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Since this is an article about language usage, can you explain to me what "TFA" means to you? I've seen in pop up increasingly on HN, and as far as I've always
by duggan 9y ago
Since this is an article about language usage, can you explain to me what "TFA" means to you?
I've seen in pop up increasingly on HN, and as far as I've always known it was a contraction of RTFA (from RTFM) and thus not generally a civil way to refer to an article.
- ghaff 9y agoIt's just an in-group way to refer to "the article" or "the article under discussion." If it bothers you. well, I guess that's your prerogative.
- duggan 9y agoNo need for the snark, I was just curious as to whether the meaning had shifted.
- gojomo 9y agoThough it's not my usual preference, I suppose I chose 'TFA' here because I do have a little bit of disdain for the original article's veneer of having researched/concluded the issue, without finding context like that in the 1990 Safire column. (That is, the article's "safest conclusion", "that 'lede' is a romantic fiction invented by those who were nostalgic for the passing of the linotype era" is wrong. The word/spelling had genuine long use in American newsrooms, but only broke through into writing-for-the-layperson in the late 20th century.)