[Elgin Clock]

Oh, you know I have something to say about all of this.

Originally Posted by iCurtis

I think the point Karthik is trying to make is that although it is commonly accepted to most of the people around here that it means "Read the FIRST Manual," it doesn't matter. We all know where the phrase was derived from, and that even though we've changed what the letter says, we haven't changed the meaning of the phrase.

I agree that RTFM as an ONLY response is very rude.
That said, the RTFM responses should stop as a single entity in a response.
Libby's example was kinda funny though I'll admit. I laughed and gave her some positive rep for having a sense of humor, something some people on these forums obviously lack..
Anyways.. to respond to the whole RTFM thing as a whole.. I have a comment.
When someone asks a question here 5 minutes after kickoff (which happens EVERY year, that is kind of annoying, and probably does deserve a RTFM response.. Sit back and read the manual for a few hours AFTER watching the kickoff and BEFORE instantly coming here to ask a question. Kind of annoying.. yes.. it is. Don't lie to yourself. Everyone here has been annoyed at posts at one time. Even this thread is proof of that.
Right now though, if I see a RTFM as a response, I feel bad for the person posting cause by now if they have questions, they probably already read the manual where they thought it would be.

Originally Posted by BandChick

And remember, not everyone has the time to sit and read every detail of the FIRST Manual. I garauntee there is a section in it that I don't know at all.

I can't lie, I have not read the manual at all this year. I am a little less involved in FIRST in build season as a whole than I have been in previous years. That said, with 6 weeks of build, and more until the events start, I expect everyone on my team to understand the manual, the game, and the rules enough to proceed without asking questions that can EASILY be defined in the manual very clearly. Everyone in FIRST has plenty of time to read the manual. Do it.
If you don't, then obviously you are not that dedicated to the program and should not be asking questions.

Originally Posted by 65_Xero_Huskie

Thats what my team does. Since its only me and another person on our team thats active on CD, i am always asked the question "was there anything on CD about it yet?" or "Go post it on CD and see what they think"

Ok, I'll have to respond to this one in 2 parts.

"was there anything on CD about it yet?"

Good idea. If someone already asked for something to be clarified, no need for you to ask again. Awesome thought process.

"Go post it on CD and see what they think"

Also a good idea, and ONLY because of the words "what they think". Remember CD and the people posting here are not official answers. You can only get those directly from FIRST and the Q&A system. No one should act as an official agent of FIRST on here (minus a few folks - Such as Dave, but even his posts say something to the effect of "I know inside info, but to be absolutely sure you get a right answer and to make it completely official, please ask the Q&A" - Smart guy that Dave character. )

All of us are learning, and trying to teach at the same time with the game, and the competition. Which brings me to the next quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Krass

Seriously, if you're so high up on your pedestal you can only be bothered to scold others without actually doing anything helpful, then please just shut up.

Yes, I said shut up, yes it's rude, so are the people that just say RTFM and nothing else.

Yes, I agree with Matt completely. If you think you have enough knowledge to post a RTFM reply, get off your high horse, and actually start helping.
Post the section, and a bulleted <X> type thing to steer someone in the right direction.

The manual is the easiest thing to quote in the world. Just post:

<R1>

or something similar as a response if you are too lazy to type an answer.

Guess what?
The example of <R1> is the same length characters as RTFM so you won't be wasting any more time typing if that's what you are worried about doing.

If that's not the issue, then just go bug your team and build a bot and stop posting here if you can't post nicely.