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Newbie is a slang term for a newcomer to online gaming or an Internet activity. It can also be used for any other activity in whose context a somewhat clueless newcomer could exist. It can have derogatory connotations, but is also often used for descriptive purposes only, without a value judgement.
Origin
Before it entered popular discourse by way of the Internet, the term "newbie" had a limited usage among U.S. troops in the Vietnam War as a slang term for a new man in a unit.
Alternative spellings
"Newbie" can be used as a term to identify newcomers to a game, place, or organization. The variant spellings of "newbie" are also used, especially in online games, as a catch-all insult regardless of the recipient's actual skill or experience. Someone who acts like a "newbie," but isn't one would be referred to as one of the variant spellings. The variant "noob" has become common in spoken English in parts of New York City and New Jersey as a substitute for the word dude. Alternate spellings include "newb," "n00b," "N00B," "noob," and "nub." These alternate spellings of the term, other than "newb," inherit the definition of "newbie" but are generally used in a derogatory manner to indicate uselessness because of the ignorance associated with being a newcomer.
In online gaming, mainly Runescape, a greater distinction may be made between a "newb" and a "noob." The common consensus is that a "newb" is someone who through their very nature of being a new player is inexperienced and naive to particular gaming mechanics or etiquette, whereas a "noob" is a player that is generally considered to be experienced, yet often makes mistakes or solecisms that would more likely be attributed to a "newb." The term "noob" can also be applied to someone who is experienced, but blatantly disregards rules and etiquette through personal choice; however, the label "troll" would be more accurate.
There are a multitude of words that have emerged from the original "Newbie", each with their own meaning and origins. There are such terms like "nubcakes" or "nubotron" which emerged from generally gamers expressing their anger of success with their fellow players. The general rule is to use the nub- or noob- stems in order to create specific insults or expletives, as in "nooblet," or "nubcracker."
The Korean term chobo (초보) has roughly the same connotations as "newbie", and has been popularized in the English speaking world via the presence of large numbers of South Koreans in some online gaming communities. The antonym of chobo is gosu (고수).
Meanings
Newbie and the alternate spellings are often used for one of two different meanings. Newbie is usually used to refer to a new person who has recently joined the group of bored, and is a rank default on InvisionFree forums. Several alternate spellings and occasionally the original word, are used to refer to a member who is generally unwanted or disliked in the community, and is often used as part of Trolling or Flaming.
Internet Relay Chat
In IRC, newbies may be either discouraged or encouraged, depending on the particular channel. There are channels on any of the major networks dedicated to catering to newbie questions and getting into the IRC community. However, beyond the scope of these introductory rooms there are many channels where common newbie mistakes are not tolerated. This may include repeating the same sentence, begging for pirated software, immature insult slinging, attacking an operator, usage of color, and the use of channel bot search and file list commands (such as !find or @search). Most channels have rules that are posted as a link in the topic or sent to the user as an on-join message. Breaking the rules or established policy can result in an instant kickban.
Military usage
The term "non-useful body", "nuclear unready body", or N.U.B. was coined in the submariner world. A brand new sailor reporting aboard a submarine had to earn his "dolphins" (submarine-qualification: learning everything about a submarine in order to quickly and decisively assist in damage control). Until the sailor became so qualified, he could not do his assigned function aboard the submarine. During this time, he was declared a non-useful-body, and was generally harassed until he completed it. The term has since migrated to the surface fleet, and is used to negatively refer to new sailors, who are not as experienced and useful as their shipmates.
Usage in popular culture
- Doctor Cox in the TV show Scrubs continuously refers to his protégé John Dorian (J.D.) as "Newbie" as a way of breaking his spirits and constantly reminding him who's in charge. (This has been going on since the series began in 2001.)
- In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, the character "Noob" Saibot's weapon is the "Troll Hammer", a joke on the fact that many people who troll message boards are noobs.
- In The Sims video game, the tutorial family with which the player learns how to play the game are named Bob and Betty Newbie.
- In the webcomic Ctrl+Alt+Del, The strips "Glossary:Newb/Noob" and "Real Life" describe the behaviors of "newbs" and "noobs".
- The internet TV series, Pure Pwnage, the main character Jeremy says the catchphrase, "I pwn noobs", meaning he dominates lower ranking players.
- In the online game Kingdom of Loathing, one enemy that the player may face in the Valley of Rof L'm Fao is a "Lamz0r N00b." Their attacks include "omgwtf"ing the player and asking "how u mine 4 fish?," a reference to noobspeak. In the same game, the area where new players are taught the basics of gameplay is called Mt. Noob.
- In the game Baldur's Gate, there is an NPC called Noober (obviously from noob), who talks to the party for a while before running out of things to say. His purpose in the game is to annoy the player (he also gives experience if the player waits long enough). There is also a character in the sequel, Baldur's Gate 2, named Neeber (variation of newb), who is commonly thought of as the brother of Noober. Both characters can be killed by the player without fear of provoking the town guards or citizens.
- In Pokemon Diamond and Pearl a NPC in Oreburgh City encourages the player to advance in the game to avoid being like a "total noob".
Game definition of Noob
Noob
The game defintion of noob is usually someone, often in online games who acts in offensive ways to other users or people that surround them and refuse to go away, or by any other methods for the sole purpose of annoying others. Noob is also referred to as a everyday offensive word used by people to offend others or to refer to people who act offensively.
Newb
Noob is also considered a relatively new person to a game that is inexperienced and doesn't know what they are doing. This term is often addressed as newb(Newbie) however.
References
- Entry for newbie in John Robert Elting, Ernest L. Deal, and Dan Cragg, A Dictionary of Soldier Talk (New York: Scribner, 1984), 209. ISBN 0684178621
- "USS Tucson Submariners Earn Dolphins in Record Time". US Navy. Retrieved 2007-03-15.