swoll1980
January 29th, 2009, 05:37 AM
"As a Ubuntu Forums discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving trolls or trolling approaches one."
Swoll's Corollary to Godwin's Law has never been cited in online discussions as a deterrent against the use of arguments in the trolductio ad trollerum form.
The rule does not make any statement about whether any particular reference or comparison to trolls or trolling might be appropriate, but only asserts that one arising is increasingly probable. It is precisely because such a comparison or reference may sometimes be appropriate, Swoll has argued[4] that overuse of troll and trolling comparisons should be avoided, because it robs the valid comparisons of their impact. Although in one of its early forms Swoll's Corollary to Godwin's Law referred specifically to Ubuntu Forums threads[5] the law could be applied to any threaded online discussion: electronic mailing lists, message boards, chat rooms, and more recently blog comment threads and wiki talk pages.
Swoll's Corollary to Godwin's Law has never been cited in online discussions as a deterrent against the use of arguments in the trolductio ad trollerum form.
The rule does not make any statement about whether any particular reference or comparison to trolls or trolling might be appropriate, but only asserts that one arising is increasingly probable. It is precisely because such a comparison or reference may sometimes be appropriate, Swoll has argued[4] that overuse of troll and trolling comparisons should be avoided, because it robs the valid comparisons of their impact. Although in one of its early forms Swoll's Corollary to Godwin's Law referred specifically to Ubuntu Forums threads[5] the law could be applied to any threaded online discussion: electronic mailing lists, message boards, chat rooms, and more recently blog comment threads and wiki talk pages.