Noob

Noob, Newb, or Nub is a term used amongst RuneScape players and much of the gaming communities in general. According to Jagex's Player Dictionary, both "noob" and "newb" refer to a new player. It is sometimes used by players in an inoffensive way to refer to a new player, especially one with a low combat level, though "newb" may be the preferred spelling in this case.

However, in practice, it is more commonly used as a mild pejorative in RuneScape. It is probably one of the most commonly-used and recognised terms in the game. It is popular, perhaps, because players cannot be reported for using it in this way unless it is done to such a degree that it constitutes spamming, which would have to be sufficient "to render the chat window useless". This can result in temporary mutes or other punishments.

In May 2009, various news sources reported that "noob" was a candidate to be the one millionth word in the English language, which was expected on 10 June. At that time, unofficial definitions of the word included "a derogatory name for someone new to a particular task or community". However, "noob" ultimately entered the language officially as the 999,998th word, with the millionth being Web 2.0 on 10 June.

Variants
There are many variations to the generally accepted words "noob", "noobie", "newb", and "newbie". These include "narb", "newblet", "nubby","nubface", "nubcakes", "nub", "nublet", "nubling" or the less commonly used "froob", "Narb", "tweep", "choob", "shroob", "neeb", "noobcake", and numerous others. Any of these terms may also be written in leet, such as "n00b".

According to Jagex's Player Dictionary, "froob" is a term for someone who has never left Lumbridge, though players themselves hardly ever use it in this way. "Choob" usually means an inexperienced high level player or a high level that acts like a noob, but can be used to describe a J-Mod's noob account. .

Usage
"Noob" is used by many people simply as an insult regardless of the context, as it is an insult that is not a reportable offence. Even a player of a much lower level may still call another player "noob" for being annoying to them, or for doing something that an experienced player, in their opinion, should know better than to do.

The name "noob" can be effectively ignored because the other player, who may be inexperienced, may just be disgruntled, and is venting their frustration for multiple reasons. Some players who say the word "noob" sometimes log out of RuneScape straight after saying it, to avoid a comeback or any other type of reaction.

Some people argue that players who call others "noobs" are noobs themselves. As there is no clear definition of the term "noob", this may or may not be entirely true.

Whilst many players use "noob" to describe a new (usually low-level) player, this is not the only meaning. The word "noob" is also used to describe someone who begs or sabotages something (sometimes unintentionally), such as destroying barricades in Castle Wars or placing them in inconvenient locations, or killing brawlers in Pest Control that are blocking other pests. The reasons behind this are typically a lack of knowledge of the game or the rules of the game, meaning that level does not necessarily come into it, though some people do this on purpose simply to annoy members of the opposing team. It may also be used to describe someone who simply acts stupidly, regardless of his or her experience. It can also refer to a player who has been playing for a while but because of some blunder can not become skilled at the game.

As the word "noob" is used so often, over time, it loses a lot of its meaning and becomes un-offensive.

A "newb" usually refers to a new player, and is also a shorter version for "newbie". It is sometimes used as an insult, and therefore loses its meaning for what it truly is. Some players even call themselves newbs (or noobs) because they need assistance.

Friends will sometimes use the word "noob" or "newb" to poke fun at each other, it is not intended to be harmful in that situation.

Another usage for the word "noob" would be in the phrase "noob account", which describes a player's secondary account, usually with lower skills and combat level.

Usage in player killing
"Noob" is very commonly used to express frustration or annoyance against others whilst player killing, usually in the Duel Arena, Fist of Guthix, Clan Wars, and practically any other player versus player (PVP) activity. Almost anything that you do whilst player-killing will cause someone at some time to refer to you as a "noob". Some things the combatant can do which may incite the word "noob" include:


 * Having a high Defence level: "def nub".
 * Having a high Attack level: "Attack noob" "att noob".
 * Having a high Strength level: "Strength noob" or "str noob".
 * Activating a protection Prayer: "prayer noob", "pray noob", "poob" or "pube".
 * Eating food when they have more than half their maximum Life Points: "safer (noob)".
 * Eating any food at all, especially in Clan Wars: "food noob", "eater (noob)", "foodie" or "foob".
 * Using potions in Clan Wars: "potter (noob)", "pot noob" or "l 2 pot (love to potion)".
 * Attacking a weakened player: "pjer (pile jumping or player jumping)) noob".
 * Teaming up on the player: "Piler Noobs" (group).
 * Tanking when piled/low on Life Points: "Tanker noob".
 * Refusal to fight or running from combat: "scared noob" or "running/runner noob", respectively.
 * Whining: "noob", "crycrycrynoob" or "QQer".
 * Killing a low levelled player: "noob pker" or "l2pknoob".
 * Not familiar with Members worlds: "fr00b".
 * A high level acting as a "noob" is a "choob".

Advantages

 * Newly made accounts can visit the Wilderness without getting harmed by any revenants except for the imps. However, they can still be attacked by the non-revenant monsters that roam the area.

References in the game


Jagex seems to have realised that noob is such a commonly used word, and they use it themselves sometimes. For example, in the God Wars Dungeon, the word "noob" is carved into the floor beneath a frozen body. "NOOB" is also an acronym for the New Order Occult Bookists. It is also used in QuickChat (although the spelling is newb), when a player presses the shortcut keys GPD4—usually when told to by another player, will return "I'm a newb" as the chat message.

Several times, a non-player character will use the word as a joke. Indeed, "noob" is such a common word that it is seen everywhere.