Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 13:48:06 -0500 From: "Andrew L. Gould" <algould@datawok.com> To: freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org Cc: Johnson David <davidjohnson@siemens.com>, 'cali' <calculus@softhome.net> Subject: Re: Explaining FreeBSD features Message-ID: <200506231348.06197.algould@datawok.com> In-Reply-To: <6F2F8FD3FBCF7A489CB18912A4807EBA0E0866@mvwcim1a.acuson.com> References: <6F2F8FD3FBCF7A489CB18912A4807EBA0E0866@mvwcim1a.acuson.com>
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On Thursday 23 June 2005 12:16 pm, Johnson David wrote: > From: cali [mailto:calculus@softhome.net] > > > The idea is, the newbie gets repeatedly told "RTFM", so that > > eventually they get the idea that they must work it out for > > themselves because they develop this inner fear of asking for help > > and being ridiculed, ie they don't want to portray themselves as a > > "lamer". Usually it works. > > If by "works", you mean people leave the community, then you are > correct. We all know what "F" in "RTFM" means. While we may not say > it with those words anymore, we still often say it with the same > abusive attitude. It's far more productive to say "RTM" than "RTFM". > > It is an unfortunate fact that many other communities have trained > their users to never read their manuals. Some communities don't even > have decent manuals to read. We should not be punishing these users > for their ignorance on the proper means to ask questions. Let them > "RTM". The next time tell them "RTM on page 29". If they say they've > read the manual but haven't, tell them "sorry", but don't abuse them. > They're not lying so much as doing what they've been trained to do. > Only when they persist in not reading the manual so you flame them a > new orafice. And then do it off list. > > David I have, on occasion, used "RTFM", ignoring the "F"; but not thinking about whether the reader would ignore it as well -- poor form on my part. I will certainly drop the "F" in the future. Thanks for the lesson. ;-) Andrew Gould
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