Terminology

[vintermann]

Why do people here persist on saying "malus"? It's called a penalty! A malus is just - well, I picture

  Code:

The -2, -4 hammer 'Malus' {distortion, -1 EV}


Bonus became a part of the English language, Malus did not!! And because of that, by the way, it's bonuses, not "boni" or any such silliness. And it is absolutely a crime to say "mali" unless you are speaking of a certain African country.

(feel free to add parts of this post to Crazy Yiuf's speech)

[mageykun]

Main Entry: malus
Part of Speech: n
Definition: the return of performance-related compensation upon the discovery of deficient performance
Example: There is a malus clause in his contract.

[...]

malus

noun
apple trees; found throughout temperate zones of the northern hemisphere

:'p

Seems to be a word. Even ignoring that, we could still justify it as a form of technical jargon (native to game development, rougelikes, or even crawl itself. Whatever). There's tons of jargon that either doesn't exist, or doesn't have the same definition, in the main usage of the language.

[starless]

What's wrong about a weapon having a Latin name?
†

[danr]

I would say that once people persist in using a word, it IS a word.

Language evolves. It does not exist as a platonic ideal on stone tablets for all eternity.

[vintermann]

But "malus" isn't used many places. Only here. And it's a snobbish Latin loan word for something there's a perfectly good English word for, namely penalty!!
(Technically, penalty is also Latin, but it's via French and a naturalized citizen.)

[Mychaelh]

Bonus means positiv addition of quantities (points, money etc.) Malus is the exact reverse of bonus.
The reverse of penalty is reward.

[Zicher]

Yeah, this topic belongs precisely to Crazy Yiuf's corner

[Curio]

Penalty associates with football for me

"Malus" sounds very fitting as opposite of "bonus". So, why not? I will even use this word everywhere else from now on. Despite of the fact that everybody around may or may not understand it's meaning

[danr]

This thread makes me want to get hammered. Luckily I'm in the right place!