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Mokuba's Law

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Mokuba's Law is an adage formulated in 2006. The law states: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of an argument referencing a website approaches one."

Mokuba's Law does not dispute whether, in a particular instance, a reference to a website or websites might be apt. It is precisely because such a reference may sometimes be appropriate, Mokuba argues in his posts on the 0.999... debate that overuse of websites should be avoided, as it robs the originality of the arguments.

Usage

There is a tradition in many newsgroups and other Internet discussion forums that once such an argument is made, the thread is finished and whoever mentioned a website has automatically "lost" whatever debate was in progress. This principle is itself frequently referred to as Mokuba's Law. Thus Mokuba's Law serves also to impose an upper bound on thread length in general. However, it is rare for the person accused of an unfair reference to a website to concede the argument themselves. Therefore, the argument will likely arise in another thread if the participants have a sufficient level of emotional attachment to the topic of debate. This calls the long-term utility of Mokuba's Law into question.

It is considered poor form to arbitrarily raise such an argument with the motive of ending the thread. There is a widely recognized codicil that any such ulterior-motive invocation of Mokuba's Law (in the above sense) will be unsuccessful. This is sometimes referred to as "Abwayax's Exception". "Shadow the Hedgehog's Restriction of Abwayax's Exception", also states: "In cases where the subject of the reference to a website fails to recognize the applicability of Abwayax's Exception, Abwayax's Exception shall not apply and Mokuba's Law shall take effect in its normal manner."

See also

External Links