The first time I heard the term "diss" was in 1988 was when some thug gunned down Office Eddie Byrne as he sat in a patrol car in Queens because he had been "dissed" by the police.
At the time, I recognized it as the language of the uneducated, soul-less thug, and decided that I would never use the term. Mr. Novak should remember where this term comes from.
Sometimes you use a "word of the times" to reach a certain demography, a certain group of citizens, though I agree with you and your disdain of the "word".
FMCDH(BITS)