RIF no longer means Reading Is Fundamental

Posted by janyva@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 18 comments

Looked forward to RIF day at school. Kinda nice when life was simpler back then.

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GenX-ModTeam@reddit

Pertinence to GenX - Posts may be removed if they are not pertinent to Generation X in a specific way.

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CallingDrDingle@reddit

It’s always meant reduction in force as long as I can remember.

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It was mainly a term used outside of the United States. It has caught on in recent years as a way to not sound as bad when dropping large amounts of staff while giving executives raises for making a profit. Hey we only cut X% is another one they love to use. When X is actually 20k jobs that were just fine a few months ago, but now we have a new earnings report coming up.

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RonPossible@reddit

The US military has used the term since at least the 1970s, to refer to the post-Vietnam drawdown. It's probably much older than that, but I first heard it then.

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KrofftSurvivor@reddit

I've heard this phrase in use in the United States since the eighties.

I've heard it used the other way too, but never in connection to anything meaningful - I always thought it was just a catchphrase.

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squirtloaf@reddit

I remember us kids all being confused by the word "fundamental" and deciding it was: "fun to mental".

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IanRastall@reddit

I guess you guys were really riffin' on that one.

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Old_Goat_Ninja@reddit

I’ve never known it to mean Reading is Fundamental.

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helena_handbasketyyc@reddit

Me either. Must be an American thing. (Though the RuPauls drag race library challenge thing makes more sense now)

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CrowsSayCawCaw@reddit

RIF- Reading Is Fundamental has been around since the 1960s.

https://www.rif.org/

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