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RTFM

(20 Posts)
Tizliz Thu 08-Jun-17 17:23:09

???

Grandma2213 Thu 08-Jun-17 01:21:37

I did have to guess about RTFM but still wondered why the F was necessary!! Anyway some of them are so annoying, having to find the English version in among 37 different languages and also to accommodate them all it is in such small print!!!

I'm not sure why they are called manuals because the man is the one who never reads them.

WilmaKnickersfit Wed 07-Jun-17 02:01:06

The only problem with RTFM is it often ends with me RTFM because he's hopeless at it! grin

WilmaKnickersfit Wed 07-Jun-17 01:58:55

Jalima thanks! (sorry, only just read your message)

phoenix Tue 06-Jun-17 19:44:31

Hello all,

Just to say that on a thread where I was genuinely asking for advice, I found that a post of "RTFM" without any other comment, smileys etc really rather rude.

And trisher you're right! grin

Jalima1108 Tue 06-Jun-17 17:54:05

I did RTFM about the new printer, had to phone a friend who came to the rescue then it wouldn't work with DH's laptop so had to phone a son to come to the rescue who did it in 10 minutes
smile

Luckygirl Tue 06-Jun-17 17:47:27

Exactly trisher - I also find that you can google for manuals.

trisher Tue 06-Jun-17 17:06:37

In my case the problem would be I would need to FTFM before I could RTFM. I know I always put them away but they grow legs and walk! My DSs just use their phones for everything.

varian Tue 06-Jun-17 11:43:09

I got a new fancy photocopier without a printed manual, but was told I could access the manual via my pc, after following a series of complicated verbal instructions from the supplier. The crucial point was that the machine had to be fully up and running to do this.

Eventually I did manage to find the forty page manual. The first instruction was " you must read this manual in its ENTIRITY before attempting to operate the device. Failure to do so will invalidate the guarantee"

Jalima1108 Mon 05-Jun-17 15:20:27

(I had to look it up before I posted WilmaKf)

Hello - welcome back!

Jalima1108 Mon 05-Jun-17 15:19:32

Lots of instructions are only on the internet these days and appliances come without a manual so it's not easy to RTFM!

WilmaKnickersfit Mon 05-Jun-17 15:01:03

I've never heard of RTFM, but Google is my friend and I will be using it the first chance I get! grin

M0nica Sun 04-Jun-17 19:58:33

DH has a mantra 'If all else fails, read the instructions'. He has been known to follow it.

Auntieflo Sun 04-Jun-17 19:58:29

DH used to teach computer thingys, and often used the phrase RTBB, ( read the bl***y book).
As to manuals, my camera has one, on the camera ! So if I want to find out how to do something, I first of all have to find out how to access the manual. Daft eh?

Wheniwasyourage Sun 04-Jun-17 18:54:02

It's all very well if you have a manual (and can find it in the safe place where you keep them), but why do computers seem to have their manuals online only? If it's not working you can't get hold of the manual... confused

LadyGracie Sun 04-Jun-17 17:58:39

I haven't got the patience to read the manual, only the bits I need to know. I pass it to DH!

Tizliz Sun 04-Jun-17 17:51:05

????

Alima Sun 04-Jun-17 17:48:07

Ha, ha! That's me told. Note to self, "must try harder".

shysal Sun 04-Jun-17 16:48:16

My ex-DH was very ham-fisted when it came to mending, using or assembling anything. He would never refer to the manual or instructions, why oh why??? I suspect he was deliberately being useless so that I ended up doing anything practical while he sat in front of the TV, hopefully with a working remote control! Is it any wonder that I divorced him when retirement was looming?

Tizliz Sun 04-Jun-17 16:23:42

phoenix asked what this meant, but I thought the explanation a bit lacking. It is something that men try hard to avoid, like asking for directions when lost. It is definitely a male thing.

Last year his cnc mill stopped working and he had no idea what the problem was. I have no technical knowledge at all but I can read. The answer was in the manual - oil had fallen to too low a level, but he could see there was oil so dismissed this until I showed him the relevant paragraph.

Having spent most of my working life organising engineers I have used this phrase often.