Godwin's Law, formulated by Mike Godwin in 1990, is an internet adage asserting that as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1. Originally intended as a social experiment to discourage hyperbolic rhetoric on Usenet, it has evolved into a staple of internet culture used to mock the moment a civil discussion dissolves into extreme analogies. While Mike Godwin has occasionally suspended the rule for specific political events, the meme remains a universal shorthand for the point at which an argument has officially 'jumped the shark' and lost its logical footing.