Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions , FAQ or FAQs, English for frequently asked questions or most frequently asked questions , are a compilation of frequently asked questions and the corresponding answers on a topic. Have become known in the FAQ information technology , especially in the Internet , where many newsgroups of Usenet have created a FAQ collection to the Board to relieve. Because the principle of the FAQ has proven itself, it is available in many areas.

development

In the beginning, programs were often given text files called faq.txt . Later supplemented Online -FAQ the Offline - readme file and the User's Guide . The first online FAQ was written by NASA employee Eugene Miya in 1982 .

In some cases, FAQs are also created "preventively" without being preceded by correspondingly frequent inquiries.

term

Term in German

The Heise -Redakteur Andreas Stiller transferred the abbreviation into German as "questions, answers, Quintessences ". Another transmission is "questions and answers source". You rarely see the literally translated abbreviation HGF for frequently asked questions .

Since the answers are usually also available, the abbreviation F&A (questions and answers) or the English equivalent Q&A ( questions and answers) is occasionally used.

FAQ or FAQs

To clarify the plural , FAQs are often also abbreviated to “FAQs”: “FAQ” then means a question ( Q for question ) from a list of several “FAQs” ( Qs for questions ). Although one can be of the opinion that this double plural formation is wrong or has a different meaning, it is widespread.

According to various dictionaries, the plural can be written both as “FAQ” and as “FAQs”.

pronunciation

The pronunciation is not clearly defined: FAQ can either be pronounced as one word ( e.g. faːk ); or, by pronouncing each letter individually, English ( i.e. ˌɛf eɪ ˈkjuː ) or German ( ˌɛf aː ˈkuː ). Most of the time, however, the latter is common.

Web links

Wiktionary: FAQ - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations