Where did the word n00b come from?

Rizeeve

"'Noob' has become common in spoken English in parts of New York City and New Jersey as a substitute for the word dude." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newbie May 26 07, 3:06 PM

Narutowarrior

All I know is that it means someone is new. May 26 07, 3:22 PM

skhpcola

We used it in the military to designate a new person..."newbie"---> "n00b" May 26 07, 3:37 PM

McGruff

2. noob A noob or n00b is someone that lacks intellegance or common sense, most people think that noob is a word used only in the online gaming world, but in reality it is becoming an ever popular word with teenage society. by Danny! Preston Feb 20, 2007 http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=noob May 26 07, 7:38 PM

MonkeyOnALeash

Noob is the street spelling of Newb as in Newbie. May 26 07, 10:15 PM

Lympathy

It originally came from the term "new boy" which was then shortened to 'newbie'. With the advent of the internet, terms such as newb, noob and n00b were preferred with the latter suggestive of a pair of wide eyes. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci212649,00.html May 26 07, 11:44 PM

observer2

as fate would have it I was fortunate to have been active on "The Net" back in the mid to late 80's. (what we all now call the internet) Once in awhile someone would use the word "noob" and so a few of us did some research as to what exactly the word meant and where it came from. Yes, it appeared to come from the military and was used mostly for the "new boys" however it applied to anyone who had: "NO OBservation Skills" for instance, the new boy(s) trip(s) over the stairs to get into the plane because he is so busy gawking at it... and the experienced guys would taunt "no-ob-s" afterall, they've climbed steps 100's or 1000's of times by then. Note: there were a number of military vets who clued us in on the expanded meaning. Hence the eventual wide-eyed typology as Lympathy noted. Variants on the net which designated various levels of NO OBservation skills were: nOOb = very wide-eyed noob = slightly wide-eyed NooB = oops, missed a few things but basically gets it NOob = will never get it, its been explained so many times already n00b = zeros used "deer in the headlights, syndrome" (they stood out back then with dots in the middle) which basically never caught on since not all monitors/printers showed the dots There were a few more but alas, too long ago and too far away. I remember frequently seeing statements like: "Don't be a nOOb, read the FAQ!!!" "hey nOOb, catch up on the thread b 4 posting!!!" Had little to do with being a "new boy" / newbie on the net as seasoned Net Vets taunted each other with the terms. now you know more of the story Sep 30 12, 12:37 PM