newbie

/n[y]oobee/ , 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.

