RTFM

Although the acronym "RTFM" may be of (relatively) recent origin, the issue that prompted its creation goes back many years.

Back in the olden days when all manuals were on hard copy only, many programmers were too lazy to walk to the rack and look up the information for themselves. They would show up at my desk, demanding that I help them solve their problem.

Being young and anxious to show off my recently acquired knowledge, I would give them the answer and then try to explain the reasoning process that I went through to get there. It was at that point their eyes would start to glaze over, and I could tell they didn't want to learn anything...they just wanted to get past an obstacle so that they could finish their task.

What has changed since those days? Nowadays, with email and the Internet, you don't get to actually see their eyes glaze over.