Godwin's Law

[The Grumpy Celt]

Godwin's law is, more or less, that a discussion is over when someone says someone else is a Nazi. Is there a separate law stating that that longer talks go on, the more likely that comparison will be made, or is it also covered by Godwin's law? What about doing it deliberately to end a discussion?

 

[bodhi]

http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/G/Godwins-Law.html

[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. Godwin himself has discussed the subject. See also Formosa's Law.

 

[Sir Brennen]

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.

Bah! Such an absolute limit to open discussion is itself a totalitarian measure, not unlike something the Nazi's might impose.

So did I lose the thread? Or did Celt lose because he mentioned them in the first post?

(For such threads, I think we need a smilie with a little square moustache...)

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Bah! Such an absolute limit to open discussion is itself a totalitarian measure, not unlike something the Nazi's might impose.

You... You Stalinist you!

Actually, this is still circling what i am looking for. I remember it being something similar to Godwin's Law but not actually being Godwin's law. It referenced an actual court case where someone accused someone else of being a Nazi.

Until I find it, I guess Godwin' Law will do.