RTFM

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RTFM is an acronym for the direction "Read The Fucking Manual". This instruction is sometimes given in response to a question when the person being asked believes that the question could be easily answered by reading the relevant "manual" or instructions. It is also used to tell people to try to help themselves before seeking assistance from others. In clean and substituted texts, "Read The Flaming Manual", "Read The Famous Manual", "Read The Fine Manual", "Read The Full-On Manual", "Read The Friendly Manual", "Read The Full Manual", or "Read The Field Manual" is sometimes used.^[1] On other occasions, the F is simply ignored.^[2] This abbreviation can also be found on message boards, to mean "Read The Fucking (or First) Message", or "Read The FAQ Moron".

More variants are:

• UTFH ("Use The Fucking Help")
• STFW ("Search The Fucking Web")
• STFG ("Search The Fucking Google" or "Search The Fantastic Google")
• GIYF ("Google Is Your Friend")
• JFGI ("Just Fucking Google It")
• UTSL ("Use The Source Luke"—alternately, RTFS)
• RTFA ("Read The Fucking Article"—common on news forums such as Fark.com^[3] and Slashdot)
• RTFE ("Read The Fucking Email")
• RTFC ("Read The Fucking Code," or "Reboot The Fucking Computer")
• LMGTFY ("Let Me Google That For You")
• WIDGI ("When In Doubt Google It")

Language variants:

In some countries (e.g. observed in UK and Australia^{[citation needed]}) a fractionally more polite alternative with identical meaning, RTBM ("Read The Bloody Manual") can be heard.

Use and overuse

The phrase RTFM may have first appeared in print in 1979 on the Table of Contents page of the LINPACK Users' Guide^[4] in the form: "R.T.F.M." -- Anonymous. Apocryphally, some of the authors heard it from a Tektronix salesman.

The phrase RTFM was in common use in the early 1950s by radio and radar technicians in the US Air Force. Operators frequently did not check simple faults, for example checking whether a fuse had blown or a power plug had become disconnected.^{[citation needed]}

An Internet forum where users read the FAQ before posting their questions is more likely to have a better signal to noise ratio than one that is filled with repetitive postings, and hence is more likely to attract continued participation. When evaluating whether it is acceptable to express sentiments like RTFM, one must consider the trade-off between maintaining the usability of an Internet forum for its existing users, and making a forum welcoming to newcomers.

Critics say that frequent users of the phrase (or similar variants) are simply expressing élitism, and that their attitude drives away newcomers without helping them. Their time could better be spent adding the question and answer to a FAQ, pointing the user to a helpful website, or simply not responding.^[5] They point out that RTFM is often used when it is not even clear which manual their correspondent should be reading.^[6] One of the most frequent criticisms of the open source community is lack of friendly support for newcomers. The Ubuntu Forums and LinuxQuestions.org, for instance, have instituted "no RTFM" policies to promote a welcoming atmosphere.^[7][8].

RTFM [and] "Go look on google" are two inappropriate responses to a question. If you don't know the answer or don't wish to help, please say nothing instead of brushing off someone's question. Politely showing someone how you searched or obtained the answer to a question is acceptable, even encouraged.

...

If you wish to remind a user to use search tools or other resources when they have asked a question you feel is basic or common, please be very polite. Any replies for help that contain language disrespectful towards the user asking the question, i.e. "STFU" or "RTFM" are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

—Ubuntu Forums

This phrase is also commonly used in Massive Multiplayer Online games, from people frustrated by newbies asking how to do something that is explained in the manual.

Some hackers have suggested that in some situations "RTFM" is actually the best advice that an aspiring hacker can receive.^[9] They posit that hacking is a dynamic art which requires independence and drive on the part of the hacker, and see "RTFM" as more of a long-term advisement than it is a response to any single query. This argument is only applicable when used with other hackers, however, given that the concepts surrounding open source software are designed to be suitable for use by non-hackers. In fact, usability experts recommend designing some kind of software to be usable without a manual at all, since users don't often actually read them.^[10] Regardless of original cause, this problem could be mitigated as the 'contextual help' paradigm comes into play.

See also

Look up RTFM or RTFA in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Internet slang
• Unix manual ("man" pages)
• Usability engineering
• User interface design

References