Taking responsibility for what we buy and use is, apparently, a controversial concept. Over the ten years or so I've been on UHH, and the 50 years of my "aware" life before that, I've noticed that a large number of people seem to gloss over the fact that technology is complex. They buy things that they think they want, but they don't do their research in advance, to be sure that THEY and their new devices, are compatible with what they want to do. They yank them out of the box, plug them in, turn them on, and get disappointed.

"Ready? FIRE!! (Uh, Aim, maybe? You just took out the neighbor's flower pot…)"

We're living in an age where our technical tools are not like hammers and screwdrivers, which are easily mastered by third graders. When you buy a hammer or screwdriver, it doesn't come with a manual, because it doesn't need one. It has a fairly singular purpose and a well-known and understood method of use. But technical gear — cameras, audio, video, computers, and cars — is different. These and many other tools and toys require serious consideration before buying, and serious study before use… IF we are going to get our money's worth from them.

Those of us who write user guides and technical manuals for products and software are usually the first to test the usability and viability of the product. If even the smallest detail doesn't work for us, we explain the issues we find to the product development team AND their directors. Making operation EASY for the customer IS HARD WORK for developers, engineers, and product design staff. It's just as difficult for trainers and training content developers.

One of the unfortunate assumptions companies make about their products is that customers WILL READ the documentation that explains proper use and care. Yet surveys have shown that up to 78% of customers never read it. Many users don't want anything to do with an 830+ page camera manual, or even any sort of a 20 page "Quick Start" guide.

I get all of that, but I also know from hiring many people in a photo lab — and from training school portrait photographers, office staff, and sales people — that understanding and mastering technology requires some quality time, focus, and a certain level of detail orientation. Patience with the documentation and with the entire learning process is usually rewarded with great results and long, trouble-free product life.

There is an old acronym that floated around the Internet BEFORE 1993, when the World Wide Web was born: 'R.T.F.M.' When users got stuck, and posted questions on a bulletin board forum for the tech support staff, the POLITE response was often, "Well, did you read the manual?" Soon enough, that got shortened to the acronym.

"Read The *Fine* Manual!" is the polite version of the acronym. After the tenth or eleventh call from the same user, with the same question, the tech support person would hang up the phone after a call, and yell into a paper bag, substituting whatever 'F' word suited his/her mood.

So here's my simple request to the universe of tech purchasers. Please read the documentation that comes with your purchase, or that you can download from the manufacturer's website at no additional cost. You will learn things you can do with your device that you never thought possible. You will avoid pitfalls that cause 80% of the issues people have with their devices. You will get more done, in less time, with better outcomes! You will trust the maker of the product more, because you understand what they do and don't expect you to do with their devices.

ESPECIALLY if you have used another brand of product in the same class, you need to read the manual just to UNLEARN how your old device of another brand worked. Don't expect brand L to work like brand N. Don't expect brand F to work like brand T. Terminology may be different, control placement may be different, and the way some of the functions work almost certainly will be different.

Don't try to make a Ford drive like a Toyota. It will just annoy you. Don't try to make a Windows PC work like a Mac. It will just frustrate you. They are different brands with different design philosophies and result from different ways of thinking about the same tasks. Take them for what they ARE, not for what they are not.

A little reading won't kill you. Operation may not be obvious, even when you think it should be. There's a reason for everything, and you need to know what it is, if you are going to get along with your new device. Read the freaking manual, and get your money's worth.

It’s not just the camera technology that baffles. I gather from too many of the posts here that there are folks who are mystified about what their computer is doing, and the honest ones admittedly so. But then I’m biased. I see the digital camera as an accessory to the computer. The computer functions without the camera but a digital camera is just a box without a computer. For those who profess a dislike for manuals, YouTube is a useful source with a caveat here. Watch several different presentations. Some are good, many are lousy, and each presenter has their own bias about how to do things. A manual can explain how to set up back button focus but it usually doesn’t opinionate on when it’s most appropriate to use although some manuals may do that.

If you're experienced with a particular sort of technology, that's usually okay. But if you are completely new to a given technology, that might be more than a bit dangerous. In fact, I've seen it lead to disastrous results.

More often than not, I can figure out the main features of audio, video, and camera gear, or Apple gear. But if it has anything I don't recognize, I will consult the full manual for the answer. When I bought my first Prius, I read the bulk of the manual, because it was so different from my previous cars. I'll never forget the time my boss called me from Indianapolis. He had flown from Charlotte, rented a Prius, and was sitting in it, trying to figure out how to start the engine. "Kevin, just put the shifter in 'D', release the emergency brake, put your foot on the accelerator, and go."

He was, of course, confused, because the engine only starts when needed to keep the car warm, charge the battery, or provide acceleration that the electric motor cannot provide. It was unnerving to him. Had he known it is PERFECTLY NORMAL not to hear the engine when you press the START button, or to hear it come on randomly, if you are at a stop light, he would have thought nothing of it. Fortunately, if you leave the car in gear and open the door, it will scream at you with warning lights and a beeper. If you leave the car on and exit the driver's door, it will beep mercilessly until you turn it off. If you leave the key in it and try to lock the door, it will scream at you again, until you realize your keys are in the cupholder... or your spouse left keys in a coat pocket...

Absolutely! I knew I had learned to write pretty well when I wrote a manual for my AV production assistant (in 1984) on how to process Ektachrome film in our E6 darkroom. She read it several times, then walked in there with 12 rolls of film, turned off the lights, loaded the films on reels, and did everything according to instructions. She processed most of our film after that. That first batch of film was copy work that could have been re-done if anything had gone wrong, but it didn't. Of course, I hired the right person for that role, too...

20 years later, I had to produce manuals, PowerPoints, videos, and other training materials that I could deliver myself. Not wanting to be embarrassed in front of a room full of people is a really good motivator. Seeing your trainees succeed after training is heart-warming!

Our training group had a saying that we learned more from training than our trainees, but that our goal should be for them to be so engaged they would come back and teach us stuff. A few of them did!

Taking responsibility for what we buy and use is, apparently, a controversial concept. Over the ten years or so I've been on UHH, and the 50 years of my "aware" life before that, I've noticed that a large number of people seem to gloss over the fact that technology is complex. They buy things that they think they want, but they don't do their research in advance, to be sure that THEY and their new devices, are compatible with what they want to do. They yank them out of the box, plug them in, turn them on, and get disappointed.

"Ready? FIRE!! (Uh, Aim, maybe? You just took out the neighbor's flower pot…)"

We're living in an age where our technical tools are not like hammers and screwdrivers, which are easily mastered by third graders. When you buy a hammer or screwdriver, it doesn't come with a manual, because it doesn't need one. It has a fairly singular purpose and a well-known and understood method of use. But technical gear — cameras, audio, video, computers, and cars — is different. These and many other tools and toys require serious consideration before buying, and serious study before use… IF we are going to get our money's worth from them.

Those of us who write user guides and technical manuals for products and software are usually the first to test the usability and viability of the product. If even the smallest detail doesn't work for us, we explain the issues we find to the product development team AND their directors. Making operation EASY for the customer IS HARD WORK for developers, engineers, and product design staff. It's just as difficult for trainers and training content developers.

One of the unfortunate assumptions companies make about their products is that customers WILL READ the documentation that explains proper use and care. Yet surveys have shown that up to 78% of customers never read it. Many users don't want anything to do with an 830+ page camera manual, or even any sort of a 20 page "Quick Start" guide.

I get all of that, but I also know from hiring many people in a photo lab — and from training school portrait photographers, office staff, and sales people — that understanding and mastering technology requires some quality time, focus, and a certain level of detail orientation. Patience with the documentation and with the entire learning process is usually rewarded with great results and long, trouble-free product life.

There is an old acronym that floated around the Internet BEFORE 1993, when the World Wide Web was born: 'R.T.F.M.' When users got stuck, and posted questions on a bulletin board forum for the tech support staff, the POLITE response was often, "Well, did you read the manual?" Soon enough, that got shortened to the acronym.

"Read The *Fine* Manual!" is the polite version of the acronym. After the tenth or eleventh call from the same user, with the same question, the tech support person would hang up the phone after a call, and yell into a paper bag, substituting whatever 'F' word suited his/her mood.

So here's my simple request to the universe of tech purchasers. Please read the documentation that comes with your purchase, or that you can download from the manufacturer's website at no additional cost. You will learn things you can do with your device that you never thought possible. You will avoid pitfalls that cause 80% of the issues people have with their devices. You will get more done, in less time, with better outcomes! You will trust the maker of the product more, because you understand what they do and don't expect you to do with their devices.

ESPECIALLY if you have used another brand of product in the same class, you need to read the manual just to UNLEARN how your old device of another brand worked. Don't expect brand L to work like brand N. Don't expect brand F to work like brand T. Terminology may be different, control placement may be different, and the way some of the functions work almost certainly will be different.

Don't try to make a Ford drive like a Toyota. It will just annoy you. Don't try to make a Windows PC work like a Mac. It will just frustrate you. They are different brands with different design philosophies and result from different ways of thinking about the same tasks. Take them for what they ARE, not for what they are not.

A little reading won't kill you. Operation may not be obvious, even when you think it should be. There's a reason for everything, and you need to know what it is, if you are going to get along with your new device. Read the freaking manual, and get your money's worth.

You deserve to feel better. You pointed your finger at approximately 70% of the users of UHH and told them how foolish they are. The words you wrote hit directly at laziness and few people like to admit that fault. How often do people ask for “ help” and be told the exact location of the information they seek, and that location is a page from the owner’s manual? Happens almost daily. Very few seem willing to work for something if they can get someone else to do it for them. Slackers seem to think buying a camera makes them a photographer. Imagine early pioneers of photography using that philosophy. You hit the whiners directly in the seat of their pants. Thank you very much for your honesty.