Poll: The "Read the Fucking Manual" Attitude

[JEBWrench]

one example

in ME3 it really feels like charachters go all "encyclopedia"...I dont knwo if thats to refresh peoples memorys or few people who started at ME3

I dont think its nessicary, its just annoying

if you have started at ME3, don't bother to read the codex then theres no excuse if your confused

If I may be so bold - for some people (such as myself), who played the ME games on small SD television sets, the Codex was bloody painful to read.

I greatly appreciated the usually optional encylopaedia dialogue options.

 

[Stryc9]

It's not something that one should do all the time just to be a dick but there are times where it's warranted to tell someone to RTFM, or maybe even figure it out for themselves because often that's the best way to learn a given thing.

This guy whose computer I end up fixing at least three or four times a year, if not more often could do with a dose of RTFM if reading the manual would do any good. He doesn't even seem to understand the most basic computing terminology, so it all has to be explained to him repeatedly to the point of frustration. He constantly gets into shit he has no business being in and fucking things up, installing every single program he finds on the internet.

It got to the point where I made an Acronis backup image of his hard drive because it's far easier to restore that than it is to have to reinstall his OS every two or three months. Just a couple weeks ago, right after I'd gotten done restoring his image I caught him trying to install some youtube downloader thinking that he was actually installing youtube like it's a piece of software. After explaining to him that youtube wasn't something that had to be installed and making a bookmark to the actual site for him. There have been times where there were like 30 browser toolbars running and he was wondering why his computer was so slow.

All of this wouldn't be so bad if he'd learn from his mistakes but he doesn't, he keeps blindly doing the same things over and over and over again and even learning new ones along the way, and his kids aren't much better than he is either, always installing shit they have no idea what any of it even does and all the free toolbars that go along with it. They keep paying me to fix this shit so I can't really complain too much but you'd think they'd get tired of paying me to fix the same crap so many times and learn from their mistakes.

So yes some people should be told to RTFM when they need to be for their own good, but at the same time it doesn't hurt to help people who you know are going to learn from whatever you teach them either.

 

[Vault101]

If I may be so bold - for some people (such as myself), who played the ME games on small SD television sets, the Codex was bloody painful to read.

I greatly appreciated the usually optional encylopaedia dialogue options.

huh...I guess

persoanlly it kind of hurts the illusion of the world having "depth"

 

[SlaveNumber23]

Everyone who has ever asked for help has considered doing it themselves.

Small note, this is bullshit. Some people are just too lazy to do the work themselves.

Doesn't contradict my point, they've still considered doing it themselves and decided they are too lazy to do it.

 

[Freechoice]

As a regular Linux user

Nah, I'm just kidding around with you. I always give Linux users shit for using an OS that requires that you know how to program in any capacity.

When I hit the button on my desktop, I expect the thing to work without having to preface my password with :C/Windows/File Name

called bloody Google.

Google, you say? [http://lmgtfy.com/?q=this+thread+is+stupid]

 

[x EvilErmine x]

Yes you should read the manual, why would you not? It's specifically made to give you the information you need.

Saying that though if someone asks me about something then I will tell them if I know.

 

[Starik20X6]

Yes, people should read the manual before asking basic questions. Obviously if the question is more complex and would require a lot of research, of course it's acceptable to ask before you launch a full-scale investigation when someone else is already likely to have figured it out. There's a line somewhere, not sure where it's drawn.

 

[Yopaz]

I'd say it depends a lot on the question. Like if I wonder about replication of DNA and I ask someone if that takes DNA-polymerase or RNA-polymerase that's simply something I could have checked up myself.

However if my question is something along the lines of where the RNA polymerase binds to the DNA when you're transcribing a gene it shows that I know the basics, I just have a problem with a certain detail.

 

[LiftYourSkinnyFists]

So, something just occurred to me. Many people have an attitude that equates to "Read the Fucking Manual".

This "RTFM" attitude has, obviously, been around for a long time. So, this is the question I have for you today:

Should people just RTFM?

Here's my take on it: Telling people to RTFM is obnoxious. It's pretentious and I hate people who do it. I'm doing a university course that has a large drop-out rate, and people rely on each other regularly with small bits of information. There's always that one dickhead that will just tell them to go and trawl through google or wiki when it's just as easy to give a sentence or two to explain it.

I don't hate manuals. As a regular Linux user, I regularly look at man pages for various commands, to find the extension I need. However, some people just like having things explained to them. Sometimes I find it easier to ask someone how things work rather than trawling through a few pages of information to find it myself.

So, there you all go. I'd like to know all of your opinions on the topic.

Linux is not something you can compare to a "READ THE FUCKING MANUAL" sort of thing, RTFM is a perfectly valid and I do not think it's pretentious I mean if you're unable to read a page or two of information for a product you're either not trying hard enough or mis-reading.


RTFM is not pretentious or obnoxious it's in fact common sense, do not confuse the them.

 

[SlaveNumber23]

Everyone who has ever asked for help has considered doing it themselves.

Small note, this is bullshit. Some people are just too lazy to do the work themselves.

Doesn't contradict my point, they've still considered doing it themselves and decided they are too lazy to do it.

So what was your point? Despite their infuriating laziness, they shouldn't be told to do the work themselves?

That's just asinine.

No, it shouldn't be assumed that they are too lazy to do the work themselves, they are asking for help and a decent person would either help them or simply say nothing and leave them to it instead of telling them to do it out themselves as if they never thought of that. No one ever says "I'm too lazy to do my work do it for me" they ask for help and some people make the assumption that they are too lazy to do it.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Depend if there is a manual in the first place. Example Diablo 3 didn't came with a manual at all in the case (there is a quick start guide but that is fill of lore and characters class background). The manual itself can be somewhat found online which not everyone is looking at it.

Even then it's the manual itself that may matter if people need to read it or not. I mean if it was a safety or work related manual then it won't exactly surpise me when people ask stuff that already cover in the manual. Sometime the manual got too many info to covers and it usually best to learn from actual experience as oppose to trying to memorise it from it. However there are some info that people should read first like e.g. how to lift a heavy box as doing it the wrong way will cause long term damage to your back.

 

[Galletea]

If the answer's in the manual, then RTFM is justified.

This.
Although if you are actually paying to be taught something then it would help if they did their job. My bf's uni course seems to be mostly watching youtube tutorials, and only one of the lecturers has actually made some for the students to follow. I figure if you pay 3k for tuition, then you should fucking well get some. But yeah, if it is easier to look it up, then where is the problem?