If it takes two full minutes for my readership to find out what the terms mean, the onus is on me to link to it; if that only takes me three minutes and it saves two readers Googling, then it’s worth it. The LMGTFY boundary is closer to ten seconds or less.
Another option would have been to spell it out—that way a lot of readers would have known without Googling, and those who didn’t would have got answers right away.
I don’t disagree with this. My “corollary” comment above was too facile—when I recall my own behavior, it’s my standard for peevishly thinking LMGTFY, not actually linking it.
If it takes two full minutes for my readership to find out what the terms mean, the onus is on me to link to it; if that only takes me three minutes and it saves two readers Googling, then it’s worth it. The LMGTFY boundary is closer to ten seconds or less.
Another option would have been to spell it out—that way a lot of readers would have known without Googling, and those who didn’t would have got answers right away.
I don’t disagree with this. My “corollary” comment above was too facile—when I recall my own behavior, it’s my standard for peevishly thinking LMGTFY, not actually linking it.