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'w00t' Named 2007 Word of the Year

bukharin writes "'w00t', the "small word that packs a pretty big punch", has been named Word of the Year for 2007 by dictionary gurus Merriam-Webster. Visitors to the Merriam-Webster website were asked to vote for one of 20 commonly searched words and phrases. Facebook was the runner-up. Previously honored geek words include google (runner-up in 2006) and blog (winner in 2004)."

244 comments

  1. What? by Gigiya · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I haven't seen anyone use "w00t" in about three years.

    1. Re:What? by Laebshade · · Score: 4, Funny

      ya rly

    2. Re:What? by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's definitely on the decline in nerd culture. I guess the rest of the world is picking through our discards.

      --
      ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
    3. Re:What? by skoaldipper · · Score: 1

      There is already Ubuntu code in Linspire, which you can pay for (w00t!).
      said Mark Shuttleworth - circa Nov. 2005 if memory serves.

      All I have to say is w03! We owned the English! Language, that is...
      --
      I hope, when they die, cartoon characters have to answer for their sins.
    4. Re:What? by iapetus · · Score: 1

      So? When was the last time you saw anyone use 'sardoodledom' (one of the other nominees)?

      --
      ++ Say to Elrond "Hello.".
      Elrond says "No.". Elrond gives you some lunch.
    5. Re:What? by Etrias · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's hard to see it in any context but geek culture. I can't imagine that many people will even think it means anything other than some other misspelling.

      Ladies and gentlemen, Merriam-Webster has officially jumped the shark.

    6. Re:What? by Etrias · · Score: 1

      What's even more ridiculous is that it's a backronym, where the definition is invented after the word is made up. "We owned the other team?" That's the definition. I always thought it to more of a general saying of approval or celebration.

      Now all of these posers will have our secret geek password. I vote we get another one. Goatse, anyone?

    7. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's true, I was shocked this year to hear w00t being said by sorority girls at my university...
      I was like...hey...you can't use that word...thats OUR word

    8. Re:What? by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 1

      Certainly not by anyone around here. Three days, three years, what's the difference?

    9. Re:What? by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 1

      Yeah it means something like 'great' or 'woo' (which it's probably historically related to).

      'we owned the other team' doesn't even make sense in the context that it's used.

    10. Re:What? by Billosaur · · Score: 3, Funny

      Word!!!

      --
      GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
    11. Re:What? by mecenday · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, people have just been so bummed since Bush was reelected.

      --
      Tautologies, they are what they are.
    12. Re:What? by Mr+Z · · Score: 1

      The last time? I haven't seen it used in a sentence for the first time. (Mentioning it by reference doesn't count.)

    13. Re:What? by Elemenope · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A friend of mine's license plate is w00t. And he's a geek but by no means a cripplingly stunted one. Then again, the fact that the license plate was available says loads about just how important this word is to geek culture...not very.

      re: Dictionaries jumping the shark...no kidding. Then again, dictionaries aren't supposed to be up to date so much as a conservative normalizing force in language usage. IIRC, the first dictionaries were intended to regularize spelling variations, more so than be comprehensive catalogues of words in usage.

      --
      All the techniques ever used to make men moral have been themselves thoroughly immoral... (Nietzsche)
    14. Re:What? by dlZ · · Score: 1

      What's even more ridiculous is that it's a backronym, where the definition is invented after the word is made up. "We owned the other team?" That's the definition. I always thought it to more of a general saying of approval or celebration.

      I remember using 'w00t' in IRC something like 15 or more years ago. I'm sure I wasn't the first. I don't even remember the last time I used it, but when I did, it was definitely being used as a way of saying 'woo!' or 'yay!' and had nothing to do with "We owned the other team."

      --
      rm -rf ./evidence @ punkcomp
    15. Re:What? by oblonski · · Score: 1

      I seem to recall "wow, loot!" from the MUD days, which then entered IRC rooms with two zeros and contracted to w00t?

      --
      Move along now, nothing to see here! Go on!
    16. Re:What? by dintech · · Score: 1

      This sounds like the equivalent of your dad trying to be down and hip with the kids.

    17. Re:What? by belthize · · Score: 1


            I was going to claim BS ... then I did some quick math ... wait a second
      15 years ago was 1992 ? That can't be right 15 years ago was 1983 ... wasn't it.
      Apparently my brain has wiped the last decade.

      Belthize
      ps: For what it's worth the leading theory is w00t came from the song "whoot, there it is"
      in 93 which puts your recollection bang on.

    18. Re:What? by CrazyTalk · · Score: 1

      They were discussing this on the Radio this morning. Most of the DJs never heard of "W00t" and the one who did thought it was related to online gambling. That's the REAL WTF.

    19. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At Merriam-Webster, only old people jump the shark.

    20. Re:What? by Xtravar · · Score: 1

      It's definitely older than that. I remember it being a fad while I was playing Quake 2... before Quake 3 came out.

      On a side note, is it sad that I am using Quake releases as a measure of time?

      --
      Buckle your ROFL belt, we're in for some LOLs.
    21. Re:What? by odourpreventer · · Score: 3, Funny

      We pwned the English!

      Fixed that for you.

    22. Re:What? by Palpitations · · Score: 4, Funny

      So? When was the last time you saw anyone use 'sardoodledom' (one of the other nominees)? That's quite a conundrum. I'm not trying to start a blamestorm here, but it appears you may be an apathetic charlatan. Sardoodledom.

      Sorry, someone had to do it (w00t!).
    23. Re:What? by pohl · · Score: 1, Redundant

      NO WAI!

      --

      The "cue the foo posts in 3, 2, 1..." posts will commence with no subsequent foo posts in 3, 2, 1...

    24. Re:What? by defile39 · · Score: 1

      Kewl! This is so, like . . . 1999 . . . makes me feel l33t all over again.

    25. Re:What? by runlvl0 · · Score: 3, Funny

      It's hard to see it [w00t] in any context but geek culture.

      I don't know, I stay up most every night until 12:01 waiting for the next w00t. When there's a woot-off, forget about it - I'm up all night!

      Of course, my wife has observed that I might have a w00t *problem*.

      Wowwee Roboquad Interactive Robot, LeakFrog 2-Pack,Micro Remote Control Helicopter, Xact Seven Mile Professional Two-Way Radios, Jabra C820s Noise Canceling Headphones, Microsoft Zune 30GB Digital Media Player, SanDisk Sansa e250 2GB Media Player, Saitek A100 MySpkr Personal Stereo Speaker, Netgear 802.11g Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter - 2 Pack, Nyko Air Flo EX USB Controller for PC/MAC - 2 Pack, Xact 2-Way FRS/GMRS Wristwatch Radios, Pinnacle DVD Maker Deluxe, USB Missile Launcher, Sony NW-S703 1GB MP3 Player with Noise Cancelling Headphones, Chaucer's Mead Trio, HealthPro Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor, Gourmet Coffee Cafe Single Serving Coffeemaker with Free Coffee, Sling Media SlingBox Classic, Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 w/ GPS Locator Hardware, Netgear 108Mbps Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter, iRobot Roomba 4296 Remote Scheduler Robotic Vacuum, Siemens Bluetooth Car Kit

      I suspect that I may have been 0wn3d.
      --

      Carthago delenda est!
    26. Re:What? by ari+wins · · Score: 1

      It's obvious the world now views WoW players as the "nerd" community. It's a travesty, really. I guess millions of female dark-elves now constitute a majority.

      FWIW, I used to woot all the time, playing majormud on a 14.4 modem connected to a local MBBS system. That was, what, 10+ years ago?

      --
      Don't worry if you're a kleptomaniac, you can always take something for it.
    27. Re:What? by cicatrix1 · · Score: 1

      Except that the "words" to that song are "woomp, there it is". Woomp.

      Carry on.

      --

      I know more than you drink.
    28. Re:What? by Achoi77 · · Score: 1

      I think you've meant to say:

      lol wut

    29. Re:What? by belthize · · Score: 1


            Dang, well you should probably let the artist know they've been getting
      it wrong all these years.

      http://www.lyricsdownload.com/95-south-whoot-there-it-is-lyrics.html

            There were two songs released in '93, one with whoomp and with whoot.

      Belthize
      ps: I never listened to or cared for either song ... google took care of it for me.

    30. Re:What? by operagost · · Score: 1

      pwned

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    31. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cowabunga!

    32. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have chat logs from it being used regularly on a 40-line TBBS system circa 1995, with zeroes and everything. So yeah, way prior art than anything related to WoW.

      This is *ancient* in my book, and I can't imagine any self-respecting nerd or user typing it today in any other context than sarcasm. It blows my mind that it was selected as a word of the year.

    33. Re:What? by sorrowsjudge · · Score: 1

      Too bad the song is "Whoomp, there it is"...

    34. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you don't go on the internet anymore?

    35. Re:What? by Mr+Z · · Score: 1

      Yeah it means something like 'great' or 'woo' (which it's probably historically related to).

      That and its proximity to "root" made it popular among skript kiddiez back in the day. I remember hearing "w00t" in college, and that was, oh... way too long ago.

    36. Re:What? by Drooling+Iguana · · Score: 1

      And here I was thinking that the shark jumped THEM.

      --
      ... I'm addicted to placebos
    37. Re:What? by chemisus · · Score: 1

      you must be from soviet russia...

    38. Re:What? by genner · · Score: 1

      Is the fact that I find nothing sad about the above statement sad in itself?

    39. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I was like...hey...you can't use that word...thats OUR word

      Well, that's theirs....
    40. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eh? Weird. Never heard the other one.

    41. Re:What? by kayditty · · Score: 0

      Three years? Try ten.

    42. Re:What? by Torvaun · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but the last woot-off didn't have the Bag of Crap it was supposed to. Disappointment.

      --
      I see your informative link, and raise you a pithy comment.
    43. Re:What? by PeelBoy · · Score: 1

      3 years? I haven't heard anybody say that since ~1999

    44. Re:What? by Puff+of+Logic · · Score: 1

      We pwned the English!

      Fixed that for you.

      Oh come on, mods. Parent was hardly a troll!
      --
      P.P.S. I'm doing Science and I'm still alive.
    45. Re:What? by ak_hepcat · · Score: 1

      I'm still torqued at Woot for not shipping to Alaska.

      Bloody barbarians.

      --
      Support FSF: Stop thinking with your wallet, and think with your imagination. (cc/non-commercial)
    46. Re:What? by mrv20 · · Score: 1

      Without wishing to sound like a Pecksniffian hypocrite, your attempts to use all of the words in the list are at best quixotic.


      More importantly, who on earth voted to come up with this list. I fail to believe half the words in there could get more than one nomination without some serious ballot stuffing.

      --
      "Algebraical symbols are used when you don't know what you are talking about" - BCS
    47. Re:What? by andersa · · Score: 1

      Wørd!!!
      fixed it for you..
  2. What??? by tritonman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Who still uses w00t? I haven't used that since like 1998... What's the PHRASE of 2007, "All your base are belong to us?"

    1. Re:What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      According to my inbox, the most popular word for 2007 appears to be "V1@grA"

    2. Re:What??? by webmaster404 · · Score: 5, Funny

      No the key phrase for years 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 is "This is the year of Linux on the desktop"

      --
      There is no "disagree" moderation, and troll, flamebait and overrated are not valid substitutes
    3. Re:What??? by SCHecklerX · · Score: 3, Funny

      This year I'm thinking of getting jerseys made and leading a team at the 24 hours of big bear as "Team V1@gra". Our motto, also on the jerseys, will be "Ride Hard"

    4. Re:What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But has Netcraft confirmed it yet?

    5. Re:What??? by Luminus · · Score: 0

      quote from TFA-"This year's winning word first became popular in competitive online gaming forums as part of what is known as l33t ("leet," or "elite") speak -- an esoteric computer hacker language in which numbers and symbols are put together to look like letters."

      Esoteric computer hacker language?
      Please.

      How would these people define pig latin? "A sophisticated and secretive juvenile code, in which consonants are shifted to the end of the word and the suffix "-Ay" is added to complete the transition?"

      (They actually define it as "a jargon that is made by systematic alteration of English". Which IMO is a far better definition of leet speak.)

      old people ftw!

    6. Re:What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Linux is on my desktop. It's on the desktop of many scientists, engineers, and general techie types, and lately (especially outside the USA) the desktops of many a corporate drone. "The Desktop" seems to be a bit like "AI", once you get a chunk, it's redefined. "That's not 'The Desktop' we mean!". Well, fuck you. Linux is on the desktop right now, bitches.

    7. Re:What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "This is the year of Linux on the desktop"

      Yes, yes it is.

      I downloaded the ISOs, burned them to CD, and they're still sitting on my desktop.

    8. Re:What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In all seriousness, though: I've been using Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon on my Dell laptop, with Desktop Effects on . . . and it is, seriously, a great desktop experience. I've had a ton of "Woah! That looks awesome!" comments from Windows users.
      I have had to do modify config files here and there (for example, to get 915resolution going to get the laptop's LCD working at full resolution), but . . . almost everything else has worked right out of the box. From where I'm sitting, the Year of the Linux (Ubuntu, anyway) Desktop is definitely getting closer. (If it's not here already.)

    9. Re:What??? by Nexcis · · Score: 0

      I used it just yesterday in an IRC channel.. Albeit I haven't probably used it for at least a year before that. I was quite happy and excited about something and that's what came naturally.

    10. Re:What??? by jammindice · · Score: 1

      Oh, i thought the phrase might have been "Duke Nukem Forever will be out next year!"

      --
      - My uid ends in 69...
    11. Re:What??? by Mr+Z · · Score: 1

      Heh... Linux has been my desktop for 14 years now.

    12. Re:What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Couldn't it be...

      Leeeeeeeeeeeroooooooooooooooooooy Jenkins!!!

    13. Re:What??? by Fear+the+Clam · · Score: 0

      It's true! I'm running Fellatio Fox right now, but I'm going to update to Gonorrhea Gorilla this weekend!

    14. Re:What??? by filthpickle · · Score: 5, Funny

      I would have voted for MegaDik. Some of those MegaDik spams are funnier than entire episodes of Everybody loves Raymond. My favorite is: " Now that you've got a gal that's hot You wanna hump her moistened twat. She looks so sizzling, she's so nice! But would your penile size suffice? Not sure she will long for more? You need a thing she would adore! But how to get it long and thick? Your only chance is MegaDik! You'll get so wanted super-size And see wild craving in her eyes! Your rod will bang her box so deep, Tonight you'll hardly fall asleep! " Although the fact that they are having "Holiday Specials" now is pretty damn funny too.

    15. Re:What??? by webmaster404 · · Score: 0, Troll

      Its been on mine for around 6 months now. And prehaps 2008 will be the year of Linux on the desktop with MS shooting itself in the foot with Office 2007, Vista, and DRM.

      --
      There is no "disagree" moderation, and troll, flamebait and overrated are not valid substitutes
    16. Re:What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You get ads in your inbox? Guess I've been spoiled by running my own damn mail server.

    17. Re:What??? by cHiphead · · Score: 1

      I would think pwned is more appropriate, additionally, it actually matches their fucked up definition of w00t.

      Cheers.

      --

      This is my sig. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    18. Re:What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In all seriousness, mark my words: Last three years and next two years conform the quinquennium of Linux on the desktop.

    19. Re:What??? by ari_j · · Score: 4, Funny
    20. Re:What??? by flosofl · · Score: 1

      That's almost like an old Burma Shave ad, except... nasty.

      --
      "This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence" - Vyvyan "The Young Ones"
    21. Re:What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow... could you try to karma whore any more? On another note, my liscense plate says woot.

    22. Re:What??? by aknowles · · Score: 1

      another motto... "Up all night" it is a 24 hr race after all...

    23. Re:What??? by mattwarden · · Score: 4, Funny

      Also funnier than Everybody Loves Raymond:

      1) dead tree stump
      2) Charles Manson
      3) Carrot Top

      Ok, maybe that last one was a little too far...

    24. Re:What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, but at least "Raymond" is funnier than that painfully not-funny show, "Futurama"

    25. Re:What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's actually a software system called Megadisc. My co-worker almost routinely transforms the name to a slightly less correct form, which may be telling about the way he feels about that software.

    26. Re:What??? by turing_m · · Score: 1

      By that logic, I suppose in 2016 the word of the day will be phail.

      --
      If I have seen further it is by stealing the Intellectual Property of giants.
    27. Re:What??? by stor · · Score: 1

      So _that's_ what happened to Dr. Seuss.

      -Stor

      --
      "Yeah well there's a lot of stuff that should be, but isn't"
    28. Re:What??? by SCHecklerX · · Score: 1

      I like it! :)

  3. Didn't get the Memo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What a n00b, the word of the year every year is your choice of pr0n or b00bs and don't forget 3.

    1. Re:Didn't get the Memo by smittyoneeach · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The memo I seemed to miss is that "word", in the written language context, now accepts embedded numerals.
      Maybe we can solve the overload problem by suffixing a word with a non-pronounced number pointing to the definition intended by the writer, e.g. love2: "a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend", instead of love3: "sexual passion or desire".
      Of course, many careers are founded upon the existing ambiguity...

      --
      Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
    2. Re:Didn't get the Memo by capnchicken · · Score: 1

      Brilliant! Screw this procedural English language, we need overloading, we need encapsulation, we need inheritance, by Job we need an Object Oriented language!

      --
      A libertarian shat on my carpet once. Claimed the free market would sort it out. -Ford Prefect(8777)
    3. Re:Didn't get the Memo by smittyoneeach · · Score: 1

      I submit that we already have such. The merry confusion stems from our non-grasp of reality.

      --
      Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
    4. Re:Didn't get the Memo by digitig · · Score: 3, Insightful

      e.g. love: "a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend", instead of lust: "sexual passion or desire". There, fixed that for you.
      --
      Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
    5. Re:Didn't get the Memo by smittyoneeach · · Score: 1

      No, my example was derived from http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=love
      But the point you raise, standardizing the reference for the English language, would be a jolly food-fight, indeed.

      --
      Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
    6. Re:Didn't get the Memo by wanderingknight · · Score: 1

      e.g. love2: "a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend", instead of love3: "sexual passion or desire".

      Don't you mean "Love", "Lovara" and "Lovaga"? Quit playing old translations, please.

    7. Re:Didn't get the Memo by wanderingknight · · Score: 1

      I suck at previewing.

    8. Re:Didn't get the Memo by billcopc · · Score: 1

      Maybe we can solve the overload problem by forcing everyone to learn (proper) French, where everything has 30 words to describe it in similar yet subtly colored details. I'm sure there are lots of other highly verbose languages, but French is the one I know. I've lost count of how many pointless arguments I've triggered through ambiguous usage of "one fits all" English words that would make any lawyer salivate.

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
    9. Re:Didn't get the Memo by digitig · · Score: 1

      Ah, well, the dictionary has to assume that when a man tells a woman he loves her, when really he's just trying to get into her pants, then he's telling the truth so that's what the word must mean. That's what comes of words being defined by usage.

      --
      Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
    10. Re:Didn't get the Memo by smittyoneeach · · Score: 1

      No, you simply trade flavors of problem, as the food-fight moves to the medically correct definition of "(proper) French".
      The only real advantage I see is that the French have a government entity empowered to define "French", non?

      --
      Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
    11. Re:Didn't get the Memo by bvimo · · Score: 1

      I hope you don't suck at love3.

      --
      In either case, here at Microsoft, we feel standards are important. And we have fun, too. Doug Mahugh, Microsoft
    12. Re:Didn't get the Memo by LogicHoleFlaw · · Score: 1

      So how long until we see "less than 3" in there? 3

      --
      -- Flaw
    13. Re:Didn't get the Memo by LogicHoleFlaw · · Score: 1

      <3, even.

      Stupid filters.

      --
      -- Flaw
    14. Re:Didn't get the Memo by erdraug · · Score: 1

      I hope you don't suck at love3. Unless you are female.
  4. That is quite exciting by eln · · Score: 4, Funny

    I am elated by this news. I feel a great sense of triumph that this word has received such an honor. If only there were some word that could express my happiness at this victory for geek-kind, perhaps a word with numbers substituted for letters somewhere.

    Oh well, I guess I'll just go with "yay".

    1. Re:That is quite exciting by Shabbs · · Score: 1, Troll

      I'll bet 95% of the "kids" using it these days don't even know where it comes from or what it really means. Hell, some of them probably weren't even BORN when it started being used. Kids... sigh...

      --
      Mark
    2. Re:That is quite exciting by somersault · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm guessing it's from ancient samurai culture. w00t pants! *boogies*

      --
      which is totally what she said
    3. Re:That is quite exciting by Mister+Transistor · · Score: 1

      Didn't you mean "y4y"?

      --
      -- You are in a maze of little, twisty passages, all different... --
    4. Re:That is quite exciting by lostsatellite82 · · Score: 1

      Honestly I have no idea where it came from so like any good slashdotter, I ran to wiki and then called my search over.

      http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/w00t

      Wiki doesn't even know the true origin of the word and while I joke about the correctness of wiki, when it comes to pop culture and memes, there is no better source than a million dorks the world over pouring their hobbies into a database.

    5. Re:That is quite exciting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A truly good slashdotter would understand that there are many wikis on the Internet, and stop referring to Wikipedia as the one "wiki".

    6. Re:That is quite exciting by brenddie · · Score: 1, Informative

      i remember reading it came from loot
      "look loot", "wow loot", "woot", "w00t"

      --
      The best test environment is production. - Me
      chrome://browser/content/browser.xul
    7. Re:That is quite exciting by Darfeld · · Score: 1

      But wikipedia IS the One! It alter reality!

      --
      (\__/) This is Lapinator
      (='.'=) copy it in your sig
      (")_(") so it can take over the world
    8. Re:That is quite exciting by Shabbs · · Score: 1

      HA! My reply got modded down for being a troll.

      w00t!!!

      --
      Mark
    9. Re:That is quite exciting by TheVelvetFlamebait · · Score: 1

      Y4Y?

      --
      You know, there is a difference between trolling and pointing out the flaws in your reasoning. Just saying.
    10. Re:That is quite exciting by stor · · Score: 1
      --
      "Yeah well there's a lot of stuff that should be, but isn't"
  5. a word with numbers in it? by rodney+dill · · Score: 1

    I thought the correct representation was w00t, with 'zeroes' and not capital O's, as in wOOt.

    --

    Use your head, can't you, use your head,
    You're on earth, there's no cure for that
    - S. Beckett
    1. Re:a word with numbers in it? by Jugalator · · Score: 1

      ?

      But that's what the article is saying too. w00t, not wOOt.

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
    2. Re:a word with numbers in it? by techpawn · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I mean, how "correct" are we being with this. I always thought w00t was a l33t thing. I have never seen it used outside of computer geek circles really and it's assumed that j00r sp34k1n6 1|\| l33t s0 7h3 00z 4r3 7h3r3.

      I guess there is some truthiness with how they pick their words though.

      --
      Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country did to you
    3. Re:a word with numbers in it? by dryueh · · Score: 1

      If you were to look at the linked article, you'd see that, yes, w00t is spelled with zeroes, not "O's".

    4. Re:a word with numbers in it? by Xinef+Jyinaer · · Score: 1

      Never would I have imagined that a post containing 13375|>34| would be modded insightful, what an age we live in.

      --
      Some days I just get bored and Troll post all the memes I can think of...
    5. Re:a word with numbers in it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess there is some truthiness with how they pick their words though. Truthiness: the worst word in the English language, coined by someone who was too stupid to be aware of the word "verisimilitude"...

    6. Re:a word with numbers in it? by Xinef+Jyinaer · · Score: 1
      Truthiness: n. The state of wishing things to be true; also, conformity to beliefs one feels or wishes to be true
      verisimilitude: n. The appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability: The play lacked verisimilitude.


      Good try though.

      --
      Some days I just get bored and Troll post all the memes I can think of...
  6. w00t! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    w00t!

    1. Re:w00t! by ircmaxell · · Score: 1

      There's always woot.com... That's been gaining popularity rapidly...

      --
      If a man isn't willing to take some risk for his opinions, either his opinions are no good or he's no good
  7. Veni, Vidi, Vici by syntaxeater · · Score: 5, Funny

    can now be summarized as "mount, grep, w00t"

    1. Re:Veni, Vidi, Vici by gotem · · Score: 1

      no, I think pwned would be more suitable.
      Hey! that one should be the 2008 word of the year

    2. Re:Veni, Vidi, Vici by belthize · · Score: 1


            It's comments like that which make me think there may be something to this whole interweb thing after all...

      Belthize

    3. Re:Veni, Vidi, Vici by BrewedInTexas · · Score: 4, Funny

      gawk, date, grep, touch, finger, unzip, strip, mount, fsck, fsck, fsck, yes, yes, yes, unmount, make clean, zip, sleep

    4. Re:Veni, Vidi, Vici by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      That's umount.

  8. google by superwiz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The only reason google lost is because the criterion was the most "commonly searched for words". If someone can already search, how likely are they to search for "google"?

    --
    Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
    1. Re:google by blitzkrieg3 · · Score: 1
      ... or because they already won 'word of the year' last year.

      I think they based the criterion on the most popular word, that is, the one with the most votes. From TFA:

      Thousands of you took part in the search for Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2007, and the vast majority of you chose a small word that packs a pretty big punch.
      Why they all chose this word (presumably the word should be current), no one knows. Maybe the gaming community thought it was time they got their due.
    2. Re:google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      actually, i remember reading somewhere that the most commonly searched word on Yahoo! is the word google.

    3. Re:google by Fozzyuw · · Score: 1

      If someone can already search, how likely are they to search for "google"?

      I admit. I typed "Yahoo" into Google before. =P

      --
      "The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth." ~1984 George Orwell
    4. Re:google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you type the word "google" into Google, you'll break the internet.

    5. Re:google by piltdownman84 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Who searhes for "w00t"?

    6. Re:google by superwiz · · Score: 2, Funny

      Who searhes for "w00t"?

      nOObs? ;)

      --
      Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
    7. Re:google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      DO NOT type "Google" into Google!!! You'll break the Internet!

      Sheesh, everyone knows that.

    8. Re:google by treofan · · Score: 1

      Nobody types "google" into "google". "I have it on good authority, that if you type "Google" into Google, you'll break the internet. Don't even try it, not even as a joke."

      Anyone? L0L

  9. Yes but... by gentooligan · · Score: 1

    ...what is the w00t of the year?

  10. I can just see the future... by east+coast · · Score: 4, Funny

    Word of the year in 2012? Über.

    2013: Slashvertisement
    2014: fucktard
    2015:1337

    --
    Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
    1. Re:I can just see the future... by somersault · · Score: 4, Funny

      2011: lolcat

      --
      which is totally what she said
    2. Re:I can just see the future... by Billosaur · · Score: 3, Funny

      2010: asstunnel

      --
      GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
    3. Re:I can just see the future... by Achoi77 · · Score: 1

      2018: win
      2019: fail
      2030: *insert picard facepalm ascii*

    4. Re:I can just see the future... by operagost · · Score: 1

      2020: Jon Katz
      2030: metamod
      2055: Linux on the desktop

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    5. Re:I can just see the future... by QRDeNameland · · Score: 2, Funny

      2011: shitcock

      --
      Momentarily, the need for the construction of new light will no longer exist.
    6. Re:I can just see the future... by GotoTen · · Score: 1

      2016: pimpmobile

    7. Re:I can just see the future... by rudlavibizon · · Score: 1

      2009. goatse

    8. Re:I can just see the future... by erdraug · · Score: 1

      1997: Skynet

      No, wait...

  11. WTF? by Cleon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Leet-speak from 2001 gets named "word of the year" in 2007? How does that work?

    Next year I suppose it'll be "pwned."

    £4m3.

    --
    Gifts for Geeks - Stuff that really matters!
    1. Re:WTF? by Otter · · Score: 1
      Looking at the runners-up, we have "conundrum" dated to 1645, "apathetic" from 1744 and "hypocrite" from ancient Greece. Novelty doesn't seem to be a factor. And how often was "sardoodledom" used in 2007?!?

      As for worst word/phrase of 2007, "bricked" and "SKU" rank high, but nothing inspires the urge to strangle like "__? Not so much."

    2. Re:WTF? by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 5, Funny

      So you're saying the "word of the year" competition is m00t?

    3. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      oblig link on w00t

    4. Re:WTF? by Jugalator · · Score: 4, Informative

      They must just now be discovering Microsoft's leet speak tutorial archives.

      Microsoft got boring though, now that page simply redirects here instead.

      It's interesting to follow the revision histories on that page on archive.org. It started out pretty much as my first link, then they removed the "illegal activities" section probably out of political correctness and not wanting to damage their reputation, and now there's no info on leetspeak at all.

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
    5. Re:WTF? by Otter+Escaping+North · · Score: 1

      And how often was "sardoodledom" used in 2007?!?

      It's a perfectly cromulent word.

      --
      Running Windows^H^H^H^H^H^H^H OSX and Linux in the home. (I don't have time for Solitaire any more.)
    6. Re:WTF? by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 1

      You may joke but 'cromulent' will end up in the dictionary very soon I expect.. 'Embiggens' hasn't entered pop culture nearly so much though.

    7. Re:WTF? by Pharmboy · · Score: 1

      2001? w00t (and w00+) have been around much, much longer than 2001, you n00b ;)

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    8. Re:WTF? by Gilmoure · · Score: 1

      Sorry, didn't hear you.

      Was too busy putting on my s00t.

      --
      I drank what? -- Socrates
    9. Re:WTF? by fuocoZERO · · Score: 0

      Right from the Microsoft site: "w00t" or the smiley character \o/: An acronym that usually means "We Own the Other Team," used to celebrate victory in a video game.

    10. Re:WTF? by Hillgiant · · Score: 1

      Do you put your pants on one f00t at a time?

      --
      -
    11. Re:WTF? by Gilmoure · · Score: 1

      No, did both at once. Is baggy z00t s00t.

      --
      I drank what? -- Socrates
    12. Re:WTF? by Gilmoure · · Score: 1

      I think I first saw it in a Sluggy Freelance cartoon, back in '97 during the original suicide bikini frisbee ep. Or in something else. Since hitting 40, page fault errors are multiplying.

      --
      I drank what? -- Socrates
  12. 00 ok? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can words officially be spelled with numbers?

    1. Re:00 ok? by Tastecicles · · Score: 1

      Apparently so, but you'll get marked down for it.

      --
      Operation Guillotine is in effect.
    2. Re:00 ok? by Futile+Rhetoric · · Score: 1

      I was wondering the same thing. I guess they can, now; the dictionary has spoken.

    3. Re:00 ok? by CRCulver · · Score: 2, Informative

      Any mainstream lexiconographer will readily admit that his work is descriptive, not prescriptive.

    4. Re:00 ok? by Futile+Rhetoric · · Score: 2, Funny

      Which only means that we need more Grammar Nazis as lexicographers. Grammatik macht frei.

    5. Re:00 ok? by A+Name+Similar+to+Di · · Score: 1

      It's a pity, I almost had a new way to dispose of my w's in scrabble. Now I'm boned.

    6. Re:00 ok? by dryueh · · Score: 2, Funny

      Two blank tiles will do the trick.

      ..of course, with this announcement, the next version of Scrabble will have to be rescored and retiled to accomodate more possible entries. I, for one, welcome our alphanumeric overlords.

  13. Follow ups by InvisblePinkUnicorn · · Score: 1

    Following "w00t" in the list of most searched-for terms were such terms as "clearasil" and "cheetos".

  14. answer me these questions 3 by Gearoid_Murphy · · Score: 5, Funny

    w00t is your name? w00t is your favourite color? w00t is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow!!!!!

    --
    prepare the survey weasels.
    1. Re:answer me these questions 3 by securityfolk · · Score: 2, Interesting

      African or European?

    2. Re:answer me these questions 3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      w00t the f***?

    3. Re:answer me these questions 3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      w00t the f00t? WTF dose that even mean??

    4. Re:answer me these questions 3 by McWilde · · Score: 1

      No. No. No.
      Although, technically, that last one was not a question, it was wrong. W00t is definitely not the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow, European, African or otherwise.

      --
      Maybe
  15. At least it's not... by foniksonik · · Score: 2, Insightful


    Bling
    Jiggy
    Fresh
    Bad
    Gnarly
    Dude

    or any of the popular slang words from our childhood... of course those were all 3-5 years old by the time they reached nationwide popularity too..

    It does represent the shifting focus of teen age pop culture however... surfer, skater, rocker, DJ Mixer, hip-hopper, Rap Star, Nerd, Hacker

    What's next? ask the kids... they know.

    --
    A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
    1. Re:At least it's not... by Richard+Steiner · · Score: 1

      From YOUR childhood, maybe.

      Now get off my lawn! :-)

      --
      Mainframe/UNIX Bit Twiddler and long time Windows/Linux Hobbyist.
      The Theorem Theorem: If If, Then Then.
    2. Re:At least it's not... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kids these days have it too easy with all their fancy words. When I was a kid we just had one, "cool" and that was enough. Sure, you'd hear "neat" occasionally but that was only in Sunday school.

      When we were "takin' it to the streets" and "keeping it real" it was always just "cool".

    3. Re:At least it's not... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait wait.. what generation grew up with "Gnarly" _and_ "Bling" in their childhood vocabulary?

    4. Re:At least it's not... by pokerdad · · Score: 1

      Bling Jiggy Fresh Bad Gnarly Dude

      ... or tubular.

    5. Re:At least it's not... by foniksonik · · Score: 1

      Yeah I was covering the likely age range of a /. reader.... not too many 14 year olds on here I suspect.... they're probably all over on digg

      --
      A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
  16. "Dictionary Guru"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What is that, and how do I become one?

  17. woot! by securityfolk · · Score: 0

    ...'nuf said... ;-)

  18. These guys will be thrilled by cybermage · · Score: 2, Interesting

    woot!

    For those not familiar with the site, they sell one product a day, until it's gone, at a deep discount. Today (12/13/2007) it's a NavMan GPS for $149.

    I hit the site every day.

    1. Re:These guys will be thrilled by maxume · · Score: 1

      You can also buy crap, nicely bagged, at most garden centers.

      (just kidding, woot sells a decent item now and then, but some days...)

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
  19. All I have to say is by Alzheimers · · Score: 1

    \o/

    1. Re:All I have to say is by zigziggityzoo · · Score: 1

      I think you're missing a knuckle.

      \m/.

      --
      Zing!
    2. Re:All I have to say is by Alzheimers · · Score: 1

      actually, that would be a 2-headed version of my Ascii-Hiro (the YATTA! in this case is silent)

  20. It's the end of the world by PhuCknuT · · Score: 2, Funny

    I believe this is the first sign of the apocalypse.

  21. 1989 called by whuddafugger · · Score: 1

    arsenio hall wants his word back.

    --
    http://www.whuddafug.com
  22. What about this word of the year? by Jozxyqk · · Score: 3, Funny

    09 f9 11 02 9d 74 e3 5b d8 41 56 c5 63 56 88 c0

    1. Re:What about this word of the year? by Von+Helmet · · Score: 5, Funny

      I make that to be 4 words, assuming a word length of 32 bits.

    2. Re:What about this word of the year? by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 1

      Dinosour... everyone knows words are 64 bits now.

      Unless you're using Windows, in which case they're still 16 bits.

  23. You'd think that... by PinkyDead · · Score: 5, Informative

    Merriam-Webster's word of the year would be in their dictionary.

    http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/w00t. Odd that.

    --
    Genesis 1:32 And God typed :wq!
    1. Re:You'd think that... by SL+Baur · · Score: 1

      No doubt an editorial oversight, I'm sure they'll get around to it. I've seen it used often enough in WoW and its forums that I'm not surprised. As was explained to me long ago (with regards to how it was now optional to put a comma after "and" in a list), today's slang and grammatical errors can become tomorrow's official usage if done long enough by enough people.

      They are constantly expanding Philippine English with words of the year http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=82266
      that are quite useful in conversation. "Miskol me so I've got your number", "It's quiet, is the baby sleeping? Yes, he went lobat about an hour ago".

    2. Re:You'd think that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
  24. Merriam-Webster needs to leave the house more... by Loosifur · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Pecksniffian? Pecksniffian was in the running??

    Seriously???

    --
    This unbiased moderation brought to you by the Porcine Aviation Group!
  25. W00t aint a word by tristian_was_here · · Score: 1

    It aint a word because it contains two numbers. Who ever thought to give it a title is a tw4t.

  26. Etymology by Bj�rn · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The Etymology according to the wiktionary

    Of uncertain origin; theories include:

    • an acronym from "we own the other team";
    • an onomatopoeia representing the sound of capture sirens from online capture the flag games;
    • a blend of wow and loot;
    • a leetspeak mutation of whoo, what or root;
    • a corruption of root, shouted by hackers when they obtain root-level access in a targeted system.
    --
    Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think. --Niels Bohr
    1. Re:Etymology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Etymology according to the collection of 12-year old kids who added some stuff to wiktionary [wiktionary.org]

      Fixed that for you

    2. Re:Etymology by Liquidrage · · Score: 1

      EQ made it popular but it was around before then.

      My thought is it started because of popular songs that had a similar sounding word:
      Whoop/Whoot/Whoomp there it is...
      Whoop/Whoot/Whoomp there it is...


      Since it was hard to tell what word they were really saying some heard it as "whoot" and it took off from there. And made it's way to geek culture eventually winding up as:

      Druid: W00T!
      Ranger: ?
      Druid: DING!
      Ranger: grats

    3. Re:Etymology by SL+Baur · · Score: 1

      The Etymology according to the wiktionary. W00t! Never heard of that one before. I'll have to check it out.

      Of the possible etymologies, the one I encountered on the WoW forums was the first one:

      an acronym from "we own the other team"; although

      a leetspeak mutation of whoo, what or root; makes sense too.

      I use it due to my own frustration over the perversion of the once honorable term "hacker". If you can't beat them, join them.

      -sb ("Miskol me when you're ready to go down, let's do lunch")
    4. Re:Etymology by Indefinite,+Ephemera · · Score: 2, Informative

      'The Lexicographer's Rules' has some comments on the etymology: http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/grantbarrett/the_real_history_and_origin_of_woot_and_w00t/

    5. Re:Etymology by fotbr · · Score: 1

      also a combination of "wonderful loot"

    6. Re:Etymology by Emnar · · Score: 1

      I concur with this. I was in #doom in EFnet around 1994 when people started saying "whoomp" all the time because of that song. At the same time, there were references to "r00ting" boxes. "Whoomp" became "woo" became "w00" became "w00t".

      I'm not claiming it happened solely in this channel, but that was definitely when the word was getting off the ground.

      This "We own the other team" nonsense is definitely a backronym. When the word first appeared, you couldn't even play team deathmatch in online games.

    7. Re:Etymology by Gilmoure · · Score: 1

      Hadn't they read Sluggy Freelance, c. 1997?

      --
      I drank what? -- Socrates
    8. Re:Etymology by jafac · · Score: 1

      As much as I'd LIKE it to be "We 0wn the 0ther team" (that's what I tell my 14yr old Halo-3-addicted son) - I can back you up that it's from that "whoop there it is" song from 1994, and; pretty much #doom. That's where I remember it first. . . twas quite odd.

      . . . also sad that my ". . . powers are weak, old man" because my kid constantly kicks my ass in Halo-3, and I can come nowhere close to the pwnage I did "back in the day" in Doom. *sniff*. I no longer have the reflexes, I no longer have the peripheral vision, I no longer have the "spidey sense". . . I'm just OLD.

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  27. w00t first released by NynexNinja · · Score: 1

    I don't know about you, but I first saw w00t circa 1990 on efnet #hack... didnt he have an account on upt.org?

  28. Mmmkay... by tomzyk · · Score: 3, Interesting
    From the article:

    Thousands of you took part in the search for Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2007, and the vast majority of you chose a small word that packs a pretty big punch. The word you've selected ...
    Um... so this word was selected by a "vast majority" of the "thousands" that participated in selecting the Word of the Year.

    Does anyone else think that this was just a joke played by some highschool kids saying that they own your website? The only reason "pwned" (or any variation of it) wasn't used is because it would be too obvious that scriptkiddies rigged your election.
    --
    Karma: NaN
  29. Alternative Definition by Alzheimers · · Score: 1

    I've also seen woot as an acronym for "(i) Want One Of Those", as in Woot.Com and the more interesting iWoot.com, which is kind of a british ThinkGeek.

    1. Re:Alternative Definition by strangedays · · Score: 1
      Agree, that's what i always understood it to mean... Want One Of Those!

      usually said admiringly of something cool.

      I think their definition is messed up. Don't people have anything better to do with their time than voting on rare and silly geek jargon?

      --
      There is no god; get over it already! Never exchange a walk on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage.
  30. Woot by MM_LONEWOLF · · Score: 1

    Doesn't surprise me. I acutally knew someone at the SD ambassadors of excellence camp whose name was woot, because his original given name when he was born in norway was too hard to pronounce in english.

    --
    To live without killing is a thought which could electrify the world, if men were capable of staying awake long enough.
  31. Opps... by ZiakII · · Score: 1

    For awhile any website that asked for a e-mail that really did not need it. I used the e-mail address woot@woot.com, I felt bad once I discovered woot.com was actually a website, and the amount of spam that I know have going to them.

    1. Re:Opps... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i use postmaster@microsoft.com for all those spammy sites. works well, and it actually improves your karma.

    2. Re:Opps... by fuo · · Score: 1

      support@real.com works well too

  32. Most of the runner-ups aren't current either by blitzkrieg3 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Take a look at words like hypocrite, conundrum, quixotic; none of these words is current. It would appear that voters didn't care if a word was actually USED in 2007, just that they liked the word and thought it deserved mention. Pecksniffian dates as far back as 1894.

    1. Re:Most of the runner-ups aren't current either by jmac1492 · · Score: 1

      Take a look at words like hypocrite, conundrum, quixotic; none of these words is current. It would appear that voters didn't care if a word was actually USED in 2007, just that they liked the word and thought it deserved mention. Pecksniffian dates as far back as 1894.
      Were people trying to DESCRIBE the year 2007 with those words? Because I can see that being a way to pick the word of the year. Although in that case I'd go with "subprime."
      BTW, if TFA said what criteria they use for "word of the year," I didn't read it. (Of course not, this is Slashdot.)
      --
      Jenny's got a new number! 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
  33. The real winner of 2007: by rollthelosindice · · Score: 1

    NO CARE EVER.

  34. December 12, 2007. by brouski · · Score: 1

    The day the language died.

    --
    Proud member of the American Non Sequitur Society. We might not make much sense, but boy do we love pizza!
    1. Re:December 12, 2007. by lonechicken · · Score: 1

      The day the language died. Didn't the language die when English teachers were incorrectly using your/you're, to/too/two, and its/it's? Oh wait, newspaper editors are making those mistakes too... Oy!
    2. Re:December 12, 2007. by dbIII · · Score: 1
      Did we loose the language now or while learning to wread under Raygun?

      (For those that missed it - it is a bad joke involving poor spelling).

  35. 'Dude" is out? by Petersko · · Score: 1

    "At least it's not... Bling Jiggy Fresh Bad Gnarly Dude..."

    Come on, now... "dude" has stood the test of time, and has remained in constant usage for decades. Don't harsh my mellow.

  36. Please... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... don't feed the trolls.

  37. Year of the desktop by ChefInnocent · · Score: 1

    Well, last night was the first time I looked at a Linux desktop in 3 years. I installed PCLinuxOS on my girlfriends box last night, and I was impressed. It looked and felt a lot like a windows machine (which she needs). Now that we have a desktop that works well as a competitor, maybe the migration can really start. My previous experiences have been severely disappointing for the desktop, and I'm a huge fan of *nix (for myself, I like OpenBSD). So, maybe if 'they' just keep using that phrase, it will stick.

  38. Rape by GodfatherofSoul · · Score: 1

    Some of the internet-induced changes to language are cheeky and fun, but some are ominous. I remember how horrible it was the first time I heard "rape" being used as an analogy for "pwn." At the time I was going out with a girl who was a rape counselor, so maybe I was hyper-sensitive at the time. But, what really disturbed me was how even knowing how I felt about that usage, I started to use the word in that context myself. I wonder how such a change in language might impact the real-world offense. Do people now soften a bit as they associate a tragic news story with last night's beat down in Alterac Valley?

    --
    I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
  39. Another word by Joe+Jay+Bee · · Score: 1

    I think there's one more word that should be considered. ;)

  40. Merriam-Webster is just promoting woot.com by havenskate · · Score: 1

    Ahh, those clever guys pushing woot.com...

    Seriously though, who visits Merriam-Webster, m-w.com, and looks up definitions or even votes? Who does that? This is a silly little web poll on their site. Meh. move along, nothing to see here.

  41. Abbreviation of the Year by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 1

    I vote to make WTF the abbreviation of the year. Now I'm off to RTFA.

    --
    It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  42. woot started in hacker groups by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    None of these articles mention that woot started in hacker circles and then carried over into gaming. People would brag so much about getting root access to a server that root eventually became woot.

  43. w00t by mjhacker · · Score: 1

    As far as I know, it started out as "We owned other team." Anyone else have a differing idea about its origin?

  44. ftw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gamers can't have ftw.
    It doesn't mean "for the win".
    It means "fuck the world"
    It's spoken by individuals who do not fit in to "normal society" in despair.

    As a keeper of FTW I might be able to offer "fuck the war" as a compromise.

  45. w00t comes from the dance scene of the early 90s? by spacerog · · Score: 1
    This article claims that w00t originated in the dance scene of the early 90s.

    The story of woot, as we know it, is simple. There were two similar songs on the charts that year. In April "Whoot There It Is" by 95 South (Ichiban Records) was the number seven best-selling song in Central Florida, according, to the Orlando Sentinel. "Whoomp! (There It Is)," by Tag Team (Life Records) out of Atlanta showed up at number 15 on Billboard's R&B singles 27 May 1993 and stayed for 45 weeks on the Billboard top 100, where it reached number 2. It was the more popular of the two songs.

    Elsewhere woot is claimed to come from root, the user name given in Unix-based operating systems to the administrator's account. This lacks any supporting evidence at all, except for dubious claims of "I remember," and is rebuffed here for the sake of completeness.

    Wasn't there a hacker group known as w00t around that time frame as well? Whatever happened to them?

    - SR

  46. LLAMAS by master_kaos · · Score: 1

    You guys are all a bunch of LLAMAS

  47. Thanks for nothing by frenchbedroom · · Score: 1

    We were going along nicely on this 12th day of December, almost forgetting the ridiculous amount of human stupidity displayed throughout this year, looking forward for 2008 to try and better ourselves. Now this piece of "news".

    *sobs softly*

  48. w00t the f00k????? by quick2think · · Score: 1

    In related news, the book of the year was /.

  49. Local News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My local TV news beat Slashdot to this story. w00t?

  50. wOOt not in the dictionary by rrupp · · Score: 1

    Sorry if this has already been pointed out, but try looking up 'wOOt' in their dictionary - it's not there. They suggested 'wot' or 'way-out' instead.

    1. Re:wOOt not in the dictionary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's in their open dictionary.

  51. consoles fellow slashdotter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's no such thing as w00t

  52. Meaning of woot by ConfrontationalGrayh · · Score: 1

    I've seen the use of the word WOOT for a very long time, and I've always understood the origin to have the meaning of "We Own the Other Team".

  53. Reminds me of my favorite movie: Real Genius by DRAGONWEEZEL · · Score: 1
    This quote came to mind:

    Dr. Meredith: A bit of advice...
    Mitch: Oh, uh, thank you...
    Dr. Meredith: Always...no, no...never...forget to check your references.
    Mitch: Uh...ok...thank you. I'd better be going. [leaves]
    Dr. Meredith to his wife: I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down" verbally, don't you?
    --
    How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
  54. Oh come on... by vistic · · Score: 1

    an acronym from "we own the other team";

    I'm willing to bet this is a backronym, and not the actual origin... and 'yay' is an acronym for "yippee and yahoo!"

    an onomatopoeia representing the sound of capture sirens from online capture the flag games;

    Unlikely.

    a blend of wow and loot;

    How does this even make sense?

    a leetspeak mutation of whoo, what or root;

    Still don't think so.

    a corruption of root, shouted by hackers when they obtain root-level access in a targeted system.

    Still no.

    Really I think it's just a sound someone typed out one day online and it caught on. It was probably some idiosyncratic sound that original person liked to use in real life. It's one of those sounds whose meaning is clear just from the sound of it. You don't make a 'w00t' sound when you're sad unless you're being ironic. Trying to look further into it and come with ridiculous etymological explanations is getting really stupid and further and further from the likely truth.
    1. Re:Oh come on... by bskin · · Score: 1

      Really I think it's just a sound someone typed out one day online and it caught on. It was probably some idiosyncratic sound that original person liked to use in real life. It's one of those sounds whose meaning is clear just from the sound of it. You don't make a 'w00t' sound when you're sad unless you're being ironic. Trying to look further into it and come with ridiculous etymological explanations is getting really stupid and further and further from the likely truth.

      I remember w00p being around first on irc, and always assumed w00t was a corruption of it (for example purepak.irc had a built-in ascii drawing of a giant w00p, and that script was a revised version of textbox which was even earlier). I realize that this is anecdotal and only reflects my personal, admittedly sketchy memory, but it's pretty clear this "word" pre-dates any major online games with team play components. Well, maybe not...it could've come from all the l33t types playing nettrek.

      --
      hot foreign sheep.
    2. Re:Oh come on... by vistic · · Score: 1

      Now someone will claim w00p stands for "we own others' porn" instead of being lamespeak for whoop (as in ass).

      Was w00p used as a transitive verb, as in "w00p their ass" or was it used like w00t as an interjection?

    3. Re:Oh come on... by bskin · · Score: 1

      The script I'm thinking of just spit out a big 'w00p' across about 5 lines. So I'd say interjection, unless 'annoyance' has become a part of speech.

      --
      hot foreign sheep.
  55. Language issues. by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Last year I attended a conference. woot.com was one of the sponsors. At the closing ceremony they passed out some swag from that company to the attendees - in a container boldly labeled with the company logo.

    When I got home and she saw it my wife was ROTFL.

    She's one of the couple hundred remaining speakers of the west-coast American Indian trade jargon. And it seems that, in that language, the word for the male organ is (approximately) WOOT-`let.

    Shades of 18th century viagra ads.

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  56. Corporadoes by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 1

    I vote for "corporadoes". "2007: the Year of Corporadoes" seems about right.

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  57. What? by Kildjean · · Score: 1

    w00t?

    --
    Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d encule de ta mere.
  58. WRONG.... by Khyber · · Score: 1

    Metalworkers have been using WOOT for CENTURIES, as it's referring to a type of metal conglomeration that is formed during a forging process, specifically in the making of Damascus steel (and woot is sometimes referred to the carbon-laden base metal as well, despite what WIKIPEDIA's idiots think.) You fools took it from us, thinking it was a cheer, when in reality when we said "woot!" it was us being burned by the by-products of forging metals for your scientific programs. WOOT = WOO + SHIT, that was close!

    The more you know, the more you grow. Get thine head out of electronics and study other fields that have had an impact on your life, like metalworking.

    Yes, I'm trolling. I'm sick of this bullshit "internet slang" using words that were already defined and made CENTURIES AGO.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  59. Re:What? Play A Game Son by milsoRgen · · Score: 1

    Perhaps you should boot up a game that makes use of the world wide wibble. The woots still flow like drops of water of the dew soaked grass on a sunny Kentucky morning.

    --
    I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask where they're goin' and hook up with 'em later.
  60. Too bad woot meant.... by Khyber · · Score: 1

    ... a type of carbon-steel or the shellac produced from steel working, yea? W00t that one for awhile whilst I make yet another sword.

    You're all amateurs. It wasn't even a geek word to begin with. what's worse is Wikipedia doesn't even have that meaning as far as I can tell. So much for a useful study resource. My metalworking book had more information than Wikipedia did.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  61. wrong, so very wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i'm many scientists and i'll gladly tell you linux is nowhere near my desktop

  62. orly? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    w00t?! why not OWNED! Is a way better than w00t
    also pwnt does the same...

  63. w00t! old by erdraug · · Score: 1

    I can't believe nobody mentioned the w00t paradox!?!

    http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/W00t

    Also isn't this news a bit old:

    http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/28/2048245&tid=133

    Shouldn't there be a w00t! tag or something to link the two articles?