Source: The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003)
newbie
/n[y]oo'bee/, n.
[very common; orig. from British public-school and military slang variant
of ?new boy?] A Usenet neophyte. This term surfaced in the newsgroup
talk.bizarre but is now in wide use (the combination ?clueless newbie? is
especially common). Criteria for being considered a newbie vary wildly; a
person can be called a newbie in one newsgroup while remaining a respected
regular in another. The label newbie is sometimes applied as a serious
insult to a person who has been around Usenet for a long time but who
carefully hides all evidence of having a clue. See B1FF; see also
gnubie. Compare chainik, luser.
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 July 2010)
newbie
noob
/n[y]oo'bee/ (Sometimes shorted to "noob") Originally
from British public-school and military slang variant of "new
boy", an inexperienced user.
This term surfaced in the newsgroupnews:talk.bizarre but
is now in wide use. Criteria for being considered a newbie
vary wildly; a person can be called a newbie in one group
while remaining a respected regular in another. The label
"newbie" is sometimes applied as a serious insult to a person
who has been around for a long time but who carefully hides
all evidence of having a clue.
See BIFF.
[Jargon File]
(2007-08-02)