Webster is a n00b...

So, apparently, the people who speak English in this world are getting pretty desperate. You see, the English language is approaching a huge milestone. It is "estimated" by "experts" that this milestone will happen around June 10th, of 2009. This is just a few weeks away. The milestone I am referring to of course is the 1 millionth word in the English Language. That's 1,000,000 who don't have "millionith" in your vocabulary yet. That is a lot of zeroes. According to http://tech.uk.msn.com/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=16646244 the link anyways, we are on the verge of greatness.

I, of course, don't believe in this greatness. Why? Because the English language is trying too hard to become hip. It's not hip. It's not cutting edge. It's old and has flaws, and quite honestly, I like it that way. English is a germanic language, so it, for all intents and purposes, should be difficult. I guess why I am bothered with this is the fact that there are words in there like "ain't" and "d'oh!" Words that are slang or even just a sound effect made by a fictitious character. Their are laxing their standards to achieve this goal. So naturally, it is only befitting that the 1,000,000th word be...noob.

Now, for those of you who aren't in the know, let me explain noob. Noob is a word that derives from newbie, or new person. Basically, its a sort of "rookie" if you will, and its popular usage comes not from corporate America or the government, but from gamers. Noob, in general can be used in 3 contexts as a gamer, and more often than not, an online gamer.

The first is when someone says they are genuinely new, and hence, a noob. They need help understanding the controls or finding places on a map. These noobs tend to be kind of pleasant, which, in online gaming, can be rare. It also means they generally are not referred to as noobs, but just as new. The reasoning for this is because noob generally is more derogatory of a word when used in gaming context.

The second use is in such a context. A person messes up, or does something stupid, or may even try to kill your character, but fail. This person can be labeled a noob. An example would be: You NOOB, you couldn't kill me while I was fighting something else! LMAO!!!1"

The third usage is in jest, where someone who you would consider your online friend makes an honest mistake or forgets where something is at, and your entire group mocks him and calls him a noob. He, in return, laughs, because it is only appropriate since he was an idiot.

Yes folks, this is our potential 1,000,000th word. You would think, with all the other words out there, one of them would be able to derive another word that has a little more oomph in it than noob. Apparently, Webster is a noob, since they can't think of anything else.

-Deimos