Joseph Reaglehttp://reagle.org/joseph/blog/social/rtfm-usenetJoseph Reaglehttp://reagle.org/joseph/blog/social/rtfm-usenetCopyright 2003-2010 Joseph Reagle
PyBlosxom http://pyblosxom.sourceforge.net/ 1.4.3 01/10/2008
2003-12-12T01:41:12ZEtymology of RTFMhttp://reagle.org/joseph/blog/2003/12/11/rtfm-usenet2003-12-12T01:41:12Z2003-12-12T01:41:12Z
<p>Ever wonder where the term RTFM came from? An excerpt from a paper on <a
href="/joseph/2003/socialization/voluntary.html"><em>Socialization in Open
Technical Communities</em></a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>One of the oldest open communities maxims I'm familiar with is RTFM:
"Read The Fucking/Fine Manual." The Google Group archives are an extensive
archive of Usenet messages, a pre-Web bulletin board type system on the
Internet, from 1981 to the present. The first instance of "RTFM" usage in
the archives is a 1983 message <a
href="http://groups.google.com/groups?q=rtfm&hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&scoring=r&as_drrb=b&as_mind=12&as_minm=5&as_miny=1981&as_maxd=10&as_maxm=11&as_maxy=1983&selm=1129@utcsstat.UUCP&rnum=1">referring
to the VMS mainframe computer community</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Try looking in the Master Index to the VMS volume set. There, under
BACKUP, you will see a pointer off to appendix B of manual 4A. This
appendix describes the BACKUP tape format in some detail. The VMS people
have a cute little piece of advice for people who are too slug-headed to
read the manuals: RTFM. (Reason 1983)</p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>