First off, thanks for this discussion, I think it's fun. This reply got pretty long...
Okay, I'm going to try to be very rigorous. I argue that the community's definition of both "skill floor" and "skill ceiling" are consistent with that of a price floor and price ceiling as defined in economic theory. I can prove this by showing that a single general definition for floor and ceiling satisfies all requirements of both price floors/ceilings in economics, and skill floors/ceilings as defined by the Overwatch community.
I propose a general definition for a floor and a ceiling:
Definition: A floor and ceiling for a function f(x) are real numbers a and b such that f(x) = true when a ≤ x ≤ b and f(x) = false otherwise.
In other words, f(x) = true if and only if a ≤ x ≤ b.
In simple economic theory, like econ101 stuff, ceilings are the maximum price a good can be sold for, and floor the absolute minimum it can be sold for.
Equivalently, we can say that a good is sold if and only if its price is at least the price floor and at most the price ceiling. This can be expressed as
f(x) = true if and only if a ≤ x ≤ b
where f(x) is a function of price that assesses whether or not a good can be sold at a price x. a and b are the price floor and price ceiling, respectively. a and b satisfy both my general definition and the economic definition of a floor and ceiling for the price of a good.
The Overwatch community's definitions of a skill floor and skill ceiling are:
Skill floor: The skill level at which a player can be minimally effective on a hero
Skill ceiling: The skill level at which a player is maximally effective on a hero
In other words, a player is at least minimally effective and at most maximally effective if and only if their skill level is between the skill floor and the skill ceiling.
This too can be expressed as
f(x) = true if and only if a ≤ x ≤ b
where f(x) is a hero-specific function of a player's skill that returns true if the player is at least minimally effective and at most maximally effective at skill level x.
a and b satisfy the definition of a floor and ceiling by the same definition used to define the price floor and price ceiling in the context of economic theory.
Okay, so we can define floors and ceilings for price and skill, using the same definition. So how is there any disagreement? It's due to this idea of skills & prices being inflated/deflated so that they are always at least the floor and at most the ceiling:
For example a ceiling mechanic may be lack of headshots for certain characters, so playing that character the game doesn't distinguish between a player that lands 100% headshots and 100% bodyshots. So theoretically we have a player, vastly superior in skill but limited by the kit of the hero, reducing the overall skill to the ceiling.
This is incorrect in both contexts, and here's why:
If player A lands 100% body shots and player B lands 100% head shots, we both agree that player B is more skilled, it just doesn't lead to an increased effectiveness in-game. Instead, disallowing headshots on a hero lowers the hero's skill ceiling since mastering headshots is not required. For example, removing McCree's ability to headshot would decrease his skill ceiling since it would be easier to play him to his now reduced maximum potential.
Likewise, price floors and ceilings themselves do not adjust prices. Saying that (1) "a good is only sold at a price between the price floor and price ceiling" is not the same as saying that (2) "all prices are reduced or increased to be between the price floor and the price ceiling". Your graph looks this and not like this because it is claiming (1) and not (2). You can have values for Q such that your price isn't between the price floor and the price ceiling. This just means that the item cannot be sold.
You could construct a perfectly analogous case to this figure by showing skill level as a function of time spent playing. This graph shows a range of possible times spent that allow the skill level for two different players to rise or fall within or beyond the skill floor and skill ceiling. If the new player doesn't practice enough, he won't reach the skill floor. As long as the experienced player doesn't troll too much, his skill level will stay above the skill ceiling. In either case, their skill isn't "automatically adjusted to the floor or ceiling" - they just don't satisfy the condition of "at least minimally effective and at most maximally effective". Just like the prices below the price floor or above the price ceiling don't satisfy the condition "can be sold".
