Heyo, sorry about that, I was playing on the fact that common parlance has tamed the usage to have "TFA = The FINE Article" in civil discourse =) My bad, will check my assumptions some more!

Don't worry too much, I also thought that TFA as an abbreviation for "the fine article" is at least as well known as it is for "the fucking article".

Literally the first time I'm hearing this. :P

It's used so much in conversation that it has ceased to be pejorative.

I'd argue that while RTFA had negative connotations, TFA never did. It was just a humorous reference to the former.

Agreed. I think of it more as a joking reference to RTFA. The humor of this probably originates from the early slashdot days.

Hrm... Totally anecdotal but I see it used that way just frequently enough that I'm familiar with the more-general usage but not nearly frequently enough for it to feel "right".

I see this a lot on HN as well and have been equally confused. I tend to rethink of it as "the featured article".

I am not OP but I am 100% sure the author meant "the fucking article".

Yeah but that is derived from RTFA or RTFM, but that meaning doesn't apply here at all.

I think the people using TFA don't know what it means... Whenever I see that I think they are angry about something or arguing, but he's instead supporting the point of the article. Doesn't make sense.

> Yeah but that is derived from RTFA or RTFM, but that meaning doesn't apply here at all.

The meaning of the "TFA" part does. The meaning of the "R" doesn't, which is why it is dropped.

> I think the people using TFA don't know what it means...

They generally do. You, however, seem to be confusing "derived from" with "means the same as". TFA is derived from RTFA, but it does not mean RTFA, nor does the argumentative implication of RTFA come along with it, since the argumentative implication is associated primarily with the implicit accusation that the target has not done what is expected in a discussion and read the source material that is the subject of discussion, which is carried entirely by the "R".

(One can read anger into the "F", but that's tamed by the fact that even in the context of RTFA/RTFM, that's often reconstructed into a non-profane alternative ["fine" is the one I've most frequently encountered.])

Based on the way it's often used on HN, I think reading it as "The Featured Article" makes the most sense.

If it offends, you should be reading it as ‘The Featured Article’

TFA is in reference to actually Reading TFA or RTFA. Historically, it has very strong roots in Slashdot culture, which was sort of the Hacker News of the late 1990s and all of the 2000s. By using TFA, somewhat indicates you RTFA, as opposed to everyone else who is just speculating on the content of the linked article (didn't RTFA).

Some of us here have been using terms like RTFA and TFA for twenty years, maybe longer.

HTH.

Actually, historically its use doesn't necessarily have a pejorative connotation. You can take it to mean "The Fine Article" just the same. It's more of a joke reference with roots to 'RTFA' used frequently in discussion forums like this.

I think it was here on HN that someone introduced me to reading it as The Fine Article.

While I am a conservative christian myself (hah, most of you didn't guess that) I try to make a point out of not getting offended for such things, and if I can do it so can most people :-)