Some historic data you may find interesting...
Quote:
From: Mike Godwin <mnemonic`-at-`eff.org>
Subject: Godwin's Law
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 1995 13:39:39 -0500 (EST)
Godwin's Law of Nazi Analogies [a.k.a the Sexton-Godwin Law]:
As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison
involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.
[Usenet Message-ID: <1991Aug18.215029.19421@eff.org>, 18 Aug 1991;
possibly posted in this form as early as 1990 on The WELL.]
Morgan's Corollary:
As soon as such a comparison occurs, someone will start a
Nazi-discussion spinoff thread on alt.censorship.
The Sircar/Case Corollary:
If the USENET discussion touches on homosexuality or Heinlein, Nazis or
Hitler are mentioned within three days.
[This has been credited to both Sircar and Case, whose full names no one
appears to recall.]
Van der Leun's Corollary:
As global connectivity improves, the probability of actual Nazis being
on the net approaches one.
[Long proven quite true.]
Miller's Paradox:
As a network evolves, the number of Nazi comparisons not forestalled by
citation to Godwin's Law converges to zero.
Quirk's Exception:
Intentional invocation of Godwin's Law is ineffectual.
Bentsen's [highly fallacious] Defense:
Not this time. I know Mike Godwin. Mike Godwin is a friend of mine.
You're no Mike Godwin.
[Named for Senator Lloyd Bentsen's "You're no Jack Kennedy" line from the
1988 vice-presidential debates. A.k.a. Cooley's Defense, after the
original poster.]
[Gordon's Restatement of] Newman's Corollary:
Libertarianism (pro, con, and internal faction fights) is *the*
primordial netnews discussion topic. Anytime the debate shifts
somewhere else, it must eventually return to this fuel source.
**********
Cf. the related but more general Wilcox-McCandlish Law
of Online Discourse Evolution (and Corollaries):
http://www.eff.org/Net_culture/Folkl...mccandlish.law
Cf. also Benford's Law of Controvery:
Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real information
available.
- Gregory Benford, 1980.
**********
Newsgroups: rec.humor.funny
Subject: Trial of the Century to end soon
From: chesler`-at-`@sunspot.tiac.net (David Chesler)
Keywords: topical, smirk, USENET
Approved: funny-request`-at-`clari.net
Message-ID: <S8ba.6508@clarinet.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 95 3:20:13 EDT
We can be assured that the OJ Simpson trial will be ending soon,
as defense attorney Johnny Cochrane has invoked Godwin's Law by
likening Detective Mark Furhman to Adolph Hitler -- so no further
rational discourse is possible.
**********
Date: Sun, 25 Sep 94 13:55:15 est
From: "Chris G. Topher Hughes" <HUGHESCH`-at-`DICKINSON.EDU>
To: mnemonic`-at-`EFF.ORG
Subject: Godwin's Law on Muds
[...] Godwin's law [...] was probably imported from Usenet, but
it's mutated to:
"Anytime the players outnumber the wizards by 3 to 1 or more, at least
one wizard will be accused of being a fascist with delusions of grandeur"
I've heard it on 3 or 4 different MUDs now. Thought you'd like to know
it's spreading more.
Topher Hughes
**********
"Godwin's Law? Isn't that the law that states that once a discussion
reaches a comparison to Nazis or Hitler, its usefulness is over?"
- Cliff Stoll ("Cuckoo's Egg" author), ca. 1994
**********
The alleged original formulation:
"You can tell when a USENET discussion is getting old when one of the
participants drags out Hitler and the Nazis."
- Richard Sexton (Richard J. Sexton) stating, in essence, what
would later become "codified" as Godwin's Law,
Usenet Message-ID: <21000@gryphon.COM>, 16 Oct 1989
**********
Godwin's Law has also been (perhaps excessively explanatorily)
reformulated in the Net.Legends FAQ as "Usenet Rule #4":
Any off-topic mention of Hitler or Nazis will doom the thread it is
mentioned in to an irrelevant and off-topic end very soon; every thread
on UseNet has a constantly-increasing probability to contain
such a mention.
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