🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <teksmurfD...@netcom.com>, teks...@netcom.com says...
>
>In article <3l4iin$r...@nova.umuc.edu> car...@nova.umuc.edu (John Caruso) 
writes:
>>In article <decuirjdD...@netcom.com>, John D. DeCuir wrote:
>>>
>>>    (FAQ Note:  "Strafing" means to slide, as opposed to accelerate.
>>>    For example, when you sidestep to your left, you are "strafing".
>>>    While the terminology is confusing, it is well-rooted in the
>>>    Doom culture of today, so this writer will choose to keep
>>>    it in.)
>>
>>Nice note, but the Webster's definition of strafe is "to attack with
>>gunfire" (especially from low-flying aircraft).  No mention of moving
>>side to side.  You can certainly slide without firing, so calling it
>>strafing is not only inaccurate but misleading--and Descent refers to
>>it as sliding throughout the documentation and within the game itself.
>>Why use terminology from a different game, no matter how popular?  You
>>wouldn't use Pac Man or Tron terms.  Why not stick to Descent?
>>
>>    (FAQ Note:  "Sliding" is often referred to as "strafing" by people
>>    who've played Doom, so try to be indulgent when you talk to them.)
>>
>>:-)

>
>Webster is not the final word.  Society, through it's use of a word, 
>often redefines it.
>
>The point is, strafing is what we all call sliding to one side, and 
>firing when speaking about action games, just as it's flying past a 
>target and firing when speaking of flight-sims.
>
>Da Smurf's .02


Exactly.  If EVERYONE uses "strafe" to mean "slide," ESPECIALLY within 
the context of 3D games like Descent, then I'm going to use it also, in 
order to avoid confusion.  Just because the dictionary says so doesn't 
mean anything, if no one else uses it that way.

Besides, the use of the word "strafe" obviously depends on context.  If 
you're talking about airplanes attacking Iraqis, then to "strafe" means 
to fire while flying past.  If you're talking about Doom or Descent, it 
means to slide to one side (frequently while firing :)).
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