# Mob

- Term: Digital term
- Date: 1978
- Canonical: https://www.lanternhall.org/lexicon/mob/

> A computer-controlled creature in an online game, especially a hostile one to be fought. Players talk of pulling, killing and farming mobs.

A computer-controlled creature in an online game, especially a hostile one to be fought. Players talk of pulling, killing and farming mobs.

**Origin:** From mobile object, Richard Bartle's term for self-moving objects in MUD1 (1978); DikuMUD's code later shortened mobile to mob, and the usage passed to EverQuest and beyond.

## Quick answers

**What does "Mob" mean?**
A computer-controlled creature in an online game, especially a hostile one to be fought. Players talk of pulling, killing and farming mobs.

**Where does the term "Mob" come from?**
From mobile object, Richard Bartle's term for self-moving objects in MUD1 (1978); DikuMUD's code later shortened mobile to mob, and the usage passed to EverQuest and beyond.

---
From The Lantern Hall (https://www.lanternhall.org/), a museum of fantasy literature and roleplaying games.