Re:Play GTA III in the Browser
by embedding-shape on Sunday September 06, 2026 @05:19AM
(#49584658)
At one point during it's usage, words just stop accurately describing what it is, and starts communicating a vibe or something instead. Just like "DOS Games", "MIDI" which is just data in reality, but people started associating it with chiptune, so somehow some people now mix the terms and call chiptune "Midi Music", yet chiptune have nothing to do with MIDI the protocol/.mid the fileformat.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
In technical contexts it's often still important to use words accurately so in that sense it might not lose it's original meaning completely. I've come to accept that everyday language can be messy and inaccurate and one can't always get it right especially if they're not familiar enough with the topic. You can still get the meaning across well-enough.
People don't generally refer to these old Windows games as "DOS games", though.
It's funny how frequently we point and shout at semantic drift when we see it, when it's such a natural part of how we use language https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_change
Re:Play GTA III in the Browser
by embedding-shape on Sunday September 06, 2026 @06:13AM
(#49585004)
Apropos:
> Fun - [...] earlier "a cheat, trick" (c. 1700), from verb fun (1680s) "to cheat, hoax," - https://www.etymonline.com/word/funny
Interesting. I've had lots of fun with noclip cheats.
Ya, just like pointing and shouting at infectious diseases