/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)
