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Mike Godwin hired by Wikimedia Foundation

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the nazis-in-dept-line-mean-story-is-cancelled dept.

Raul654 writes "Mike Godwin, first legal counsel for the EFF who is best known for coining Godwin's law, has been hired as the legal counsel for the Wikimedia Foundation."

21 of 84 comments (clear)

  1. Obligatory... by perlionex · · Score: 5, Funny

    XKCD Comic:

    Soldier: General, Italian forces have entered Egypt.
    General: As I expected. This is a foolish move by Mussolini, but like Hitler he will no doubt force his commanders to --
    Soldier: Hey. Godwin's law.
    General: Dammit. You know, this may become a problem.

    --
    Gan Family Homepage
    1. Re:Obligatory... by Bloke+down+the+pub · · Score: 2, Funny

      I thought it was more like:

      Rommel: "Mein Fuhrer, the Italians have joined the war!"
      Hitler: "Can we spare ten divisions to put against them?".
      Rommel: "But they're on our side".
      Hitler: "Himmel! We'll have to find fifteen divisions!".

      To get back on topic, I thought Godwin's law doesn't apply where the topic actually is Hitler and/or Nazis - though I can't find a reference for it.

      --
      It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
    2. Re:Obligatory... by Yetihehe · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, as online discussions grows longer, probability of comparison involving ANYTHING approaches one. It's like with million monkeys typing random letters, but online users actually produce gramatical content (mostly).

      --
      Extreme Programming - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Developers
    3. Re:Obligatory... by Evilest+Doer · · Score: 4, Funny

      To get back on topic, I thought Godwin's law doesn't apply where the topic actually is Hitler and/or Nazis - though I can't find a reference for it.
      It doesn't apply, but that never stops a bunch of stupid slashbots from invoking it every time Hitler is mentioned. And, your "reference" would be simple logic.


      Godwin's law is more for things like discussions on whether coffee or tea is better, with the tea lover calling the coffee lover a Nazi since Hitler liked coffee.

      Discussions on, say, comparing a certain president - who invades countries on false pretenses, tries to establish a police state in his own country, calls people who disagrees with him "traitors", kills hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and calls it "collateral damage", and so on - with Hitler would not invoke Godwin's law since there is a reasonable basis for a comparison.

      --
      I feel like death on a soda cracker.
  2. So I heard... by skrolle2 · · Score: 5, Funny

    So I heard he's somewhat of a legal nazi...

  3. Amazing by FieroEtnl · · Score: 5, Funny

    Only three comments and this thread has already been Godwin'ed. I'm sure he would be proud.

    1. Re:Amazing by Eudial · · Score: 2, Funny

      Only three comments and this thread has already been Godwin'ed. I'm sure he would be proud.


      Aww don't be a Goodwin's Law Nazi and point out every post that confirms Goodwin's law.
      --
      GAAH! MY PRINTER IS ON FIRE!!! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!
  4. If you cant call people a nazi by SlashDread · · Score: 2

    We all will become nazis, but call it something else.

    SlashDread's correlation....

  5. Re:Qualifications by daeg · · Score: 2, Informative

    Did you miss the part about Godwin being the first legal counsel to the EFF?

  6. Do no evil by Bloke+down+the+pub · · Score: 3, Funny

    Don't do evil - annexe it.

    --
    It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
  7. No doubt by simong · · Score: 2, Insightful

    We'll be seeing him in internet court.

  8. Re:Hmm by ThisIsWhyImHot · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If he is to revise any entry involving hitler, godwin's law dictates that it'll form an infinite loop and wikipedia will explode

  9. Re:No soup for you. by mnemonic · · Score: 3, Funny


    That's okay. We still love you.

    --Mike

  10. Re:Qualifications by mnemonic · · Score: 5, Interesting


    EFF won the Steve Jackson Games case and Reno versus ACLU. Both cases were won while I was staff counsel at EFF. Just saying.

    (I should add that I'm proud of EFF's work since then.)

  11. Re:But why does Wikimedia need him? by i+kan+reed · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yeah, it's not like anyone would consider throwing a slander lawsuit at wikimedia...

  12. Re:Makes me a little sad... by dubl-u · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It make me a little sad to see someone who was once on the side of good (the EFF) turn to the side of evil (Wikipedia).

    Yes, darn them for providing a great free reference site whose content is all licensed under the GFDL. Thank goodness people are seeing through their sinister plan to educate the populace while proving that open content can work just as well as open software!

  13. Re:Hmm by rs79 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "He'll need to make a law about jokes about Godwin's Law"

    Oh let me go first: Sexton't law: "Make up a snappy one line for alt.flame and Mike Godwin will steal it for his own".

    Check the dates:
    http://groups.google.com/group/news.groups/msg/b54 314f075182eeb

    --
    Need Mercedes parts ?
  14. Re:He'd make awesome council by rs79 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I should have theougt the pudgy pot smoking basement dwelling freedom (and in everything) loving crowd of slashdot would have recognized the proprietary capture of a cool and friendly slogan by a lawyer when they saw. But maybe not.

    My purpose in the original incantation of same ( http://groups.google.com/group/news.groups/msg/b54 314f075182eeb ) was to guarentee the freedom and protection from proprietary interests of said meme in a pre-prenguin gpl'less world.

    And what happens? You schmucks play right into his hands and incant the demon himself by chanting his name over and over again. Arize from the depts of legal hell oh Mike Godwin. Take these souls that have pleged their dark hearts to you.

    I know Mike Godwin. I like Mike Godwin. Mike is a friend of mine. But he's still a dirty thief.

    Oh, the horror.

    Richard Sexton
    Froup this, bitch.
    http://rs79.vrx.net/works/usenet/

    --
    Need Mercedes parts ?
  15. Re:Been Hired, eh? by eggboard · · Score: 3, Funny

    Damn, I wanted to make that joke. Mine was shorter: "The Nazis have won."

    --
    Freelance tech journalist for the Economist, MIT Technology Review, Macworld, and others
  16. Re:He'd make awesome council by mnemonic · · Score: 2, Informative

    Hi, Richard.

    As you know, I fully credit your having had some inkling of Godwin's Law before I formalized it. :-)

    Next thing you'll be telling me that somebody invented cars before Henry Ford and that Apple didn't invent the personal computer!

    Seriously, I will admit that I'd have thought about stealing a line from Richard Sexton, who is a crafter of great lines, had I known about Richard and the line in advance. But the greatest influence on Godwin's Law was Keith Henson's article about memes in Whole Earth Review, plus the fact that I was reading a lot of Primo Levi at the time.

    --Mike

  17. Re:Qualifications by mnemonic · · Score: 2, Interesting


    Don't worry, I'm over the whole sink thing.

    By the way, Glen is now my neighbor in Silver Spring!

    --Mike