"MOB" is deprecated! Use "Critter"
By
Calash,
Posted on: 2009-06-14 01:43 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
I've never encountered anyone using mob to refer to anything but a single enemy, and whenever I use it that's what I mean. Saying that, perhaps I have, but just didn't notice? It's possible that sb might have been referring to a group of mobs round the corner, and I just took it to mean they were referring to one of them. Either way, play wasn't affected. mobs usually come in groups. That's what i call a group of mobs - a group.
I don't know exactly what Moblie Object means, but maybe its everything that moves? including cars and civilians? If so, Ive never met anyone call a civilian a mob. they're calls civvilians. And cars are cars. 
Also, 'critter' takes longer to type.
How about
mob = 1 enemy
group= more than one mob
Eco.
MArcs:
The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
[The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."
|
[ QUOTE ]
mob = 1 enemy
group= more than one mob
[/ QUOTE ]
In my experience, this is the common usage. I've never had any communications errors because of the term 'mob'
Same here. Generally speaking, I refer to "mobs", "MOBs" or "a spawn" when referring to more than one enemy. I don't think there's really much confusion between the gaming definition of mob and the lexical 'gaggle of unruly people' definition.
At least, I've never seen anyone genuinely get confused in that way in-game or here on the forums.
Iscariot's Guide to the Tri-Form Warshade, version 2.1
I'm sorry that math > your paranoid delusions, but them's the breaks -- Nethergoat
P.E.R.C. Rep for Liberty server
Sir, i see your vocabulary change campaign with my counter vocabulary change campaign, like any good politician i'll start with slander
Part's T's mother was a shrubbery bush
Part T has had several...um inmitmite relationships with known futa catgirls.
Part T is ugly
Because i said so.
now with that out of way lets move onto cold hard "facts" my main points are "don't fix what ain't broken" and laziness
[ QUOTE ]
There's a Critter around that corner
[/ QUOTE ]
Good to know billy the SS/inv tanker! you just wasted a few seconds typing those extra letters! extra letters THAT I COULD HAVE BEEN USING TO GAIN EXP RAWR!
[ QUOTE ]
There's a couple critters ahead
[/ QUOTE ]
EXP GAIN PER SECOND WASTING, I'LL FLOG YOU!
Couple, alot, some objects that take minimum wage workers to move, we don't care, smash em to bits billy
[ QUOTE ]
Anyone see the last critter?
[/ QUOTE ]
not only are you wasting those seconds billy, we've moved onto minutes looking for this last mob, and you're still wasting seconds on this critter thing, do you like floggings? DO YOU!?
Everyone is looking for that last mob, no need to ask redundantly
I love it. Four people have responded to this thread and two of them have said "I've never had any problems with communication; everyone I know uses it for [x]" and they're using different meanings.
I use "spawn" and "guy" myself. "Mob" seems like it's for people who are just dying to tell you their stories about Meridian 59 and the good old days.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
[ QUOTE ]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The game would be so much less obtuse if people used Critter instead of Mob.
[/ QUOTE ]
tl;dr
Now it's time to go talk to corporate, direct workflow, promote synergy...
Mob=1 mobs=>1
This was my first MMO.
Mob confused the heck out of me for the first few weeks until I read something here about the "mobile unit" abbreviation.
Then again, I used to think "afk bio" meant taking a break to write your characters origin story, until I had that one explained to me.
[ QUOTE ]
I love it. Four people have responded to this thread and two of them have said "I've never had any problems with communication; everyone I know uses it for [x]" and they're using different meanings.
[/ QUOTE ]Really? Looking at said posts, I read:
mob = one enemy
mobs/MOBs = more than one enemy.
and also: group/a spawn = more than one enemy.
But almost every post (other than the OP) seems to agree that mob = one enemy.
Perhaps this is the real problem behind the (apparent) misunderstandings in the game. Some people just don't seem to read...
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I love it. Four people have responded to this thread and two of them have said "I've never had any problems with communication; everyone I know uses it for [x]" and they're using different meanings.
[/ QUOTE ]Really? Looking at said posts, I read:
mob = one enemy
mobs/MOBs = more than one enemy.
and also: group/a spawn = more than one enemy.
But almost every post (other than the OP) seems to agree that mob = one enemy.
Perhaps this is the real problem behind the (apparent) misunderstandings in the game. Some people just don't seem to read...
[/ QUOTE ]
i have been encountering a lot (incidentally, "alot" is not a word 
) of players on PuGs in the low to mid levels who do use "mob" to refer to groups, not single enemies. This becomes extremely common on the occasions when i agree to join an AE team. (i tend not to stay on such teams for very long, but that is a topic already thoroughly beaten in other threads.)
i tend to use mob=single enemy and spawn=group myself.
Dr. Todt's theme.
i make stuff...
[ QUOTE ]
Mob confused the heck out of me for the first few weeks until I read something here about the "mobile unit" abbreviation..
[/ QUOTE ]
Ditto. The ambiguity is that for anyone other than those using gamer jargon, the word "mob" is roughly equivalent to "group," albeit with a somewhat negative connotation of violent behavior. It's an unfortunate coincidence that the portmanteau happens to form a word with a different, pre-existing meaning, and a word with particular applicability to what we're doing here (we fight "angry mobs" pretty frequently). Even though I'm familiar with the gamer usage, it still has a rather glaring linguistic wrongness about it.
As it happens, one of my regular teaming groups contains several people who play no other MMOs and aren't really connected to gamer culture at all. If I say "mob" to them, they will definitely take me to mean a group of enemies, not a single target.
Also, as a roleplayer, it's unlikely my characters would say "mob" when referring to a single enemy, or "spawn" for a group. If I want to use "mob" in the gamer sense, it would only be in OOC chat. So mostly, I just avoid using the word in-game at all! =P
"And in this moment, I will not run.
It is my place to stand.
We few shall carry hope
Within our bloodied hands."
But IC you wouldn't call em critters either would you?
[ QUOTE ]
But IC you wouldn't call em critters either would you?
[/ QUOTE ]
Nope. It would probably annoy my cat...
"And in this moment, I will not run.
It is my place to stand.
We few shall carry hope
Within our bloodied hands."
The strangest thing...I always use mob in-game, but it's always as this definition:
[ QUOTE ]
MOB = Collective noun for a group of Kangaroos.
[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
But IC you wouldn't call em critters either would you?
[/ QUOTE ]
IC i generally wouldn't call them mobs or critters. A couple characters might use mob when fighting Mooks or Family, but even then most wouldn't. (To make it worse, a few characters would tend to use spawn IC when referring to single enemies.)
Dr. Todt's theme.
i make stuff...
I started off with MUDs in the mid-90s. Therefore, I use "mob" to describe a single enemy, and "group" to describe a bunch of mobs.
...On the forums, anyway. In-game, if I'm mentioning a single enemy, I call 'em rather specifically, because the only reason I'm likely to be talking about a single enemy is because I want the group to notice it and right now. "Second Sorcerer around corner" for example, or "Void Boss in there". "Mob" just doesn't come up, it's a generic term used for speaking broadly. For multiples, "spawn" or "group" or "bunch" or, say, "Council" is I think pretty obvious.
In the forums, I tend to obscurely sub-reference and use OTHER jargon enough so that the "'mob' means 'mobile object', not 'group with torches and pitchforks' or 'Mafia'" thing should really be the least of anyone's worries. I daresay 99% of the time context makes it clear.
And "critter" makes me picture one of those cute fuzzy little caterpillar things you see after a rain.
A "mob" is a single, typically mobile, attackable entity. A "spawn" is a group of mobs all aggro-linked. This is player jargon. People who (incorrectly) use "mob" to refer to a spawn are usually inexperienced with MMOs, as mistaking the jargon "mob" for the English word "mob" (a homonym of the jargon "mob") is an easy trap for the uninitiated to fall into.
"Critter" is dev jargon which means approximately the same thing as the player "mob". It makes sense devs and players would have two different jargons as player jargon is meant to aid in playing the game, and dev jargon is meant to aid in making the game. I see no reason why a player couldn't use "critter" instead of "mob", except the larger MMO player community may not recognize or understand "critter" as easily as "mob".
The best comics are still 10�!
My City of Heroes Blog Freedom Feature Article: "Going Rageless?"
If you only read one guide this year, make it this one.
Super Reflexes: the Golden Fox of power sets!
WARNING: I bold names.
[ QUOTE ]
It makes sense devs and players would have two different jargons as player jargon is meant to aid in playing the game, and dev jargon is meant to aid in making the game.
[/ QUOTE ]Which is kinda funny, since MOB was programmer jargon in the days of the MUD/MUSH
I tend to use mob and critter interchangeably on the forums, and as someone else said, I refer to the specific enemy when I'm in the game.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
A mob of Mobs just mobbed that mob of people.
(QR)
Mob
I was always under the impression that Mob was an acronym for "Monster or Boss" or "Monster or Beast" but I :shudder: just looked on Wikipedia and apparently that is a backronym
No
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo
I think you underestimate our fools, sir.
Why /duel is a bad idea
to me a group is a 'spawn'.
individual enemies are referred to by name- "there's one sapper around the corner" or "that sorcerer teleported away, he should be back in a sec".
The Nethergoat Archive: all my memories, all my characters, all my thoughts on CoH...eventually.
My City Was Gone
mob for one
mmob for 2
mmmob for 3
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmob for the entire mission.
Don't count your weasels before they pop dink!
[ QUOTE ]
mob for one
mmob for 2
mmmob for 3
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmob for the entire mission.
[/ QUOTE ]
so what do you call an entire zone worth?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The game would be so much less obtuse if people used Critter instead of Mob.
Too Long, Didn't Read (TL;DR) explication:
MOB is so deprecated. It's time there was some widespread move to remove it from the playerbase's vocabulary.
Why?
It's ambiguous.
Do you mean a MObile OBject? A single critter?
Do you mean a bunch of critters?
[ QUOTE ]
"There is a mob around the corner"
[/ QUOTE ]
Is there a GROUP of critters around the corner, or just a single critter?
[ QUOTE ]
"We have two mobs to defeat in this room"
[/ QUOTE ]
"Does he mean two individual targets, or two groups of targets?
MOB = Group
MOB = Mobile Object (from the old ASCII Multi User Dungeon days)
MOB = Bunch of friends/relatives "My mob is going out for a party this Christmas"
MOB = Collective noun for a group of Kangaroos.
It's so much easier and unambiguous to use the terms Critter and Group.
Then there is no confusion.
[ QUOTE ]
There is a critter around the corner
[/ QUOTE ]
No need to panic, folks, it's a single target!
[ QUOTE ]
"We have a group to fight in the next room
[/ QUOTE ]
A whole bunch of critters, yay, I hope there are some Paragon Protectors, they're so crunchy!
[ QUOTE ]
Has anyone seen the last critter?
[/ QUOTE ]
We're looking for the last guy, end of mission imminent, time unexemplar and rake in the fat mission bonus!
Final comment
This is a minor 'rant', it isn't something people should get all hot under the collar about, but as ever, it's up to -you- how you react.
Ex
[expecting the One Star Posting Dude to make an appearance]
--
Ex.
Part-Troll, who used to be Excession777, now playing pantomime with people's mindlets.
--