this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2026
74 points (84.9% liked)

Linux

64135 readers
558 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Hello Linux community.

I'd like to take a moment to explain what I hope will be a simple concept (so really it's more of a reminder) that everyone should say least know and understand.

Not everyone (myself included) learns best by RTFM. Some of us need a guiding hand or to watch a video instead. It's not that we're lazy or don't like reading, it's just that it doesn't work efficiently enough.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] thebestaquaman@lemmy.world 2 points 14 hours ago

I agree that "RTFM" can be insensitive, and even mean. However, the place it comes from is genuine. It's nobodies job to tell you exactly what page to look at. If you've dug through the docs and still can't find your answer, make it explicit that you've searched the manual, and perhaps be explicit about parts you don't quite understand.

The whole "RTFM" thing was born from people asking for help when they obviously hadn't made a proper try themselves first.