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DanJW

w00t!

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Apparently it is word of the year:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7142257.stm

But where does it come from? Most of the suggestions in the article are laughable.

When I first heard the word about ten years ago, I was told that it derived from Unix hacker speak, namely "r00t!" for the root drive. When someone managed to access the root they would announce it in triumph.

Maybe you are closer to the truth. Tell us.

Also worth discussing, is what this net/gamer term means for geek culture. Does being word of the year mean more mainstream acceptance? Or does this announcement mean that "w00t" has had its day and will soon become completely uncool?

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I was under the impression that it'd already had its day. You hardly ever see it in online games and IRC anymore, as opposed to about five years ago where it was ubiquitous. I think this newer generation of gamers is hardly even aware of the term (referring to your Battlefield and Halo guys here), and definitely doesn't use it.

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I was under the impression that it'd already had its day. You hardly ever see it in online games and IRC anymore, as opposed to about five years ago where it was ubiquitous. I think this newer generation of gamers is hardly even aware of the term (referring to your Battlefield and Halo guys here), and definitely doesn't use it.

I think a lot of that has to do with the advent of voice communication. It kind of kills all those little stupid typo-ish insults since you sound like a total knob if you say "poned".

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Er, yes... surely it come from root? I've always thought that... from way back when people used to say 'root!'. It's the same as saying 'owned'... or 'pwned'.

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"We Own the Other Team" is the only explanation I've ever seen of it, and I think that goes right back to UT99.

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Er, yes... surely it come from root? I've always thought that... from way back when people used to say 'root!'. It's the same as saying 'owned'... or 'pwned'.

I got an early christmas present - a toaster that puts hello kitty's face on the toast and a t shirt that says "i pwn boys". i heart it.

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Oh god. If the toaster is made by the same company that made our Mickey Mouse toaster (which supposedly puts his face on the bread, but it's more like abstract art), it's fucking horrible. The whole casing gets hot as hell, and when the toast is ready it plays a really annoying and loud chime. I bet my flatmate loves to hear that when I come home from work at 5am.

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