Reply #7: fools rush in (imho, what we need is a way to unrec this thread)

[0rganism]

Godwin's Law itself has nothing to do with "losing the argument". Rather, it is an expression of probabilities. Formally, "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."

Whether or not such comparisons are inappropriate is another matter entirely. The notion that the thread ends when the comparison occurs, and the person who brought up the comparison loses any outstanding arguments, is an optional convention.

And worse yet, you and others in the thread propose to extend the topics to cover your arbitrary pet peeves. DLC, corporatists, communists, what next? How about Hugo Chavez, universal healthcare, Cesar Chavez, Social Security, or anything Cheney?

I don't like it. In fact, the more I think about it, the less I like it. In the limit set, we wouldn't discuss anything without some neo-Godwinist zealot cluttering up the thread with invocations of "the Law".