Coding Freedom: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Hacking

display their complaints elsewhere, such as including humorous email signatures that taunt the wider universe of (l)users. 14 This condescending attitude is aptly and humorously conveyed in the following quote from a developers’ email signature, originally formulated by Richard Cook: “Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.”
    Users, though, are by no means the only type of persons subject to the humorous or more vitriolic accusation of technical incompetence. If a question is posed in the wrong register, is seen as uninteresting, or the answer can easily be found elsewhere, nearly anyone from a mere user to a “skilled” developer can receive the stylized and semihumorous RTFM rebuff. Stated on a hacker site with vivacious bite:
    [RTFM] is a big chromatic dragon with bloodshot beady eyes and fangs the size of oars. RTFM is me screaming at you as fireballs come out of my mouth to get off your precious no-good tush, march down to the local bookstore or MAN page repository, and get the eff off my back because I’m trying very hard to get some freakin’ work done. Jeez. 15
    If you are better informed with the knowledge that there is “NO MANUAL,” you can quickly defend your honor (i.e., intelligence) by pointing this out and gain substantial respect if you take it on yourself to write documentation. Otherwise, you will have to swallow the rebuke, google for the information, and hope for a better response next time (or simply find another IRC channel and ask elsewhere).
    A complicated set of norms and conventions surround asking for help. They depend on the social context of the query and who is asking the question. For example, once someone has garnered a certain amount of trust and respect, they can usually get away with asking what is seen as a nonchallenging, uninteresting question. Developers who have not yet established trust will frequently get immediate help if the question is seen to be a challenge, but a basic questions will raise immediate eyebrows, especially among strangers or members who are technically unvetted, and therefore must maneuver with more caution and tact.
    RTFM is a comedic, though stern, form of social discipline. It pushes other hackers to learn and code for themselves as well as affirms that effort has been put into documentation—an accessible form of information that benefits the group—but in a way that still requires independent learning. Many users and developers complain of the lack of adequate documentation forfree software, faulting the tendency of some developers to exist in technical silos, “selfishly” coding only for themselves, and not attending to the needs of other users and developers by writing technically boring but necessary documentation. Many developers also note how the lack of extensive documentation can hinder collaborative technical work. Thus, when someone asks for information that in fact does exist in documentation, they often receive the RTFM rebuke, whose subtext says, “go learn for yourself, especially since others have already put in the work (i.e., documentation) to make this happen.” To give too much aid is to deny the conditions necessary for self-cultivation.
    The use of RTFM is disputed as well. During the 2005 Debian project leader election, the issue of documentation erupted during a mailing list debate. The subject of RTFM rebukes was broached directly. One developer argued that RTFM is an inflammatory, unproductive response to newcomers who may find themselves confused and overwhelmed with Debian’s technical and procedural complexity. To make new users feel welcome, he believed that developers should refrain from replying with RTFM, and instead focus their efforts on achieving greater transparency and accessibility. While debating a Debian project leader candidate who had been with the project for years, he conveyed this commitment to corporate populism when he stated:
    You know a lot about the project [and its project internals], so it’s all obvious to you. There are people among us who have not been part of Debian since 1.1, but who would like to know more about what’s happening behind the curtains. However, those people are often told to RTFM or go spend time in the code, or just not taken seriously. 16
    In response, the Debian project leader candidate