[ahultgren]

Hey, David! I'm surprised by how many people seem to be confused or irritated by you sharing this. I'm imagining that some people are hearing a demand that they have to read it, and then they're obliged to do as you prefer. And I also see you replying with a cheerful "Thanks!" to comments which I find myself judging as discompassionate. That inspires me. So I just wanted to say that it seems to me like you really value clear communication, collaboration, and trust, and that this document is your attempt at meeting those needs.

Would you say this is an accurate reflection of what you wanted to express sharing it here? Would love to hear it.

[wiz21c]

I'm sure note confused. The message is clear: the guy says: you'll work my way. 'cos you see, there are probably as many "user" manual as they are persons. Putting yours forward, full of imperative is exactly the opposite of mine.

If you want to work with me, never, ever, use the imperative, just ask gently and unless what you're asking is dangerous for me, I'll most of the time help you.

I had a boss who told me he was looking for the manual to work with me. He was actually looking for user manual, to use me (in his word it was not "use", it was "I'll help you to get the best of yourself")

Since then, I'll never RTFM again :-)

[davidbauer]

Thanks. That is an accurate reflection, yes. I learned a lot from the fact that when I shared it in my personal network — with people who know me (some of which have worked with me before) — reactions were much more positive. So yeah, that much for me valuing context awareness :-) I've made some significant changes to the document based on the feedback I got here, and I think it now reflects better what my intentions were, even for people who have little to no context about it.