Some of you may have read about 'w00t' being named word of the year. It was all over yesterday's news. Today's news, however, reflected the backlash of this appointment. Here's a sampling article. There's more like this. The arguments include everything from 'it won't last' to its 'lack of a meaning.' Its a pretty hot topic.
For those who don't know, 'w00t' comes from LAN-based computer games, namely first person shooters. It basically means 'yes!' or 'i just did something very cool.' Its always spelled lowercase and with zeros, never O's.
Here's how I feel. First, the fact that people say it doesn't have staying power. w00t really came about ~2002 and has been around ever since. Its not a new word, that'd be a better argument. But its already proven it has staying power. Second, its 'lack of a meaning.' Just because most people don't use it and have never heard of it and therefore don't know how to use it doesn't mean it doesn't have a meaning. Hell, last year's word was "Truthiness." One coulmnist went so far as to say truthiness, "captured the profound epistemological uncertainty of our time." Just because you're starting to realize that you're on the downhill side of the generation gap doesn't mean you can berate my generation's words. All you know is that Colbert is cool and you heard that you were supposed to like that word. It'll be gone and irrelevant in a few years. w00t is here to stay so you old-timers might as well install a good FPS, join a clan, make up a good handle (such as Caboose or Sir Deimos), brush up on your melee skills and start Pwnng n00bs. Then, and only then, will you be 1337. Here's a reference in case you're old.
5 comments:
in your own words,
"most people don't use it and have never heard of it"
that alone makes me question the merits of its claim to "word of the year".
also, i question a word that is never spoken. (i'm assuming it is never spoken since it is used exclusively by gamers and must include zeros). how pervasive and complete can an adoption of a word be if no one ever actually says it?
how about "please"?
If for no other reason that the thick irony, I support the inclusion of 'l33t', if not w00t.
The we-don't-need-your-established-rules segment of the society adapting the term "elite"... hee hee hee.
Finally (someday I'll learn to post all my thoughts in 1 comment), I object to w00t b/c I don't think it's actually a word. Does the listing include things like "aaaaaagh" {the sound of dying/extreme displeasure}; "psssscht" {the preemptive shushing, made so popular in the Austin Powers films}; or "yeeeeehaw"? {'hey this is a good-old time blast, pardner!'}
please note that "yeeeeeehaw" is not equivalent to the more common "yeehaw" or overly studious "yee-haw" and "yea-haw"
no I agree it shouldn't be word of the year. All good points. It is spoken, though. All more often it is typed, yes.
I think that n00b has more qualifications. It started in the same place, early LAN-gaming, as a quick way to say 'newbie' or someone who's new to this game. n00b (pronounced 'newb' with no long e sound at the end) has started to find its way into non-gamers lives. w00t is still only used by a small gamer/hacker population.
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