RTFM stands for read the friendly manual. While it is good advice, I don’t think giving it as feedback to someone is very productive. It might also be the wrong advice in certain cases.
In this post I’d like to go through two situations where saying RTFM is just not a good thing to do.
Case 1: Your Manual is Bad
You wrote a manual or some documentation and you receive the same questions from different people.
I am sorry but even if the question is answered in the manual, your manual might need some improvement because users are not able to find the information they need.
For example: you keep your docs in markdown files in a GitHub repository. For non coders searching through a GitHub repository might be difficult.
In that case hosting on GitHub pages and adding a search option might make your manual friendlier for end users.
Case 2: There is a Learning opportunity
Let’s say your manual is perfect and it is indeed a situation where your colleague has some gaps in searching skills.
All of us had to learn how to search information at some point. For example how to tune a search phrase in google.
Use it as a learning opportunity to show that person how to look for information effectively in your company.
Ask them if they would like some tips about how to search for information internally. If they say yes, ask them to show you how they currently look for information and give them tips based on that!
Conclusion
Saying RTFM is not productive and can even be considered rude.
Next time, before saying RTFM:
- Check if your manual is good enough
- Use it as a mentoring opportunity