioner is asking about what tactics players exploit in order to succeed in the game - and although the content of the post doesn't mention anything about unfair exploits, that might reasonably be interpreted from the use of abuse in the title.



Look at the top answer:




Being able to barricade my base off with a layer of cars around it as a wall. They can't do much currently. Hope this gets fixed with animations update.




The poster explains the tactic, but hopes that the game developers will fix the bug, or whatever it is that allows this exploit to work. This is a hope, because although the tactic works, it is seen as unfair.



This looks to me like a very typical use of abuse. The player is abusing some AI weakness - abusing because this is not thought to be fair play; this is not how the game should work.



Here's another example from the same discussion:




The knife mechanic feels very overpowered at times




For whatever reason, this player thinks that the knife mechanic should not be so powerful, and so its use qualifies as an abuse.



However, in the same discussion, we can find other answers that describe tactics totally neutrally:




Sound. I love being able to lay a few traps, use an old alarm clock to call a herd in, and then just let loose. You can clear a good chunk of a town that way, and it's so easy.
Set up a trail of alarms that go off 5 minutes apart, starting in the center of town. Make sure you have plenty of time (set them to go off overnight), and place them near buildings and alleys. The herd will slowly wander off down the road and by morning your neighborhood is a lot safer.
If you have a single remote noise trap set up near your "driveway" you can avoid becoming beseiged for too long.
Taunt zombies to pull the fringe of a herd toward you, allowing you to slowly kill them off.




This answer to the question "what mechanic do you abuse" seems to interpret abuse in the same way as the original quotation. Abuse basically means make effective use of. And it's fairly easy to see how a term originally meaning take advantage of a broken part of the game would transform into take advantage of a broken part of the game.






share|improve this answer












Perhaps the word is used neutrally, or even entirely positively now, but I think it's pretty clear that its meaning morphed over time from a more typical, negative, use of abuse.



I'm most accustomed to hearing abuse collocated with mechanic, for example, I found a discussion on Reddit with the title "What mechanic do you abuse the most?" The questioner is asking about what tactics players exploit in order to succeed in the game - and although the content of the post doesn't mention anything about unfair exploits, that might reasonably be interpreted from the use of abuse in the title.



Look at the top answer:




Being able to barricade my base off with a layer of cars around it as a wall. They can't do much currently. Hope this gets fixed with animations update.




The poster explains the tactic, but hopes that the game developers will fix the bug, or whatever it is that allows this exploit to work. This is a hope, because although the tactic works, it is seen as unfair.



This looks to me like a very typical use of abuse. The player is abusing some AI weakness - abusing because this is not thought to be fair play; this is not how the game should work.



Here's another example from the same discussion:




The knife mechanic feels very overpowered at times




For whatever reason, this player thinks that the knife mechanic should not be so powerful, and so its use qualifies as an abuse.



However, in the same discussion, we can find other answers that describe tactics totally neutrally:




Sound. I love being able to lay a few traps, use an old alarm clock to call a herd in, and then just let loose. You can clear a good chunk of a town that way, and it's so easy.
Set up a trail of alarms that go off 5 minutes apart, starting in the center of town. Make sure you have plenty of time (set them to go off overnight), and place them near buildings and alleys. The herd will slowly wander off down the road and by morning your neighborhood is a lot safer.
If you have a single remote noise trap set up near your "driveway" you can avoid becoming beseiged for too long.
Taunt zombies to pull the fringe of a herd toward you, allowing you to slowly kill them off.




This answer to the question "what mechanic do you abuse" seems to interpret abuse in the same way as the original quotation. Abuse basically means make effective use of. And it's fairly easy to see how a term originally meaning take advantage of a broken part of the game would transform into take advantage of a broken part of the game.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered Nov 15 at 16:06









Juhasz

2293




2293












  • Given your final para, you might be interested in this older Q about "broken" and "overpowered" (OP).
    – Dan Bron
    Nov 15 at 16:43












  • Thank you for finding this, the third one is pretty much what I was referring to. I was looking for this kind of use outside of gaming though .
    – Martijn
    Nov 15 at 17:18


















  • Given your final para, you might be interested in this older Q about "broken" and "overpowered" (OP).
    – Dan Bron
    Nov 15 at 16:43












  • Thank you for finding this, the third one is pretty much what I was referring to. I was looking for this kind of use outside of gaming though .
    – Martijn
    Nov 15 at 17:18
















Given your final para, you might be interested in this older Q about "broken" and "overpowered" (OP).
– Dan Bron
Nov 15 at 16:43






Given your final para, you might be interested in this older Q about "broken" and "overpowered" (OP).
– Dan Bron
Nov 15 at 16:43














Thank you for finding this, the third one is pretty much what I was referring to. I was looking for this kind of use outside of gaming though .
– Martijn
Nov 15 at 17:18




Thank you for finding this, the third one is pretty much what I was referring to. I was looking for this kind of use outside of gaming though .
– Martijn
Nov 15 at 17:18


















 

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