<quote who="Bret Comstock Waldow"> > There may be times it's not appropriate to say 'RTFM' to some people, but > in this context I think he's writing to someone who knows his way around. > 'RTFM' IS the right thing to do in many cases - even for a newbie > (although that may not always be the right way to say it). Reading gets > the vocabulary and starts getting appropriate questions.
It's not the direction to read documentation that is the problem, it's the term itself. It's just rude. There are lots of kind, useful and friendly ways of showing someone where to find more information to answer a question. Much of the friendliness part of it comes from phrasing and manner. "RTFM" is not friendly or helpful. Directing someone towards relevant documentation is a really good way of helping. Telling them to read the fucking manual [1] is insulting. - Jeff [1] Let's not beat around the bush. -- FISL 7.0: Porto Alegre, Brazil http://fisl.softwarelivre.org/7.0/www/ "Driving Miss Daisy. Best film of 1989. So said the academy. What does that tell you?" - Spike Lee -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
