From Jimbojw.com

Let's get right down to it - if you're going to camp out in IRC chatrooms to discuss particular technologies, please, PLEASE use "RTFM" responsibly.

What do I mean by this? Simply that if you're going to tell someone to go read the manual, ensure the following:

1. The manual actually exists
2. The manual addresses the problem being discussed

If you're going to send a link, the second above is CRUCIAL. If you snidely send a link to a document which does not address the problem, you just end up looking like a jerk - and nobody wants that. Seriously.

Furthermore, DO NOT do any of the following:

1. Assume whoever's asking is an idiot
2. Assume whoever's asking hasn't already searched for TFM

Why do I bring this up? I recently had some bad experiences on #bash, ##java and #mysql with RTFMing Elitist Snobs.

If you're too angry at the world to have the courtesy to at least try and be helpful, then put down the Red Bull and step away from the keyboard!!!

Now, it's only fair to say that in my experience, these kinds of people are in the vast minority of IRC participants. Most channels are great - here are a few of my favorites: #mediawiki, #python, #javascript. All top notch.

If only there were some kind of distributed JerkBlock software. Like AdBlock, but instead of blocking Ads, it uses crowdsourcing to systematically /ignore known abusers. Hmmmmm....

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