Internet Law
From Encyclopedia Dramatica
is part of a series on
Internet Law.
- Detective
- E-lawyers
- Internet court
- Internet guilty
- Internet jail
- Internet lawsuit
- Internet license
- Internet military
- Internet money
- Internet police
- Internet settlement
- Internet trial
- Internet Vigilante Group
- Legal action
Laws
An Hero Law | Anti-Goatse Law | DMCA | Godwin | Megan | Rob | Secret Doc
Internet Crimes
© Infringement | Defamation | Deflamation | Free Speech | Harassment | Icon Theft | Identity Theft | Plagiarism | Spam | Stalking
Internet Defenses
Barely Legal | Fair Use | IDIFTL
Other Topics
Allegations | Anecdotal | © | CC | Dreamhost (DreamHost Does Not Obey The Law) | Facts (Checking the Facts) | Lies | Proof | Slander | Truth | Warriors for Innocence
Case Law
The Video Professor 16
We are all qualified attorneys at lol and every word of these articles is sound legal advice.
Missing something? You can help by adding moar!
Internet Law is the Law of the Internet. OL laws are very different from IRL laws.
Encyclopedia Dramatica is internet's counterpart of the Harvard Law Review. Please, see the articles listed at the bottom for the most comprehensive information concerning internets.
The Characters
- E-lawyers
- Rising to the level of e-lawyer requires that one side start spouting off a bunch of legal-sounding bullshit. The best e-lawyer will use arguments learned from TV shows like Law & Order or Matlock.
- Detective
- LJDrama.org often employs detectives to dig up background info on drama, specifically when the drama originated in real life. The detective utilizes his skills to reveal all relevant information regarding the participants, the real cause of the drama, and will even suggest possible resolutions (most commonly suicide).
Internet Legal Process
- Legal action
- The correct response when someone makes you angry on the internet.
- Internet court
- A rare phenomena when someone successfully sues someone else over the internet. Many Internet lawsuits have been lost, won and threatened, but few have actually been carried out. Perhaps most notably, mediacrat won a settlement from hepkitten for $10,000 in Internet court.
- Internet trial
- When internet drama plays out in a public form or, more commonly, the accuser's head, resulting in declaration of internet guilt of the accused.
Miscellaneous Internet Laws
- Internet Laws are not to be confused with the Rules of the Internet.
Godwin's Law
As made famous by Mike Godwin, "As a thread grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one." What followed for Mike Godwin, we can only imagine, was an unremarkable career in stag films. Thereafter, he went on to become the General Counsel for TOW. Seriously.
Get Law
The closer a person gets to a significant post number the more likely they are to fail.
Siannan's Law
Created by auntiesiannan, the law states that the appearance of a retarded Amish midget in a thread at any point shall be considered equivalent to the invocation of Godwin's Law.
When an angsty human buttplug who likes it in the ass enters a thread, suddenly the flame wars between people cease, the discussion degenerates to nothing of value, and the thread is thereby abandoned.
Protagoras' Law
Protagoras' Law is a variation of Godwin's Law. It states, "The longer any given philosophical argument, the probability of a dismissal of said argument as sophistry approaches 1." Protagoras' Law is not funny unless you've taken a course on the Greeks.
The Myers Inventory
A complicated, but extremely accurate formula used to gauge how much longer any given individual will live in their parents' basement.
Where:
a = Your age
b = Total # of Facebook photos you're tagged in
p = Total # of Pokemon caught (not including those caught with masterballs)
y = Total # of YouTube videos hosted
f_gay = Total # of gay friends
f_guido = Total # of guido friends
s = Total # of heterosexual relationships you've had
m = Total # of siblings who have successfully moved out
Additionally, MQ stands for Mackey's quotient which is calculated as so:
- If total games >= 100, then substitute 1 for (100-(total games))
Finally, one's change in coolness is calculated by subtracting your current friends from your number of friends last year. Or in other words:
Once a inventory is calculated, participants must use the following chart to determine how much longer they will be Basement Dwellers.
Inventory Chart:
Tier 1: A score between 0 and 9 translates to 0-1 more years at home.
Tier 2: A score between 10 and 24 translates to 2-3 more years at home.
Tier 3: A score between 25 and 59 translates to 4-7 more years at home.
Tier 4: A score between 60 and 99 translates to 8-12 more years at home.
Tier 5: A score between 100 and 299 translates to 13-19 more years at home.
Tier 6: A score between 300 and 799 translates to 20-35 more years at home.
Tier 7: A score above 800 means YOU WILL NEVER LIVE IN YOUR OWN ABODE!!!
FACT: Marriland is the only person to score over 800.
Pythagoras' Theorem
A variation of Godwin's Law, the Pythagorean theorem states that "As a thread grows longer, the probability of A2+B2 equaling C2 approaches one." This is, of course, the most unlulzy law evar and the creator should be resurrected so he can be raped and then killed again.
The Limp Bizkit Principle
The simplest truths meet with the sternest resistance. For example, Limp Bizkit (the band of which the law is named) is often decried and lambasted across the internet, but at the same time they have sold millions of records. This would not be possible if every one was speaking the truth.
The Australian's Law
Anyone or anything slightly effeminate on the internet is a fag or was made by one. There are no exceptions to this rule.
Furry's Law
A variation of Godwin's Law which states that, in a debate, if you are a furry, you lose. There are no exceptions to this law. Furfags are sick faggots who should be purged with fire.
Jansonius's Law
When the mere innocence of a thread in the wrong place advocates its imminent fail, the chances of a question resulting in penis shame replies are equal to the thread's author's original innocence.
Bloodlent's Law
A variation of Godwin's Law which states that, in a debate, if you are an emo/scenester/goth, you lose.
Proof's Law
A variation on Godwin's law which states that, in any given discussion about anything, as the thread gets longer, the probability of the discussion degenerating into a debate over rock vs. rap approaches one. At this point, all arguments may be refuted by a fifty Proof post. Tupac is also acceptable, but neither have been attempted in practice as of yet.
Connery's Law
Mostly applied to YTMND. The funny value of a fad is an inversely proportional to the funny value of the joke that started the fad.
Empirical law
In any given discussion about anything, between a Britfag and an Americunt, as the thread gets longer the probability of the Britfag making the Americunt fail due to superior language skils approaches 1. This law is always true unless a frenchman gets involved.
Comic Law
In any given discussion about comic books, as the the thread gets longer, the probability of the discussion degenerating into a pussyfight over Batman vs. Superman approaches one.
Banaan's Law
Banaan's Law states that for any given internets user, his Internet Reputation (ePoints) is inversely proportional to his IRL Reputation.
Krade's Exception
Krade's Exception to Banaan's Law states that while having high eRep implies having low IRLRep, having low IRLRep does not necessarily imply having high eRep.
YCTAT Law
You cannot troll a troll. Although not written in stone, when teenagers attempt to fight experienced trolls they often forget this.
ATCTAT Exception
If a troll is of enough experience, he can, in theory, troll another troll.
LJ Friends Corollary
The LJ Friends Corollary can be derived from Banaan's Law, since it's a particular case of it. It states that the length of your LJ friendslist is inversely proportional to the amount of IRL friends you have.
Juggity's Fundamental Theorem of Caturday
Banbot's Hypothesis
In any flame war, argument or discussion online, it is important to have an entirely irrelevant tangent. This enables the thread to be completely derailed, allowing for unexpected drama and lulz. Tangential discussions are very popular with trolls who find it amusing to destroy any possibility of a conversation making any progress towards reaching a satisfying conclusion.
It has been hypothesized that the creation of tangential discussions of continuously decreasing relevance can indefinitely circumnavigate Godwin's Law. It seems doubtful that this hypothesis can ever be tested as no troll is likely to have sufficient expressive ability to avoid the effect of Protagoras's Law throughout a thread of infinite length. Nonetheless, you are welcome to refer to this concept as Banbot's Hypothesis.
Samadhi's Law
In any discussion among animal activists/vegans/vegetarians regarding their lifestyle choices and/or beliefs, someone will inevitably bring up PETA. The person who brings up PETA or attempts to use PETA as a legitimate source automatically loses the debate. Once Samadhi's Law is called, the discussion is dead.
Sturgeon's Law
"Ninety percent of everything is crap."
This fundamental law of the universe was discovered by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon. The law applies to everything, including especially Encyclopedia Dramatica articles. However, most agree that Sturgeon was low-balling when it comes to people.
Some pedants insist that this is not Sturgeon's Law, but Sturgeon's Revelation. They are full of shit.
Some pedants insist that the last word in Sturgeon's Law is "crud". They are uptight librarians who can't say the word crap.
Hamill's Law
The quality of the fan fiction in any given fandom is equal to the negative of the square of the absolute value of the quality of the fandom's canon, or, in mathematical terms, X = -(|Y|)². Therefore, both good and bad canons will have far worse fanfictions. Thusly, from this, we can conclude that all fanfiction is bad.
Ket's Law
Virginity, left untreated, leads to repeated viewings of guro porn.
Seven's Law
Seven's Law (also referred to Seven's Law of MMOs) is an adaption of Godwin's Law, pertaining to the likelihood of a comparison to World of Warcraft in any discussion of a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG). The rule is as follows:
As any discussion pertaining to any MMORPG grows longer, the probability of a comparison to World of Warcraft approaches one.
When this law is invoked, much like Godwin's law the person who made the comparison automatically loses the conversation. The only exception to this rule is known as the "WoW exception", which states that if the user is speaking in a WoW forum or in the game itself the rule does not apply.
Hungryandhollow's Law
Hungryandhollow's Law states that, for every additional day a person on the internets does not post pictures of themselves, the probability that they are fat and/or hideously ugly increases.
The inverse to this law states that, for every picture of themselves on the internet totaling more then three, the probability that they are a whore increases.
Bunker's Law
A satirist's popularity is inversely proportional to the percentage of people that understand him.
This is based on the observations of Carroll O'Connor, known as famed bigot Archie Bunker on "All In The Family". Towards the final days of playing his Archie character, racists and homophobes would walk up to him on the street and thank him for standing up for what they believe in.
This law may be at the root of the AIDS that is killing ED.
Banhammer Theorem
Also known as "That fucking mod's law!" which states that as a thread grows longer, the probability of someone receiving the banhammer approaches 1.
The Dartboard Corollary
An addition to the Banhammer Theorum which states that as a thread grows longer , the possibility of someone being banned without any reason whatsoever approaches 1.
Your Mother's Basement Law
As a debate grows longer the probability of getting accused of living in your mother's basement approaches one.
Arkal's Law
The more people who enjoy a user's trolling, the less chance he has of getting b&.
Cryos's Effect
In addition to Arkal's Law, if said user is b& by a moderator; rebellion will take place. The lower the chance the user had of getting b&, the higher the amount of hate will be conjured to this moderator.
God's Law
A variation of Godwin's Law which states that, in a debate, if you are a theist, you lose. This is due to the fact that theists are about half as intelligent as steamed prawns, though theists are the much preferred cuisine according to lions. God's Law holds even in debates that are not clearly related to religion, such as PS3 vs. 360. This can lead to the interesting result that both sides are demonstrably wrong. Though counterintuitive at first glance, this actually makes perfect sense, as most people are fucking idiots.
God's Law, Corollary
In a debate, if you are an atheist, you win. Included for completeness, the Corollary to God's Law is no law at all. This can be easily proven by assuming the truth of the Corollary and deriving a contradiction.
0) In a debate, if you are an atheist, you win.
1) In a debate, if you are a theist, you lose. (God's Law)
2) If you lose, your position is proven wrong.
3) Sometimes some theists and some atheists will find themselves on the same side of a debate. (e.g. Burger King vs. McDonald's, there are theists and atheists on both sides of the debate.)
4) Some theists believe that Burger King is better than McDonald's.
5) Some theists believe that McDonald's is better than Burger King.
6) Burger King is not better than McDonald's. (From 1 and 4.)
7) McDonald's is not better than Burger King. (From 1 and 5.)
8) Some atheists believe that Burger King is better than McDonald's.
9) Some atheists believe that McDonald's is better than Burger King.
10) Some atheists are wrong in the debate of Burger King vs. McDonald's.
11) Some atheists are wrong in the debate of Burger King vs. McDonald's and in a debate, if you are an atheist, you win. (from 10 and 0, contradiction.)
12) Therefore, it is not the case that in a debate, if you are an atheist, you win. (Discharge the assumption from which a contradiction was derived.)
This is an example of logic, so you are encouraged to ignore it.
Dawson's Hypothesis
In relation to both God's Law and Godwin's Law: The longer a debate in which there are both athiest and theist members of the forum/wiki/imageboard/shitty video-based, emofag breeding ground on both sides of the debate continues, then probability of a tangent (see Banbot's Hypothesis) towards a flamewar relating to the religious orientation of the aforementioned theist members of said site reaches 1.
NOTE: If the forum is facepunch, then the likelihood is already 1.
God's Second Law
A variation on Proof's law which states that, in any given discussion about anything, as the the thread gets longer, the probability of the discussion degenerating into a debate over Atheists vs Christians approaches one. At this point, all arguments may NOT be refuted and the thread is over. If the thread does not end, it will eventually be invaded by the Jews and Towelheads who were pissed off because they were ignored for being Jews and Towelheads. After that the thread will either branch off into an e-lawsuit started by a greedy Jew, or if everyone leaves the towelheads will make a bomb threat and inevitably get V&.
The Law of furfaggotry and narutardation on artist websites
On any given art site, but especially deviantART, the page of most popular art will contain at least one Naruto or furry piece of "art". This is raised exponentially by factors such as location, disposition, and demographics enclosed.
The law of dox shock
The more a person guards their identity, the more they will react with shock when it is revealed, the law dictates that responses range from the standard "those aren't mine" to "oh those are my friends dox" to "OH SHIT WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE".
Law of the Post Count
an unwritten internet law that states that the likelihood of a poster being moderated, regardless of the merits or otherwise of their post, is inversely proportional to their relative post count. The Law also states that the truthiness of any post is directly proportional to the post count of its creator.
Burk's law
The amount of butthurt is directly related to exposure of negative traits. The more someones secret life is exposed, to where their family may find it, The more likely he is to delete fucking everything, and the amount of drama is increased exponentially when ones personal documents can be procured and the secrets of said person revealed to his family members by way of civic-minded socially responsible individuals. The quickest way to incite butthurt is that which gives most publicity (like a spot on ED's front page), responses are always predictable and easy to deal with. Any and all contact after said exposure is likely to yield lulz, and contact should be encouraged.
Zero's Forgotten Law
Zero's law states that the amount of "leetspeak" a person uses on the internet is inversely proportional to the person's IRL intelligence. i.e. anyone who calls themselves a "1337 haX0r" is clearly a fucktard and it is your responsibility to stone and beat the offender to death.
Law of the Fags
This law states that a faggotry cannot be standalone and every fag OL/IRL must also be either a furfag, motherfucker, jew, towelhead, nigger, mother-licker, pervert, pedophile, fat fucking piece of shit, Limp Bizkit Fan (see above) or any combination of the previous.
Sinistar's law
Sinistar's law states that you must beware, for he lives, and you must beware. It also states that he hungers. Also, you must run, for you are a coward.
The Tigerwolf Effect
If a person has been wrong or stupid even once on a certain forum, users of that forum will disagree with or mock anything that person says in the future, even if it's right.
(note: While Tigerwolf is certainly legit, some believe this law to have been made by Grace Saunders, others refute this on the grounds that Peter (grace) would never admit he had been stupid once.)
Grace Saunders law
If you whine enough, even the most peaceful of people will become brutal, vicious trolls to you.
Cornell's law
If there is one side to an argument, there will always be those who oppose the idea, no matter how conclusively proven the former, or irrationally fail the latter. (See Creationists, Christians and Conservatives )
Vedder's law
The Proof, facts, evidence or examples you provide, the more likely some one is to deny those facts, if it will benefit them in the short run.
Law Of Unintended Consequences
The "Law of Unintended Consequences" (also called the "law of unforeseen consequences") states that any purposeful action will produce some unintended consequences. A classic example is a bypass — a road built to relieve traffic congestion on a congested road — that attracts new development and with it more traffic, resulting in two congested streets instead of one.
This maxim is not a scientific law. Rather, it is more a warning against the hubristic belief that humans can fully control the world around them which, therefore, establishes that each cause has more than one effect, and these effects will invariably include at least one unforeseen side effect and it is likely that the unintended side effect can potentially be more significant than any of the intended effects.
Assburgers Law
The law that the longer a person goes without having the SHIT BEAT OUT OF THEM IRL the more likely it is they will develop aspergers' syndrome, and consequentially become an internet lolcow.
Please help by writing or requesting new articles for this series.
| Internet Law is part of a series on serious business |
Internet Law • Internet disease • Internet drama • Internet stalking • Identity theft • Irony • Free Speech • Swatting • Operation Falcon Punch Serious People & Organizations |
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