2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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Godwin's Law
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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prov. [Usenet] As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a
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comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one. There is a tradition in
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many groups that, once this occurs, that thread is over, and whoever
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mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever argument was in
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progress. Godwin's Law thus practically guarantees the existence of an upper
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bound on thread length in those groups. However there is also a widely-
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recognized codicil that any intentional triggering of Godwin's Law in order
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to invoke its thread-ending effects will be unsuccessful. Godwin himself has
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discussed the subject. See also Formosa's Law.
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