A newbie is a newcomer to a particular field, the term being commonly used on the Internet, where it might refer to new users of a game, a newsgroup, the Internet itself, or an operating system.

In some contexts, such as on Usenet and in multiplayer video games, being a newbie is discouraged. Newbies may ask questions that seem extremely simple to experienced users, or disrupt normal order with their lack of skills or etiquette in a certain type of technology. For example, video game players may dislike newbies because they think newbies will hurt or bring down the collective efforts of a team game. Usenet posters may dislike newbies for bringing up off-topic discussion or violating netiquette.

In some groups, the term "newbie" is used by experienced users to refer to any newcomer, whether the newcomer acts ignorantly or not. In this case, the regulars assert their position with a sort of hazing (sometimes called pwning in video games).

Referring to regular members as newbies is often considered to be highly insulting. The implication is that they are behaving as if they do not know the rules when in fact they have had more than sufficient opportunity to learn them.

In some MMORPGs a newbie is anyone who is lower-leveled than the person making the remark, regardless of actual time spent playing the game. (for example, a level 60 player in World of Warcraft may consider a level 30 player a newbie). Some forums and MMORPGs have banned some of the more common spelling variations ("newb," "noob", "n00b") in an attempt to reduce flame wars. This has, of course, led to more variations.

Also, some people consider the term "newb" to refer to someone who is new to something, and is therefore not very good at it, while a "noob" is someone who knows the right thing to do, but acts idiotic and stupid anyway.

People who discourage newbies may differentiate between the words newbie and n00b. Using these terms, a "newbie" is someone who follows all protocols and essentially acts like an established user but still in the process of learning, while a "n00b" is an obnoxious person who has not even considered that they might be irritating others.

It is often a personal choice within a community whether to discourage or encourage newbies. For example, some GNU/Linux users may discourage non-technical users who try to install GNU/Linux, because supporting these users will be difficult and the newbies may be dissatified in the long run. On the other hand, some GNU/Linux users may prefer to encourage newbies, because it grows their userbase and may help the newbies learn more about computing.

Sometimes, newbies are recognized as the most important members and received with extra attention. Some chat rooms, for example, have established rules to ask "oldies" to first answer the newbies' questions or concerns before resuming their ongoing discussions. Large Internet forums such as 2channel have special boards for newbies to learn the basics of chatting on that forum.

Other communities do not treat newbies with a significantly elevated status, but do greet most of the friendly newbies with welcomes informing them the methods to get help. In these situations, the term is basically synonymous with newcomer and is meant with or without affection. For example, Wikipedia has a firm policy of welcoming all new contributors whether or not their first edits are helpful to an encyclopedia. This way, users who make mistakes will be encouraged to learn the rules and keep contributing, rather than provoking censure or anger.

The positive interpretation is probably the more recent but has become quite common. The only way to determine the intended connotation is to examine the context.

Individuals may refer to themselves as newbies in a self-deprecating manner or in acknowledgment of their newcomer status, which may (or may not) lessen the amount of harassment they receive. This may have negative or a positive connotations, depending on the standards of the community.

A noob, n00b, nub, noobo or übern00b is a newbie who claims to know a lot about a subject, but really does not. Also, generally n00bs have a sort of false belief in their own knowledge, and often refuse to acknowledge a differing point of view, especially if it points out fallacies in their claims. They often show off their false skills to gain a reputation. The term is usually meant to be offensive. It was first used in hacker groups on the BBS chat systems in the 1970s. It is important to note that noob and newb are not necessarily interchangeable.

The spelling noob or n00b, while originally having a specific meaning, is now generally used to refer to all forms of newbies, usually in a joking manner. In a context where newbie means simply new, n00b may sometimes be used as the derogatory equivalent. Most of the time, though, it is generally consigned that 'n00b' be used to describe only those with false claims of knowledge about a particular subject, and vehemently argues against any opposing viewpoints.

In online gaming, the term is also often used as a general insult. Frustrated players on the losing team may refer to the winning team as noobs. In this case, there is no actual connotation of newness meant, the word is simply being used as an insult. Equally, members of a dominating team use the term "noobs" (n00bs) to further frustrate their opposition by implying a general lack of skill on the losing team's part.

An underground joke is "Noob talk" or "NOB TALK". Noob talk is when an individual uses harsh spelling errors and terrible punctuation to insult noobs. A lot of "real" noob talk is found on games such as Gunbound or Ragnarok Online or Runescape. An example of this dialect is "ITAM PLEX" (translated into "Items Please"). Noob talk is fairly simple to grasp: one makes numerous spelling mistakes and overuses common Internet abbreviations. It is easy to discern when somebody is jocularly using noob talk if they do things such as add words like BBQ after LOL and add 1111oneone after an exclamation mark. Newblicon, nooblicon, and newbsicle are also variations.

An example would be: omfgwtfbbq noob!

Or a more extended example: ! r0Xx0rz l!k3 4 1337 h4xX0r5 n00b ch33k 0u7 /\/\y VV3b 5!t3 l1k3 n0VV 1337133713371337 n00b!! i ! 4M JW 4k4 H0b4r7 t3h 1337 haxX0rz u n00b
(Translation: I rock like a leet haxor , noob. Check out my web site like now, leetleetleetleet noob. I am JW a.k.a. Hobart the leet haxor, you noob. See Leet.)

The verb "noob" means "to own (pwn in some cases) someone like a noob." Noob is not necessarily a derogatory verb, but can be depending on the context. For instance: if person A beats person B to the point where person B looked like a newbie in comparison, person A noobed person B. Anywhere person A could say they owned or beat person B like person B was a noob or newbie, person A noobed person B.

It is also possible to hear the verb used in the opposite context. If person A is new to the game or does not play well and beats person B on a lucky chance, then person B may say that they "got noobed", especially if he or she is an excellent player. Noob as a derogatory verb is therefore not hard to grasp, as it is merely an extension of its noun and adjective counterparts.

"Noobing" is also seen as a verb by "using your "uber l33t" skills to "pwn" unsuspecting noobs." This is common in online games, such as Starcraft or Warcraft.

• Chainik
• Luser
• Wannabe
• Leet
• Pure Pwnage