Originally Posted by
Lon, reviewed by me
We see it every day. People in chat or on the boards insulting other users by calling them a "noob". Or even in your favorite online game "'ing noob" this and "stupid nub that". It is like noob has become the newest derogatory word of the century. Much like Jew or any other racially derogatory term was of yesterday.
We all were noobs at some point. But most of us evolved to a point of understanding of online ethics and stopped being n00bs. In gaming terms- we also learned how to master the commands nessessary to progress. Yet, the more experienced players are always quick to point out the newness of others.
How come do some feel compelled to label new users as n00bs, whereas other newbies won't be? Is it possible to identify a quality common to all n00bs, to then prevent overusing the term? Frankly, I don't know.
After being involved in the game industry for over 15 years, at different levels, I've seen many noobs come and go. Some went on to become respectable players or chatters, others have fallen by the way side. I myself have been a noob many times with each new game I go to play. I've noticed that there is one major element that seems to be common ground to the most notorious of noobs on the net: Stupidity.
I don't mean to insult users, for they might just be of average, or superior average intelligence elsewhere. Although they can be average in their life, it is no matter to excuse their noobish behaviour, such as repeated offenses that were repeatedly reported, explained. Why don't they ever learn?
As the gaming industry evolves rapidly and more complexly, we can understand the dismay of some newbies. You sometimes often repeat the same mistakes, that irritate older users, before fully comprehending. Are those the only reasons there are to lable someone a noob? If it still goes on after several months, maybe.
What makes a noob in a chatroom or a forum? Is it someone who does not read and follow the rules from the start, or someone who spams for no reason? Sometimes, people honestly don't know what the proper thing to do is. Just because it is posted, and they failed to read it, does that automatically make them faulty noobs? Maybe it does if it goes to extremes.
A noob can also be someone who cheats to establish themself within their chosen forum, whether it be a game or a chat room. Hackers, L337ist, they have many names. Maybe this is the final true definition of what a noob is? Someone who cheats to get ahead in their game or forum. But if that is so, why not call them a cheater, or a hack. Why do we resort to calling them a noob?
To bring this to a close, as I have illustrated, we have many situations out there in cyberspace in which someone could fall into the "noob" category. In some cases, the insult can be deserved, in others, maybe not so much. What do you think? What makes a noob? Is the insult overused? Or perhaps not used enough?
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