Gamers love coming up with new vernacular to describe either themselves or other people. It's gotten to the point where it's garnered a name in and of itself, "leetspeak". One of the more common terms used by gamers is "noob". Often used in a derogatory manner, people or behavior can be described as noobish or you can just flat out call the person a noob.
The Term "Noob" Has More Than One Meaning
There are two primary spellings of the word, the aforementioned "noob" and "newb". While pronounced the same, the two are generally considered to have different meanings and connotations. The latter is often extended to "newbie" to help differentiate the two meanings. This form of the word gained mainstream exposure when it became one of Dr. Cox's petnames for J.D on the sitcom, Scrubs.
Being Called a Noob is not Necessarily a Derogatory Remark or Insult
The latter spelling refers to a genuine rookie player who is still learning the ropes. Often times, such players will be referred to as "newbies" in order to differentiate from the more insulting connotation. Ironically enough, the term was an abbreviated version of newbie to begin with, so that makes for an interesting connection.
Though it Also Can Be Used As One
The more common definition of the term refers to a player who uses underhanded tactics in order to get a kill or win in a game, such as Halo. Behavior is often cited as noobish. You could also apply it to someone who knows what they're doing, but just makes stupid mistakes on a regular basis. This latter take is a more logical one as it ties into the word from which it is derived.
While the "newb" spelling is seen as a gentler version of the term, it can still be seen as an insult and is often used to deride other people.
The term eventually became a part of "leet-speak" gamer terminology and soon rose to become one of the more prominent terms heard in multi-player gaming sessions.
The term has become rather mainstream in recent years, even going so far as to be featured in recent editions of the dictionary and was a candidate for the millionth word in the English language.
The term may not be proper, and it's spelling in either form looks odd at first glance, but the word has become sort of infamous in its own right and has earned its spot in the echelons of popular culture.
Pwn
If you're into video games, you have, no doubt, heard people use the term "pwn". The term is, more often than not, seen in written form, though it is starting to become more commonplace thanks to various MMO's and online gaming networks such as Xbox Live.
The word itself came about due to the frequency in which the typo would appear, much in the same way that 'teh" became mainstream for the internet's interpretation of the word "the", "pwn" is attributed to people hitting the "p" key, when in actuality they were attempting to type "own".
As with many things, this soon took on a life of it's own and "pwning" someone is usually meant to say that the person utterly dominated a competitor in some game. It has become one of the "leetspeak" staples and one of the more common gamer/nerd terms that get thrown around.
It's most frequently seen during First Person Shooter gameplay, such as Halo or Counter-Strike matches for example, but the term can be used to describe any competitve event where one party is completely outclassed and soundly defeated.
Due to the fact that the word itself doesn't have a vowel, pronunciation of the word can be tricky. Generally, from what I've gathered it's pronounced the same way the root word is pronounced, only with a p in front of the "o", thus making it sound like "powned", though there are other pronunciations such as "pwin", "pawn", "pun", and even "own", yes some see the tail of the "p" as "silent" thus returning the word to it's roots.
Like any verb, pwn can be conjugated. In past tense, it becomes pwn'd. You can also apply prefixes, the most common one being "uber", meaning that you really got destroyed.
Some see it as a sign of the decline of civilization and the embrace of poor literary, spelling, and typing skills, but like it or not, the term has earned a place in popular vernacular.
Meme
If you've spent any time on the internet, you've probably come across several things referred to as "memes". The first thing that should be brought up is that when the term is spoken, it rhymes with "cream" so you'd think that "meem" would be a better way of spelling it, but there you go.
When I first came across the term, it was often used to describe surveys that people could take and post on their blog or social networking site. Given that most of the questions involved the writer, I figured the spelling was a way of indicating that it was an indicator of vanity, but it turns out that it's just a coincidence.
Evolution of Memes
Lately, however, memes refer to various jokes (often lines of dialogue from a movie) that are repeated frequently and spread throughout the internet. Admiral Ackbar's "It's a trap!" from "Return of the Jedi" is a prime example of a meme as not only is the phrase itself used, but variations on it are often employed for the sake of humor. For example, a coffee shop used a picture of Ackbar exclaiming "It's a frap!'
Lolcats, pictures of cats in various poses with funny captions, are a good example of a non-dialogue meme. It's a rather meta-example as the phenomenon itself is a meme, while simultaneously using other memes as the backbone of the picture's joke. Specific pictures themselves are also capable of becoming memes in their own right, so they work on several levels.
Official roots and definition of the term
It was interesting to discover that memes existed even before the internet got a hold of them. It's an actual word that has a very similar definition, only in a broader context than just amusing jokes and pictures. Even more interesting is that Atheist idol, Richard Dawkins is the one who coined the term in a book he wrote back in the mid 70's.
Dictionary.com cites the definition of a meme as
1. a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes.
2. an idea or element of social behavior passed on through generations in a culture, esp by imitation
Sometimes a person can become a meme. For example, TV actor and workout machine infomercial star Chuck Norris has done this via the "Chuck Norris facts". Sometimes the memedom (if that's not a word, it is now) is so strong that it actually eclipses the person. If you were to ask someone about Chuck Norris, the most likely response would not involve his movies or even "Walker, Texas Ranger," but rather, the various tidbits of "information" would be brought up instead.
Memes are a sociological staple, but are also darn entertaining. Whether it's internet related or not, there is no denying the power of memes in our culture.
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