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The Word 'Noob'

AuthorMessage
Illuminator
Feb 09, 2009
1469
What annoys me with the word 'noob' is the fact that it has three very different definitions:

1. A low level or low ranking wizard.
2. A low level or low ranking wizard who constantly annoys other wizards for assistance with the simplest tasks.
3. An unskilled wizard of any level or rank.

All of these definitions are widely known and accepted to the point where people are actually fighting over which definition is correct and even teaching others the "right" definition by giving examples. I'm just gonna address each one:

1. If you are a low level or low ranking wizard then you need to stop complaining! Unless the person is being belligerent and calling you other names as well, you have no reason to complain. Of course there's the whole discrimination argument, comparing this to some form of ageism. Whoever came up with that argument needs to take into consideration that discrimination is a strong, serious word used to describe the most tragic events in history. I'm sorry, but it does not in any way describe the situation at hand, in my opinion.

2. For this definition, I'll just say this: maybe you should step back and look at how you're acting. If you really are annoying someone or a couple of people about a quest, maybe you should try and do the quest on your own a couple of times, and if that doesn't work then go back to asking for assistance so you at least know that you proved them wrong.

3. There's not much I can say about this definition except with patience and practice comes perfection. If you work hard, you'll gain skill.

Of course there's always the general solution: ignore them! If you don't like being called a noob that much, ignore the person and go to another realm. A lot of people don't realize, but sometimes the best comeback is silence. All the people who say the word 'noob' should be removed from chat need to seriously consider everything I've said because (and not to speak for KI, but this is just my hypothesis) the definition problems and simple solutions are probably why KI hasn't and never will ban the word 'noob'.

Delver
Mar 18, 2010
260
There is indeed much confusion over this word. My friends who are much more serious gamers than I am, say it is an insult. That is backed up by the definition in the New Urban dictionary.

"II. Defining 'Noob'
Contrary to the belief of many, a noob/n00b and a newb/newbie are not the same thing. Newbs are those who are new to some task and are very beginner at it, possibly a little overconfident about it, but they are willing to learn and fix their errors to move out of that stage. N00bs/noobs on the other hand, know little and have no will to learn any more. They expect people to do the work for them and then expect to get praised about it, and make up a unique species of their own."

My friends added the following to the above: "An unskilled, irritating player who is a pain."

Just my two cents.

Megan

Survivor
Sep 06, 2008
33

My friends added the following to the above: "An unskilled, irritating player who is a pain."

Just my two cents.

Megan
i like your friends definition

Illuminator
Feb 09, 2009
1469
Firefan02 wrote:
There is indeed much confusion over this word. My friends who are much more serious gamers than I am, say it is an insult. That is backed up by the definition in the New Urban dictionary.

"II. Defining 'Noob'
Contrary to the belief of many, a noob/n00b and a newb/newbie are not the same thing. Newbs are those who are new to some task and are very beginner at it, possibly a little overconfident about it, but they are willing to learn and fix their errors to move out of that stage. N00bs/noobs on the other hand, know little and have no will to learn any more. They expect people to do the work for them and then expect to get praised about it, and make up a unique species of their own."

My friends added the following to the above: "An unskilled, irritating player who is a pain."

Just my two cents.

Megan


Even though there's this New Urban dictionary definition, it still doesn't change the fact that the definition is unclear. On Wikipedia (which most people recognize as a credible secondary source) the definition leans more towards the first definition. Also, upon typing 'noob' into the search box, I was immediately redirected to the page on the word 'newbie'. The page had this to say regarding gaming: "It can have derogatory connotations, but is also often used for descriptive purposes only, without a value judgment." Upon further inspection on Wikipedia I found that the term 'n00b' has a definition leaning more towards the second or third definition and even says, "In almost all uses of the word, it is considered an insult." Disregarding the fact that it says "almost", I'm pretty sure you can't type 'n00b' in chat, so the people who desperately wanted this word banned already got their wish.