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An Educated Essay on the Corrupt Social Pyramid that is Gaia |
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For the sake of common courtesy, all individuals from Gaiaonline used in this essay shall remain nameless.
Please note, that all examples and situations described in this essay are completely real, factual, situations that I myself have suffered, or witnessed
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
~Martin Luther King Jr.
If you're reading this essay it means one of three things.
Possibility 1: You're interested in what I've written or what I have to say.
Possibility 2: You're one of my friends or acquaintances and I requested that you read it.
Possibility 3: You're an uneducated self absorbent Neanderthal who needs a little enlightenment. This may also include tendency to be ignorant, rude, possibly selfish, or just downright stupid. You may think this is an insult, but it is not. Its a fact and if you do not fit any of the other possibilities above then you are exactly this.
Now lets begin with the debate of the "n00b vs. noob vs. newbie vs. 'veteran'" issue
Since the dawn of time there have always been rude people, and that will never change. However, with the invention of the Internet being proposed in 1989, and the commercial ban on it being lifted in 1992, there came a surging wave of consumers. This wonderful invention -- this Internet -- brought a staggering amount of people, many of which were all good people at heart. Sure, there are sexual predators and the like, but those are things that can be prevented. What can't be prevented is the end gamers, veterans, and self absorbent individuals who put themselves on a higher plane than everyone else. This sort of behavior is very similar to the traditions of the uneducated kings of the medieval period from when there was such poverty there was no real chance at getting an education. This is the general direction into which I'm heading with this.
First off, let me address the constant issue with consideration to other people when regarding the widely used term -- you might be familiar with it -- noob. This word can come in several different variations, with slightly different notions and meanings than the original.
I did a little research. Let me redirect your memories back to the days where many of us used the word fagot in a very derogatory, though not necessarily homosexual referring manner. Instead we'd use it instead of calling each other stupid or using other curse and slang. If any of you remember this, you'll also remember that when this problem became the attention of the board of education, they simply had the teachers tell us that fagot means "a bundle of sticks". That being said, nobody said fagot for a long time. Now when people say it, its undoubtedly intentionally used to insult ones orientation. Thats why you almost never hear it anymore because its extremely insulting and its consequences can be compared to saying the word ****** when saying it under school roofs. Do you know why we stopped saying it? Is it because it was a hurtful term and we just came to our senses? NO! it was rather, because we became more educated about it and as kids we realized that it had another meaning. That being said, the research I've done may prove similar to the days of the fagot incident. You may find the following interesting.
The word newbie is a variant of 'new boy' and comes from British public school and military slang.
Before it entered popular discourse by way of the Internet, the term "newbie" had a limited usage among U.S. troops in the Vietnam War as a slang term for a new man in a unit.[1]
Its earliest known usage on the Internet may have been on the USENET newsgroup talk.bizarre[2], and was certainly in use by 1981[3]
This changes everything, what it means is a NEW RECRUIT. Now, several decades later, the word has evolved into a point of insult, discriminatory, and even hurtful meanings that can start an argument at the drop of a pin.
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Now let me give you my opinion on the term and its incarnations.
The most hurtful of the incarnations of noob is n00b, notice the two zeros in the middle make the word look explosive. This is without a doubt, a intentional insult if someone directs it at you.
noob has a similar effect, but does not quite pack the same "in your face" attitude.
as for newb, I have seen many people use it and not mean it in a derogatory manner, but it looks like the same crap to me. But I will pay more attention from now on to see who uses it and in what context. For now I'll leave that one alone.
newbie is the only incarnation that I believe is free of hurt and insult. It describes someone who is new to something, and nothing more. I don't believe many people have ever found this one to seem too insulting.
nooblet/n00blet - This incarnation is incredibly insulting. Not only is it a shot taken in a seemingly intentional manner, but it also belittles the person its directed at. The n00b part is bad enough, but if you add the 'let' part at the end, the phonetic sound it makes with the mouth sends a message to the brain saying "hes suggesting your qualities resemble that of a child". This is a demeaning and indirect way of telling the target to "Grow up". If you think about it for a second, what I'm saying has a very valid point. What words do we know that has the suffix, 'let' at the end? Gibblet, piglet, chicklet? These are best described as what wikipedia calls, diminutive. An exact quote from that very web site helped me understand this English origin a bit more:
"A diminutive is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment."
also this:
"In many languages the meaning of diminution can be translated "tiny" or "wee" and diminutives are used frequently when speaking to small children; adult people sometimes use diminutives when they express extreme tenderness and intimacy by behaving and talking like children."
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After having read all this, I bring the point of focus back to the veterans, end gamers, and the like, hereby from this point forward referred to as the Exi. for short. (standing for experienced individuals)
Please do NOT take this essay as a way to chuck a ninja star at your feelings, as I am fully aware no two people are alike and that not all Exi are ignorant and rude.
Let me explain something. I've been playing Final Fantasy 11 Online for almost 3 years now and when I first started, people would call me a newbie. I hardly EVER saw anyone call anyone else a n00b or its incarnates. The term was treated as if it were a swear word, which is how it SHOULD be treated. The only time I ever caught the dreaded N word was when it was directed toward someone who truly was ignorant, and didn't take the advice of the exi on how to play the game. This information always was helpful, but some people took the game as an inventation to play however they pleased. That's a very innocent and idealistic thought, and would make sense right? You pay for a game and you get to play however you want? Wrong. Final Fantasy 11, unlike most mmo's not only encourages, but even forces team work upon the people who play it. Once you've reached level 10 with your character you can no longer kill things for experience points on your own, but rather now you need a team of 5 other people to help you with similar levels to your own.
Now the newbies that thought they could play and do whatever they wanted, would try things as creative as using a great axe for a mages weapon with a warrior sub job. Its exactly this kind of creativity that was frowned upon, but not because it was stupid, but because a mage wielding an axe would not be effective in a party at all. Square Enix purposely designed the game so that your practically forced to play your class the way it was traditionally intended to be. A Black Mage using giant axes would not have a very high maximum great axe skill and would constantly miss at a 99.99% miss rate. Even if it struck the target it'd do 0-1 damage.
My point is this: The reason we called them n00bs was not a personal attack, but rather, we simply stated their ignorance and let them be. We knew they'd all learn eventually the harsh realities of the game.
Gaiaonline, you should seriously consider using this online game as a role model, mimic the people of Final Fantasy 11 and show some courtesy. "Treat people the way you want to be treated" as the saying goes. Apparently that rule does not apply on gaiaonline.
Not only is n00b a very commonly used term on gaia, but its used even in the wrong context as an intentional attempt to insult the target. This is again, much like the days where we kids would say fagot.
Wheres the proof in this? Just a little while ago I witnessed someone who wore over 1 million gold worth in outfit expenses, she was with her male friend and they were getting very romantic and cute. I watched them for a bit when two punks stepped over and commented like it was nothing "noob love". How could she be a noob? She was wearing expensive equipment? Or is that no longer the way you shed your 'noob title' from your character?
There are some people who cant type correctly due to a stroke in their hand or dyslexia. If they're missing conjunctions in their sentences people look at their clothing, if its starter stuff, they would undoubtedly call that person a noob. But why? Just because they cant talk straight? or is it the clothing? Or perhaps its both? For all we know that person could just be using their mule.
(in case you didn't know a mule is an extra created character that is made for several reasons. In Final Fantasy 11, most people create mules to hold extra items that their main characters cannot fit into their inventory, but dont want to toss away. On Gaia, it could be to use that mule to be able to take advantage of the daily chance multiple times, or the gold bonus associated with posting comments or forum posts.)
I don't mean to repeat myself so I won't, but I will expand upon my views in the impression of a player based on their attitude. When peOpLE TYPE LIKE THIS sumtims other players look at it as sort of annoying and based on that, they are given their first impression of another user. Their typing skills are the first thing that most people notice after the appearance of an avatar. Those two things combine in some egotistical minds to make up what they perceive as the persons full intelligence. Now, granted, illiterate people who type like that ARE rather undesired, but I do not insult them solely based on that. I may say something rude to people at times if they say something I found offensive. I will NEVER say the "n" word at them however and it would have nothing to do with their spelling, grammar or avatar.
Some people who wear cheap clothing and fit this description of noob may say "I've never been bullied like that before". Well the experience of one not as strong of an argument as the experience of many, so lets take a look at another example.
A male player is in the pool with another female player showing signs of affection, and two exi's stand on the side and mutter "noob love lol". It does not matter what those two are wearing, because they're not even paying attention to that. The thing they're paying attention to is the fact that they're showing internet romance. They weren't cybering, or getting too graphic, just simple cute stuff. There wasn't anything wrong with that, yet they're noobs for doing it. Why? Maybe because the exi doesn't believe in internet romance? Quite possibly... but did he even stop to think that maybe those two people know each other in real life and are simply using Gaia as a medium for communication?
Take this example seriously because its a true story. On another note, the girl in that situation was wearing a piece of clothing worth over 150,000 gold. I still don't believe she was a noob at all.
Heres another point I'd like to make. exi's of this game think they aren't noobs for the sole reason that they've been playing longer. Okay ... but how MUCH longer does it take? If someone has played on gaia one day more than I have, does that make me a noob in comparison to him? I think not. What about armor/clothing? If a person is wearing starter clothing they're a newbie! right? Well, maybe, but it could be a mule. (The reason why I say newbie is because I'm referring to new people to gaia. If I say noob or n00b or newb, its a slur of ignorance directed at the target.) Even if they are wearing starter clothing or hair styles, who cares? Some people don't particularly like to wear the more expensive stuff. It's not always because its too expensive, but maybe they simply don't like they way they look. I personally put things on my wish list based on what the piece looks like, not based on price. I have starter outfits on there, but I also have an angelic scarf!!!
Lets take a look at another situation related to the attire based noob classification:
My good friend has finally achieved his dream avatar. I must say he does look quite stylish. Heck who am I kidding? It looks BADASS!!! However the most expensive piece he has on him is a 15,000G sword. How could THAT be his dream avatar? Simple! He wanted all the pieces that he has on since the day he started gaia, and had set out on a goal to get the gold to buy them all! This was no easy task, as he did it all with one character. He does not possess any mules, he thinks they're too much tedious work. (He also plays final fantasy 11, and believe me if its anything us ff11 players are sick to death of its tedious work.) He based his avatar to look like the main character of a novel he was writing. One day he walked into towns, still wearing his outfit with pride, when an exi player entered. This player had staggeringly expensive equipment on him, however it looked like a pawn shop threw up in his dresser and he didn't notice. He muttered n00b at my friend. Tell me, was that right? My friend has no more use for gold simply because he has everything he wants now. Sure he's wearing a pair of starter pants, and ADORES his starter hair style, but does that make him any less of a person? No. In fact he is a highly advanced computer student in a university. He figured out everything he knew about gaia in less than a few days. It came rather easy to him being a ff11 player, but ... n00b? I don't think hes a noob at all... maybe a newbie... but not a n00b.
When I asked this exi about the situation, asking him why he thought my friend was a noob, it was mainly because he was wearing cheap armor. I was intrigued, so I asked him about his armor. He thought it looked cool on himself, I on the other hand thought this exi had just thrown random expensive equipment together in an attempt to avoid the noob slur being sent at him from other players.
I asked him one more thing, "do you not think my friends equipment is cool" he responded with a simple no. Well, who cares? right? My friend liked his armor, and thats all he cared about. Nobody else has to approve of something like that in order to deserve common courtesy!
Upon this response, my friend proceeded to tell him "well it was my dream avatar for a long time, and I really like it!" The exi responded with an utterly rude and sarcastic sigh gesture. "Surrrrre its your dream avi" he said. He didnt BELIEVE HIM!
My conclusion to this situation is simply this: It doesn't have to be expensive or high priced in order for it to be cool or attractive. Sure there are a lot of neat things you can buy with a good amount of gold in your bank, but when a goth has to decide between a pair of black pants for 300 gold, and a pair of green ones for 300,000 gold, the goth is in all situations probably going to choose the black ones regardless of the price.
In another similar situation, yesterday, I was greeted with two different exi's. One was a nice girl, the other one was a idiot male. He called me names and even set up cones around him and his exi friends to separate himself from all the "n00bs" as he put it. Any time someone would sit down near them, he would yell at them and verbally insult them until they left. Its exactly this kind of childish behavior that is related to that of our historical kings from back in the medieval period, where nobody's head could be higher than that of the kings, thats why they put him up on a throne on an elevated platform. It was a sign of authority and respect. It was also a self absorbent way to think that your better than everyone else, much like these ignorant exi's do.
Again, in conclusion, the world of Gaia online needs to chill, and learn from the mistakes of the past, look to the future, and keep kind heart. Its understandable if you get annoyed at people because they type in all caps, but to call them a noob just for that is simply not acceptable. Instead, try to help them, tell them their caps lock is on, they may not realize it!
As one last final note, if someone insults you for the type of armor or clothing your avatar wears by calling you a noob, remember noob is a slang term, and a synonym for "ignorant". if you like what you're wearing and you find it quite cool or attractive looking, dont even respond. More than likely they're wearing a flurry of ice fire electric lightning masks and sharp objects of many different variations. In my opinion, that sort of character does NOT look good one bit. Instead of responding with rebellion do yourself and everyone like you a favor and respond with this simple post:
"lol"
Laugh at their ignorance, for it is THEY who is the noob. Laughing and walking away will hurt them more than anything else you can hit them with.
The one who calls you n00b may even have been a high school flunkie and has nothing better to do than to stir up conflict. I was called a n00b yesterday, and I'm 20 years old and I have an associates degree in computer science. What have they done with their life? Hmm...
 Kitsume88 · Wed Sep 10, 2008 @ 12:49am · 0 Comments |
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