I personally think MOBA should be used to broadly describe a style of game rather than what’s done while playing it. I know that when Riot coined the term, they were referring to games like DotA, LoL, etc.; to me the whole approach to a match’s flow is echoed similarly enough throughout multiple games, that applying the term MOBA to other games is a logical extension.

To me a game is a MOBA if:

• The way to interact with it is primarily designed around playing with other players online (the M and O of MOBA.)
• The goals of the players are against the goals of other players — ie. it’s competitive rather than cooperative (the B of MOBA.)
• Any player at the beginning of a match has access to all the same options as any other player. This one is a little more vague, but as the A in MOBA stands for arena, I imagine it like a group of gladiators standing before a communal weapon rack that they’ll all pick from; no one has any options that the others don’t have access to.

Following these criteria, something like Overwatch is a MOBA, as is DotA, and ironically LoL isn’t as you have to unlock options meaning you don’t satisfy the arena condition. To differentiate games like DotA, Smite, Awesomenauts, Deadlock, etc., I prefer the term lane-pusher as that’s a lot more specific and understandable.

Does it really matter what it’s called? Not really. I mostly just do it so I can feel superior to Riot for coming up with a vague term that is applied, how I deem, incorrectly, while also excluding their own game from the term that they made to describe it.

https://youtube.com/shorts/7haqnQvrYfI

When I managed a pool, I remember the Virginia Graeme Baker act being something I was told about pretty early on; it was a prevalent enough of a thing that sometimes trying to start up my spa’s motor wouldn’t provide a clear enough suction, and the motor would shut off for safety. A properly managed pool should never have had this risk.