Note	A Human wrote this article. Other than proofreading and sentence-level style suggestions, no AI was utilized. This is one of the last surviving members of its kind.

1. Introduction

You write documentation nobody reads. With the introduction of LLM and AI chat, at least LLM will read it. What changes?

2. RTFM

You all know the expression RTFM. It stands for "Read the Fine Manual!" This is a command when someone does not understand something about your program and asks a question that he or she could answer themselves if they read the manual. The word "fine" is sometimes replaced with a more vulgar version depending on the mood, but the meaning is the same:

There is a documentation you created for the users, and they do not read it. That is why the UI has to be intuitive and highly optimized. It is used by users who do not read.

This is actually a good thing. I am happy that nobody is reading the documentation. I like it because it means that programs are used more widely and are available to a larger number of people.

In 1990, when I first met the Internet, it was only available at universities. We had a mailing list for all Hungarian users. At the time, there was no Internet access in Hungary. All members were working at a university or research institute abroad. The list did not need moderation. The users were disciplined and polite.

It is unimaginable in today’s environment. Internet access became ubiquitous, and as I like to say, even illiterates write posts. They can not read or write, but they still do. This phenomenon has its drawbacks, but generally, it is a positive development.

Not much time later, I was working for Digital Equipment Corporation. I was working as a salesperson, selling VAX machines, or at least I was trying. The order system we had to enter the orders had a terminal UI with a qwerty keyboard with 20 function keys, from F1 to F20. All function keys had some functionality for fast operation. It meant that you had no choice but to read the documentation and to memorize all the keys.

You would not be able to force that on today’s user base. People want mouse clicks, touchpad gestures, VR hand movements, and graphical UI, either 2D or 3D, in augmented or virtual reality. They also do not want to read documentation. They just want to use the programs, and most of the time they just do.

When they have a problem, they ask. The difference is that today, users can also ask AI chatbots.

3. Summary

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