RTFM is not short for Read The Friendly Manual. And there are several reasons why.
- Many, if not most, manuals are not friendly.
- RTFM is seldom, if ever, spoken or written in a friendly manner.
- The acronym is symptomatic of a common disorder in the world of technology and geek-speak: EUDS, Elitism and User Disdain (or Disregard) Syndrome.
However … if you want your infowriting to help people get work done, you’ll need to completely eradicate EUDS and take a fresh look at your customers and colleagues.
This mini-seminar is designed just for that purpose. Beginning with a tongue-in-cheek look at a bad writer-reader relationship, the following posts discuss useful tactics for attitude transmutation: how to morph a Klingonesque RTFM (Read the Freakin’ Manual) mentality into an RFM (Reader-Friendly Manual) point of view, in eight reader-friendly sessions.
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