I happened across an entry on Facebook today (I was sucked in by wanting news of my son at camp, I swear) where a friend had congratulated an achievement of my son’s with ‘Woot’. I’ve never seen it anywhere except on the Dope. Is it universal and I’m very behind the times (likely)?
I IM’d the Wooter and asked if she was a a Doper but have not heard back. It would not surprise me at all if she were ‘one of us’.
Universal. There’s even a highly popular website called Woot.com that offers daily deals. I see the usage all over the Internet. Just coincidence that you haven’t run across it before now, I’d say.
Yeah, pretty much universal. I remember seeing and hearing it around as far back as 2001.
Everywhere. Wil Wheaton goes to Wootstock every year.
Dear Og, how does everything around here lately deteriorate into Wil Wheaton? 
Thanks for the responses.
My understanding is that it originated back in some of the early online RPG games. It’s a contraction of “Woo! Loot!” which people would yell when some dead guy dropped something really good.
Isn’t it from the 1993 song “Whoot, there it is”?
Whoot, There It Is - Wikipedia
The wikipedia article on w00t notes the word first appeared in forums in 1994 - consistent with being taken from the song (or the related song “Whomp, there it is”
I always assumed it originated with gaming, as I heard it used there for years before it showed up anywhere else.
Wherever it came from, it certainly did not originate on the Dope.
In fact, nothing at all had made it from the Dope into general usage outside of the Dope.
I’ve seen Gaudere’s Law pop up elsewhere on the Internet.
It’s a nerdy version of “huzzah.” And considering how most people who use the latter are RenFaire types, “woot” is pretty nerdy.
Lots of “SDMB memes” exist elsewhere, and are only popular here due to the demographic. Genuine SDMB memes include “Hi, Opal” “1920’s style death ray,” “once for 20 minutes…” and “Rio, by Duran Duran.”
Universal.
Also universal.
This. If you feel that something might be SDMB-specific, do a google search first. “Woot” brings up a ridiculous number of hits, including a link to its Urban Dictionary definition - and the google blurb shows its origin right there.
Not to mention http://www.woot.com/
Well, yes, it was mentioned in the second post, in fact.
I always thought it was derived from what the audience always did on the Arsenio Hall show when he was introduced. I started using that online specifically with that kind of chanting/cheering in mind.
I first saw it used in Everquest, and I think I started playing that game around 2000 or so. I suspect it originated in an even earlier game.
That already existed under a different name. Independently, I think.
Yes, but Gaudere’s name has been on it repeatedly since then in places I’m pretty sure Dopers don’t tend to frequent.