Ghosting

Ghosting is when a person vanishes without saying goodbye. The term typically refers to when a person leaves a social gathering without saying goodbye or when someone cuts off contact, usually with a romantic partner, without warning.

Regarding ghosting at a gathering, people who ghost don't want to go through the drawn-out process of saying their farewells to others when all they want to do is bounce. People may also refer to ghosting as the French exit or Irish goodbye.

Ghosting in dating

Ghosting is not only limited to the context of leaving social gatherings. It is also used in dating when a person abruptly stops contact with another person. For example, they may stop answering their SO's phone calls, texts, or emails without giving a reason, waiting for them to take the hint as they vanish like a ghost without a trace.

Ghosting in romantic relationships is employed by people who are afraid of conflict or lazy. Instead of breaking up with someone face-to-face, over the phone, or in a letter, people find it much more convenient to text or email the person. Men who are bad at communication and commitment are the most common ghosters, but women may also ghost.

While ghosting a person to break up with them is convenient for the one doing the breaking up, it is incredibly frustrating for the person they are breaking up with. So, it is wise to avoid ghosting if you don't want to leave a trail of bitter exes.

Gamers use ghosting to describe the act of a player observing an opponent's gameplay, usually via a Twitch stream. Watching the opponent's gameplay gives the ghoster access to additional, usually-hidden information.

For example, CCG players may ghost an opponent to learn what cards are in the opponent's hand. Or, an FPS player might ghost an opponent to learn that opponent's location, and sneak in for a surprise kill.

Is ghosting cheating?

Most gamers consider ghosting to be cheating. However, because it is difficult to prove a player is ghosting, most games do not explicitly ban the practice. Additionally, other players argue that ghosting is a legitimate tactic. After all, no one is forcing streamers to stream their gameplay.

What else might ghosting mean in gaming?

More rarely, gamers may use ghosting to refer to "ghost images" appearing on their monitors. These afterimages are usually caused by a low screen refresh rate or high response time. However, this definition of ghosting has largely been supplanted by the more modern, streaming-related definition.