Top 10 Core Internet Laws of Debate (Ranked by How Often They Are Violated)

[John Bauer]

The following are recurring rhetorical patterns that reliably describe how online discourse tends to collapse. They function as diagnostic tools for understanding why conversations derail, escalate, or devolve into noise.

Arranged below from most frequently violated to least.

1. Brandolini’s Law (link)

The energy required to refute nonsense is an order of magnitude greater than that required to produce it.
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2. Poe’s Law (link)

Without clear markers of intent, parody of extremism is indistinguishable from sincere extremism.
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3. Hanlon’s Razor (link)

Do not attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity or incompetence.
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4. Godwin’s Law (link)

As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison to Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.
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5. Cunningham’s Law (link)

The best way to get the right answer is to post the wrong one.
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6. Gresham’s Law (link)

Low-quality content drives out high-quality content.
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7. Sturgeon’s Law (link)

Ninety percent of everything is crap.
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8. Skitt’s Law, or Hartman’s Law of Prescriptivist Retaliation (link)

Any post correcting an error will itself contain at least one error.
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9. Betteridge’s Law of Headlines (link)

Any headline ending in a question mark can usually be answered with “no.”
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10. Danth’s Law, or Parker’s Law (link)

If you have to declare that you’ve won an argument, you probably lost.
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Honorable mention:

Layne’s Law: “Every debate is over the definition of a word, or eventually degenerates into debating the definition of a word.”

Conservation of Intelligence: “For a well-thought-out post, the longer it is and the more sources it cites, the more likely replies to it will consist of only one sentence that dismisses the entire argument through use of a straw man and/or logical fallacy, usually both.”

Jordy’s Law: “Discussions aren’t settled on the internet; it continues until there is one man standing.” (Alternatively: “Discussions on the internet are a battle royale. The person left probably thinks he won the argument, the people who quit probably thought it wasn't worth the effort.”)
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And for a bit of humor:

Cole’s Law: “A salad made with thinly-sliced or shredded cabbage. It can include carrots, and is often made with vinegar or a vinaigrette. In the United States, it is often made with mayonnaise.”
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