Bronze-level articleGodwin's Law

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*[http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Certificate_of_Hitlertude Certificate of Hitlertude]
 
*[http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Certificate_of_Hitlertude Certificate of Hitlertude]
 
*[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HitlerAteSugar Hitler Ate Sugar], TV Tropes
 
*[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HitlerAteSugar Hitler Ate Sugar], TV Tropes
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*[http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/09/11/greatest-godwin-ever/ Greatest. Godwin. Ever.] Dispatches from the Culture Wars
  
 
==Footnotes==
 
==Footnotes==

Revision as of 23:42, 11 September 2012

Godwin’s Law was formulated by Mike Godwin in the 1990s and states:

As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.

Contents

How it works

Godwin’s Law does not dispute the validity or otherwise of references or comparison to Hitler or the Nazis. As such a comparison or reference may sometimes be appropriate in a discussion, Godwin has argued that overuse of the Nazi comparison should be avoided as it waters down the impact of any valid usage. In its purest sense, the rule has more to do with completely losing one's sense of proportion rather than just mentioning Nazis specifically.[1][2] The law was initiated as a counter-meme to flippant comparisons to the Nazis, rather than to invoke a complete ban on comparisons. As Mike Godwin wrote himself in 2008:[3]

When I saw the photographs from Abu Ghraib, for example, I understood instantly the connection between the humiliations inflicted there and the ones the Nazis imposed upon death camp inmates—but I am the one person in the world least able to draw attention to that valid comparison.

With the increase in the number of media for online discussion, Godwin's law is now applied to any online discussion - be they mailing lists, message boards, forums, chat rooms, blog comment threads, or wiki talk pages.

Traditionally in many Internet discussion forums, it is the rule that once such a comparison is made, the discussion is effectively finished and whoever mentioned Hitler or the Nazis has automatically lost the debate, though it is considered sort-of acceptable if one immediately says "Pardon me for invoking Godwin's Law." The blogosphere has only heightened the prevalence of Godwin's Law with Nazi references being dropped across the political spectrum such as the liberal DailyKos or right wing religious strong holds such as Bill Donohue's Catholic League and intelligent design advocates like the Discovery Institute.

Compared to other known blog based laws, namely Poe's Law, Godwin's Law is quite well known in more mainstream areas.[4] Just to prove it, the law even has its own Wikipedia article.[5]

Stormfront corollary

In a hilarious instance of cosmic symmetry, a similar law applies to neo-Nazi boards such as Stormfront: as the discussion grows longer, the probability of someone calling their opponent a Jew approaches one.

Other corollaries

A number of corollaries have been proposed since the introduction of Godwin's Law. An early example, called Sircar's Corollary, stated:

“If the Usenet discussion touches on homosexuality or Heinlein, Nazis or Hitler are mentioned within three days.”[6]

Another corollary was proposed by Buddy Larson in the comments to a post about Kristallnacht, on the "Volokh Conspiracy" blog, in November 2010:

“As an online discussion of an original post concerning Nazis or Hitler grows, the probability of observing a laboured and unwarranted retreat or appeal to Godwin's Law (of laboured, unwarranted retreat to Nazi or Hitler references) approaches one.”

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. As argued by Finnish Usenet personality Jukka Korpela.
  2. Ars Technica - No Nazi comparisons? Sounds like something Hitler would say!
  3. Jecy.com - I Seem To Be A Verb: 18 Years of Godwin’s Law
  4. BBC News - Is it ever OK to call someone a Nazi?
  5. Wikipedia - Godwin's Law
  6. Ars Technica - No Nazi Comparisons? Sounds Like Something Hitler Would Say!
  7. Shame on you Ben Stein, for this masterpiece of journalism
  8. And this masterpiece of film-making

Template:Internet laws

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