[TheForge] jobs

[Ben Barrett]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwins_law
from the site:
Godwin's Law (also known as Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies)[1] is an
adage formulated by Mike Godwin in 1990. The law states:[2][3]

    "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a
comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."

Godwin's Law is often cited in online discussions as a caution against
the use of inflammatory rhetoric or exaggerated comparisons, and is
often conflated with fallacious arguments of the reductio ad Hitlerum
form.

The rule does not make any statement whether any particular reference
or comparison to Hitler or the Nazis 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,
Godwin has argued[4] that overuse of Nazi and Hitler comparisons
should be avoided, because it robs the valid comparisons of their
impact. Although in one of its early forms Godwin's Law referred
specifically to Usenet newsgroup discussions,[5] the law is now
applied to any threaded online discussion: electronic mailing lists,
message boards, chat rooms, and more recently blog comment threads and
wiki talk pages.

Godwin's law is a specific example of a more general principle that
also appears to be true.

    "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of any
comparison of any given group to another approaches one."

This law, and Godwin's Law, is supported rationally by acceptance of
the fact that, the longer a conversation takes place, the more likely
any given idea is to be brought up.

....
~benb

PS - in terms of argument, Rob, thanks for bringing it up -- but
you're WRONG!  ;)


On Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 2:01 PM,  <Grover.Richardson at gtri.gatech.edu> wrote:
> Hey Rob, sorry about that, I just posted a response to the response and
> now find your email.  Any who wishes to continue private, no problem.
>
> At least in the last response to a response I inserted blacksmithing
> content<G>.
>
> By the way, who is Godwin?
>
> Have a Great Day, you bet.
>
> All the best.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Rob Fertner
> Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 3:48 PM
> To: 'Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA'
> Subject: RE: [TheForge] jobs
>
> Time to invoke Godwin's Law. We are treading into the argument zone that
> has
> nothing to do with any kind of metalworking, but will lead to bad
> feelings.
> You may want to take this discussion private. As much as I like a good
> argument (insert Monty Python skit), I don't like doing it without
> seeing
> the other person. So I tend to avoid it in this e-mail setting where the
> written word can communicate more harshly.
> Those that want to continue this in theforge forum, please mark it Off
> Topic
> (OT).
>
> Have a great day.
>
> Rob
>
>
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