Newbie--A 'newbie' is someone who has only recently begun to
participate in some kind of activity.  When we're born, we're all
life newbies until we get experience under our belts (or diapers,
whatever). You're a clueless newbie until you've got the hang of
MUDding, basically.

In RetroMUD terms, you're technically a newbie as long as you can
enter Ares' Newbie War -- therefore, most people would agree that
anyone under level 20 is a newbie. You don't get as much respect,
but you have compensations, if you're powerful enough. One of the
nice things about being a newbie is the amount of people who are
there with you -- newbiedom may be lowly, but it's not exactly
lonely.

See also: HELP NEWBIE ADVANTAGES