from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
RTFM
/R.T.F.M/, imp.
[Unix] Abbreviation for `Read The Fucking Manual'.
1. Used by {guru}s 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}.
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
RTFM
<jargon> /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}, and, more
recently, {STFW}. Compare: {UTSL}.
[Earliest use?]
[{Jargon File}]
(2003-06-07)