It's both. Using the insulting term RTFM makes it worse. But just pointing to the manual is also not the right way to do it, at least you have to specify which manual and where. That's the rules we set and they are really the right rules, below this minimal amount of effort you are not giving support. You are just wasting time and offending people.
> Just a final note: many open source developers consider that a feature, so I doubt you'd sway most of them with this argument
See the reaction in this comment thread. Developers rarely do only one project. One might not care whether or not someone uses the free Window Manager, but if the negative impression carries on to other and commercial projects there was harm.
> That's the rules we set and they are really the right rules
"We" who? That's just your opinion, not some universal rule.
> Developers rarely do only one project. One might not care whether or not someone uses the free Window Manager, but if the negative impression carries on to other and commercial projects there was harm.
Perhaps, but I think we should let developers make the decision for themselves as to how to support (or not support) their own software that they work on for free in their spare time. If providing bad support hurts them in other walks of life, that's still a choice they may decide to make.
I referenced above the Ubuntu Linux forum. That's where we (=the people running the forum) set those rules, based on general Ubuntu guidelines. So it's a little bit more than just my opinion. But it's my opinion that these rules are always right if you want a successful software project. You can also treat it as an observation if you prefer.
> Perhaps, but I think we should let developers make the decision for themselves...
That's not a useful route to discuss, and frankly a bit annoying. No one is forcing devs to do anything. If you think discussing the consequences and why that behaviour is harmful is making it impossible for devs to make decisions for themselves - that will sound harsher than I mean it - you shouldn't engage in such a discussion.
> Just a final note: many open source developers consider that a feature, so I doubt you'd sway most of them with this argument
See the reaction in this comment thread. Developers rarely do only one project. One might not care whether or not someone uses the free Window Manager, but if the negative impression carries on to other and commercial projects there was harm.