RTFM
/R?T?F?M/, imp.
[Unix] Abbreviation for ?Read The Fucking Manual?.
1. Used by gurus to brush off questions they consider trivial or
annoying. Compare Don't do that then!.
2. Used when reporting a problem to indicate that you aren't just asking
out of randomness. ?No, I can't figure out how to interface Unix to my
toaster, and yes, I have RTFM.? Unlike sense 1, this use is considered
polite. See also FM, RTFAQ, RTFB, RTFS, STFW, RTM, all of which
mutated from RTFM, and compare UTSL.
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RTFM
/R T F M/ Read The Fucking Manual (always
abbreviated, sometimes bowdlerised to "Fine" or "Friendly") An
(unhelpful) guru's traditional response when someone asks a
question in a newsgroup or mailing list which he could
have easily answered for himself had he bothered to RTFM.
The term may also be used to indicate that you couldn't find
the answer in the manual. E.g. "How do I interface Unix to my
toaster? And yes, I did RTFM but the FM didn't help and I
can't RTFS."
Other derived forms include RTFAQ, RTFB, RTM, RYFM
and, more recently, STFW. Compare: UTSL. A web site in
the same vein is (lmgtfy.com).
[Earliest use?]
[Jargon File]
(2003-06-07)
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