Quote Originally Posted by Satarn View Post
You guys do realize that same/similar words can mean different things depending on the context and field they're used in, right? Many acronyms sound like words that mean something totally different. Languages also evolve constantly and words gain completely new meanings due to slangs and such. The brought up acronym is generally what people refer to when they use the word in the context of MMOs and it has little to do with for example act of metagaming in tabletop rpgs, just like an MMO "tank" can have absolutely nothing to do with an armored war vehicle. It might've been a backronym originally, but it doesn't change that that's what it is used as these days.
Wrong. The term "Meta" is directly referring to metagaming. A Meta comp is short for the metagame optimal composition. Those whom have confused it for the backcronym are mimic things they hear from knowledgeable individuals without understand what they are talking about and often using the term properly in an unintentionally manner. The term "tank" is also a direct reference to the armored combat vehicle as the classes/jobs of that role are mimicing the battlefield effects of that class of vehicles. Ranged DpS (casters and physical) are sometimes called "artillery" for similar reasons.

Anyways meaning was the point here, not etymology which is rather off-topic. Regardless of what you want to argue the word comes from, the meta is not affected by what a healer's dps kit looks like, but rather what said kit's overall output is and people asking for more complexity are doing so due to concern with engagement, not effectiveness.
Actually the meta can and is influenced by what a healer's kit looks like. Classes, Jobs and Characters all shift around metagame tier lists based on relative complexity and output. In many cases choices that theoretically will have higher output will be considered low tier in the metagame due to having a relative complexity that is far higher that the alternatives for little to no gain.