What Is Godwin's Law?

Shrill, hysterical, hyperbolic and vitriolic are all adjectives that can be used to describe certain Internet debates. When the debates go on for long enough, Godwin's Law sometimes kicks in, and it describes the usual next step in a spirited debate that just won't die.

There's probably no group of people more synonymous with hatred, bigotry and violence than Hitler and the Nazi party. Godwin's Law states that, after a certain point, it's almost inevitable that any Internet conversation is going to devolve to the point where somebody gets called a Nazi or where their beliefs get compared to those of a Nazi. Specifically, the law is: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." This is the quote as reported by Wired magazine.

The Unskilled Debater

Because this comparison is so overused and usually inappropriate, there is an unspoken rule that whoever makes the Hitler or the Nazi comparison first automatically loses the debate. If somebody makes such a comparison on a USENET thread, it's not uncommon for the thread to be abandoned altogether and for the conversation to shift somewhere else. Be aware, however, that nobody is likely to consider you the winner of the debate if you make a ridiculous comparison between somebody's beliefs and the ideology of the Third Reich.

There is a variation on this law called Godwin's Law by Proxy. This is an instance where a debater who has nothing intelligent left to say makes hyperbolic comparison to a hated historical figure other than Hitler. Essentially, they are just replacing Hitler and the Nazis with somebody else: Stalin, Mussolini, fascists and so forth are common proxies for Hitler and the Third Reich in Internet debates.

Stifling Intelligent Debate

There are cases where a comparison to Hitler or the policies of the Third Reich are completely appropriate. You might see such comparisons made in political science forums when different forms of government are being discussed or in economic forums where different economic policies are being discussed. When these comparisons are made in ways that aren't hyperbolic, they are usually defined by addressing the substance and the subject of what is being debated, rather than being outright attacks on the personality or the ethics of the other individual involved in the debate. Unfortunately, Godwin's Law or, more appropriately, the activity that it describes, oftentimes makes it impossible for people to have rational debates about political ideas on the Internet and on the USENET system.

Don't Fall For It

USENET debates have a way of becoming very passionate. No matter how involved you get in a debate in no matter how much somebody's opinions offend you, don't fall into the trap of comparing them to a reviled historical figure simply to disparage them personally. Nobody's buying it and, unfortunately, you end up making yourself look like a fool rather than making them look like a fascist. There are better ways to win a debate, especially on USENET where logic, intelligence and respect tend to go a long way.

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