Noob is an alternate spelling of “newbie” used to describe inexperienced individuals, particularly in the gaming community. It can be used in a friendly or derogatory way. Every online arena has its own netiquette, and newbies can find beginner areas to learn. The term originated in the US Army during the Vietnam War and became popular again in the 1980s with dial-up message boards. Today, it has become part of the popular vernacular and can refer to anyone who appears inexperienced.
Noob is an alternate spelling of “newbie,” which refers to an inexperienced person, particularly in the gaming community but also in other places online. Noob can be used in a friendly and taunting way, such as a skilled player telling another “You played like a noob” or in a derogatory way as a general slur. Other spelling variations include “newb”, “n00b” (using zeros), and “nub”. Typically, the further away from “noob” in spelling variation, the greater the expected insult.
The easiest way to spot a noob is a lack of skills or unfamiliarity with local protocols. Every online arena has its own netiquette, whether it’s Internet Relay Chat (IRC), USENET newsgroups, the World Wide Web (WWW), a virtual world like Second Life, or a competitive arcade. General rules or guidelines make the arena more fun for everyone, and unknowingly breaking them can result in being called a noob or being inflamed (verbally attacked).
Luckily, most online venues have areas for newbies to congregate where they can get acquainted with the place before venturing into the fray. IRC has specific chat rooms for newbies where experienced users answer questions. A noob can find beginner newsgroups on USENET, and Web forums generally have terms and usage policies posted that suffice. In the gaming world a noob may have a little more difficulty starting out, but it might help to realize that everyone started out as a noob at some point.
Although we’ve come to think that noobs originated online, the US Army used the term “rookie” during the Vietnam War (1959-1975) to refer to soldiers who just arrived in the field. Another military term, “Non-Useful Body (NUB)” referred to submarine sailors who had not yet gained enough experience to be particularly useful in a crisis. “Newbie” became popular again in the 1980s with the flourishing of dial-up message boards, along with private content providers like Prodigy, America Online (AOL), and CompuServe.
Today, “beginner” and noob have become part of the popular vernacular, referring to anyone who appears inexperienced or “green”, whether true or not. It is also used as a household term when combined with “dude” as in “noob dude”. The dude part has been dropped altogether in some regions of the United States, especially New York and neighboring New Jersey, where a noob can refer to anyone on the street.
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