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12 lines
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>Godwin's Law</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="../../jargon.css" type="text/css"/><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.61.0"/><link rel="home" href="../index.html" title="The Jargon File"/><link rel="up" href="../G.html" title="G"/><link rel="previous" href="gobble.html" title="gobble"/><link rel="next" href="Godzillagram.html" title="Godzillagram"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">Godwin's Law</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="gobble.html">Prev</a><EFBFBD></td><th width="60%" align="center">G</th><td width="20%" align="right"><EFBFBD><a accesskey="n" href="Godzillagram.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="Godwins-Law"/><dt xmlns="" id="Godwins-Law"><b>Godwin's Law</b>: <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="grammar">prov.</span></dt></dt><dd><p> [Usenet] “<span class="quote">As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability
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of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.</span>” There is
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a tradition in many groups that, once this occurs, that thread is over, and
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whoever 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
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upper bound on thread length in those groups. However there is also a
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widely- recognized codicil that any <span class="emphasis"><em>intentional</em></span>
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triggering of Godwin's Law in order to invoke its thread-ending effects
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will be unsuccessful. Godwin himself has <a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.10/godwin.if_pr.html" target="_top">discussed
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the subject</a>. See also <a href="../F/Formosas-Law.html"><i class="glossterm">Formosa's Law</i></a>.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="gobble.html">Prev</a><EFBFBD></td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../G.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"><EFBFBD><a accesskey="n" href="Godzillagram.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">gobble<EFBFBD></td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"><EFBFBD>Godzillagram</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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