Godwin's Law

[threeorange]

From the context in which this term is used, I know this to be the practice of comparing an adversary or adversarial viewpoint to Hitler or Nazism. What is the origin of this phrase? Who’s Godwin? I tried searching General Questions for this term, but found no threads.

[GorillaMan]

Godwin’s law is named after Mike Godwin, who was legal counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation in the early 1990s, when the law was first popularized.

Godwin's law

[tomndebb]

Godwin on Godwin’s Law

Wikipedia on Godwin’s Law

[Garfield226]

Godwin’s law is named after Mike Godwin, who was legal counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation in the early 1990s, when the law was first popularized. Richard Sexton maintains that the law is a formalization of his October 16, 1989 post.

You can tell when a USENET discussion is getting old when one of the participents (sic) drags out Hitler and the Nazis.

Strictly speaking, however, this is not so, since the actual text of Godwin’s law does not state that such a reference or comparison makes a discussion “old,” or, for that matter, that such a reference or comparison means that a discussion is over.

Finding the meme of Nazi comparisons on Usenet illogical and offensive, Godwin established the law as a counter-meme. The law’s memetic function is not to end discussions (or even to classify them as “old”), but to make participants in a discussion more aware of whether a comparison to Nazis or Hitler is appropriate, or is simply a rhetorical overreach.

from wikipedia

[Garfield226]

Well, I’d say that clears it all up then! :smack:

[Mathochist]

@Garfield226

Well, I’d say that clears it all up then! :smack:

Caveat: Godwin’s law specifically doesn’t apply to the case where one person is just tired of the discussion and wants to end it even if that means sabotaging his own side. If you try saying “oh you’re a Nazi, discussion over, I lose” it doesn’t work.

[Larry_Borgia]

Godwin’s law isn’t limited to the internet. In any heated discussion someone will eventually bring up the Nazis. I’ve seen it in my philosophy group at least twice.

I wonder how people “Godwinized” discussions prior to 1930. Napoleon, maybe?