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Part of the fun of buying a game was getting to RTFM on the way home.
public transit, ftw… unless “I wish I died pecefully like my grandfather… the driver who was RTFMing, instead of his screaming passengers”
Last time I could buy a game with an instruction manual I was lucky that I could ride in a car without a car seat.
I work in IT. I’ve read so many manuals that I don’t need to read manuals almost ever.
As soon as you learn the design language for stuff, it usually just makes sense where to find stuff and how to fix it. It’s rare that I have a problem that I can’t solve just by looking at it.
If I ever get stuck, guess what? I RTFM. That’s basically my job. I RTFM because end users can’t be arsed to do it themselves. If everyone read the manual, I’d be out of a job.
Many linux CLI tools also tend to have similar names for arguments with similar effects.
That also reduces the re-reading.In many cases you get hired for having the knowledge and experience instead of just having skills.
I dread the day the users read the manual
I doubt that day will ever come
quick everyone, stop RTFM ! save this man’s job !
Lol. I think it’s more likely that I’ll win the lottery than users RTFM enough for me to worry about my job.
It’s just a funny thought that any of them would try.
linuxlunatics is almost a genre of its own
devdocs.io is beloved.
I don’t Linux (yet), but I do work in Audio Production. I LIVE for good manuals. I always read them, and because of that, I’m always working from a starting line of intelligence with new gear. I keep manuals in pdf format on my computer in like borderline autistic order. RTFM is the best piece of advice anyone can have, ever.
I too, work in audio production, and keep a meticulously organized folder of manuals. I love products that still ship with a physical printed manual, especially the spiral bound ones.
I did not expect genuinely invaluable advice – not just for Linux – but for life in general on here LOL
RTFM
this joke is way older than HTML
I don’t bother with manuals any more. I never manage to retain much information unless I need it right now. Way easier to just fumble along and find what I need when I need it and cobble together a half-baked “understanding”.
Should go get some ADHD meds one day.
WTFM is job one. Honestly WTFMs and RTFMs should just be a requirement to any computer science degree.
CS101: RTFM - Someone has already helped you.
CS102: WTFM - You also need to help others.
CS103: FTFM - What to do when help isn’t provided.
CS104: GDFL - What to do when there is no more help.
Edit: Other courses I teach include
CS201: WTFPM - Code Quality
CS202: UTC - The only time that makes sense
CS203: 1 - Counting for machines
Technical writing was a required class in my CS program. Is that not the norm?
Never forget what they took from us.
The only manual I need is the one that tells me how to shut his pompous ass up.
My folks bought a new EV recently and my dad was unable to figure anything out for days. I hopped in and was doing everything he wanted in minutes.
“How the hell did you do all that‽”
“I RTFM Dad”
“Reading! Kids, nowadays (sigh).”
Half of US adults can’t read at a 6th grade level. This is haunting.
Some strikingly high percentage can’t complete complicated tasks on a computer (eg: find 3 user email addresses and add them to a spreadsheet).
Reading the manual is good advice but I think some people are just left behind
I feel like a big problem is that a lot of people never learned how to learn.
Adding onto your examples, I’ve also heard about a study once where they were given similar basic Excel tasks. However, you didn’t even have to solve the tasks. Instead, just trying to get help from the help function or searching online got you into the highest skill bracket. That bracket ended up being the smallest group.
I once read the first 3 chapters of the Git book and my coworkers think I’m some kind of Git wizard
One of the first things I did at my first full time job (while my very under prepared boss was looking for “junior-dev-friendly” tasks for me to work) was go to git-scm.com and just read through all the man pages I could. I spent a few days doing that, then my boss asked me to create a PowerPoint and present what I learned to the team. It was instantly apparent that I was the only one who knew anything beyond
git commit -aon the team at that point, and I was promptly appointed the “title” of “source control SME”. I’ve been heading up version control best practices for every team I’ve been on since (which is scary because the git cli has changed quite a bit since I read all those man pages but I haven’t had a chance to go back and refresh my knowledge).These days I just ask llm to fork me a branch and whatever else I need :p
Do you have a blog or something? Do you write about your experiences regarding this?
Lol no, the most writing I do is comments on Lemmy
Literally same 💀
The issues come up when I read the manuals and they do not explain anything to a person who doesn’t already know most things.
Linux fails in too many places at having instructions written by people who care even slightly whether humans will ever be able to comprehend them.
