Poe's Law
- “what is poes law”
- “is this satire or real”
- “poes law explained”
- “who was poe”
01 · Side by side
Side by side
Comparison sheet
| Aspect | Poe's law | Godwin's law |
|---|---|---|
| Type of claim | Epistemic limit | Statistical prediction |
| About | What you can know | What will appear |
| Stated | 2005 | 1990 |
| Deliberately seeded | No | Yes |
02 · Which one you meant
Which one did you mean?
In shortReaders who land here meaning Poe's Law rather than Godwin's law are usually searching for phrases like “what is poes law”, “is this satire or real”, “poes law explained”.
Godwin's Law
- “what is godwins law”
- “does mentioning hitler lose the argument”
- “who is mike godwin”
- “godwins law meaning”
03 · Which came first
Which came first
In shortPoe's law. 2 December 1983 — Jerry Schwarz's Usenet post makes the same argument 22 years earlier: submit satire without a smiley and do not be surprised if people take it seriously.
- 2 December 1983
Poe's Law. Jerry Schwarz's Usenet post makes the same argument 22 years earlier: submit satire without a smiley and do not be surprised if people take it seriously.
- 1990
Godwin's Law. Mike Godwin introduces it on Usenet as a 'natural law of Usenet'.
04 · Read either one