newbie

jargon /n[y]oo'bee/ (Originally from British public-school

and military slang variant of "new boy") An inexperienced user

of Usenet or other system.

This term surfaced in the newsgroup news: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 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 BIFF.

[Jargon File]

(1998-02-18)