what is rtfa?

rtfa.net features a distinctive quoting style that serves to separate information derived from an article from any commentary about the article. The shared-bookmark format is familiar yet distinct, because it is deceivingly direct about linking. Whereas many popular blogs lace their comments with unintuitive links, rtfa.net focuses on a topic to improve usability.

why?

Well, I hate digging through crap to get to the point of something. This is a shared bookmark, in many senses, and ought to be easily searchable. Does RTFA offer good search facilities? Meh - it’s okay, and getting better at a lazy rate.

what does rtfa stand for?

Read The Fucking Article. There are a number of sources for the expression, but the great-grand-daddy is RTFM, or Read the Fucking Manual. Basically, it’s something you say when someone asks a lazy question that they are fully capable of answering on their own. Usually, the fundamental problem is in how the person generally approaches problems, so yelling RTFA doesn’t help much. However, it’s a bitchin acronym.

how do I interpret the time/date on a post?

The timecode goes from least specific to most specific: year/month/day/hourminute.  There are always preceeding zeroes so that the date can be alphabetically sorted without getting out of order.  The time is in 24-hour format, where 2359 is a minute before midnight and 0000 is midnight.  All times are 7 or 8 hours offset from GMT, depending on Pacific timezone daylight savings (PST vs PDT).  This timecode maps directly onto the rtfa.net archive structure.  You should start writing your dates like this, too.

what are the editorial guidelines?

• The title is that of the page being linked, or if the title is crap, then it is improved by the editor.
• Generally, a direct quote from the page will be the bulk of the post. The quote should be fewer than two magazine article paragraphs long, and at least one full sentence long.
• Opinions are tolerable, but only because they are separable from the quoted material. The more insidious subversion comes in the selection of what, exactly, to quote. Therefore, keep it fair.
• Interspersing article quotes throughout the post is fine, but remember: be direct, and avoid this when possible.
• Absolutely avoid linking multiple sites in one post, unless it is appropriate (and those situations do exist). Why? It’s a shared bookmark, and ought to be easily searchable.