[geeks] um, hi. I'm new.

jodys at helluin.org jodys at helluin.org
Thu Jun 27 15:55:18 CDT 2002


On Thu, Jun 27, 2002 at 02:03:47PM -0400, Michael A. Turner wrote:
> > On Thu, Jun 27, 2002 at 05:30:58PM +0000, Kris Kirby wrote:
> > > On Thu, 27 Jun 2002, Michael A. Turner wrote:
> > > > 	The one true editor. PICO PICO PICO Uber alis!
> > > (That's the Hitler reference so we can end the thread.)
> 
> 	What is that rule called , the nazi reference ending the thread. I
> seem to remember that it had a name from my Usenet days and their was an
> established set of rules but dang if I can remember it and them.
> 
Godwin's Law 

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

Hacker's Dictionary http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/Godwin's-Law.html
Jodys



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