I suspect that many (if not all) of the people reading this are likely to be pretty familiar with Internet discussions and the (complete lack of) rules governing them. Often, this relative lack of rules just leads to petty arguments and name-calling, but sometimes, oh sometimes, something truly magnificent can be born. That magnificence is known as ‘Godwin’s Law’.

Named after (and first formulated by) Mike Godwin, a well known attorney in the world of the internet, Godwin’s law states the following:

As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.

When applied to real internet life (heh), it basically states that as a given argument/discussion/flame-war goes on online, it is nearly inevitable that somebody will compare some aspect of the situation or participants to Nazis, Hitler, or Nazi Germany. However, perhaps more well known is the corollary to Godwin’s law, which is far less formal, but far more well known, and could be roughly stated as:

If, in an argument or discussion, somebody makes a comparison to Nazis or Hitler, the discussion is automatically over, and the person making the comparison is considered to have lost.

Thus, it’s not uncommon on some message boards to hear somebody invoking Godwin’s law to end a thread, or to hear reference to somebody “Godwinning” a conversation or discussion. Generally, although discussion may continue after the Godwinning, it seems to take on a distinctly different tone, and the person making the comparison is expected to defend him or herself.

Of course, there have been other attempts to alter or amend this law. Some have claimed that if a person admits the violation of the law and justifies it, then the corollary doesn’t apply. Others feel that the law is unfair, and that if the comparison works, there should be no repercussions.

I personally believe that although there are times when such a comparison is inevitable and necessary, there are twice as many times where it’s not. Therefore, I feel that not only should Godwin’s law (and its corollary) be enforced online, but in person too.

Don’t be afraid to invoke Godwin’s corollary next time somebody references the Third Reich when discussing Hockey (yes, I’ve seen this happen). Next time PETA starts an ad campaign featuring pictures from the Holocaust (yes, they’ve done it before), feel free to inform them that the discussion is over and that they’ve lost.

In fact, don’t even be ashamed to point out that the very title of this post is a thinly veiled reference to a quote about Nazi Germany. I think it’s justified, given the subject matter of the post, but that’s irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that this post must now end, and somehow, I’ve lost. Ahh, the magic of Godwin’s law…

This just in: I’ve discovered an article titled “How to Post about Nazis and get away with it - The Godwin’s Law FAQ”. It’s amusing, informative, and worth a read, if you’re bored.

So, I just read a charming little news story about a company not far from me. Here’s the basic gist of it:

From 9news.com:

Gerardo Wence said he could be fired for speaking Spanish at work. According to his employer, Amalgamated Sugar Company in Brighton, employees can speak Spanish on breaks and at lunch, otherwise, it’s safety issue.

…

Days after he started, Wence said he had to sign a policy, agreeing to speak Spanish, only during breaks and at lunch.

“You get three write ups and you get fired. So I can literally get fired for speaking my language. I find that pathetic.”

The plant’s manager, Kevin Severson wouldn’t talk on camera, but gave a statement that said, “Employees can speak Spanish on personal time, because we want to make sure there are no safety issues occurring from the lack of communication.”

Severson added, “Everyone who comes through the door is given safety documentation in English, employees need to read, understand and be able to communicate in English.”

Wence said of the four Spanish speakers working at the plant, two barely speak English.

So, we’ve got an employer forcing employees to speak only English on the job, under pain of dismissal. That’s charming, but not unusual, similar cases have been battled out in courts in the past.

However, what makes me a bit livid here is his “safety” excuse when some employees “barely speak English”. Apparently, it’s safer to explain safety measures and give warnings in English to employees who don’t understand English. Presumably, this company hired these employees knowing that they weren’t English proficient, so this manager decided then that he’d have to use some other methods to communicate with them for safety, but now, for some reason, he’s decided to enact this policy instead. Information helps ensure safety. Information needs to be understandable. Banning people from giving this information in an understandable way to these employees is not safe.

So, Mr. Severson, what exactly are you trying to accomplish? I hate to break it to you, but this little policy won’t make your factory any safer. It will, however, make your workplace a bit less diverse, but that might be what you wanted all along.

Hello everybody!

Sorry, I’ve not updated this site in a while. I’ve been bogged down in a fairly major project recently, and I think it’s about time to share. This first segment will be about the switch and setup, and the second (and subsequent) sections will involve Linux and Linguistics.

Fare thee well, Apple

I’ve been an Apple computer user all my life. I’ve never used a Windows machine for more than a few hours at a time, and up until recently, I never felt a need to leave. However, between Apple’s switch to Intel chips, their snuggling up to the RIAA and MPAA (two large American Copyright Cartels), and their decreasing respect for customer privacy, I’ve realized that Apple and I must part ways. I know Windows isn’t an option, so I looked to Linux.

Linux, for those of you uninterested in the world of Open Source computing, is a blanket term for a number of operating systems building on a single core, the Linux Kernel. They vary in terms of included programs, User Interfaces, and ease of use, but they’re all based on the same beating heart. The whole idea of Linux, though, is that it’s free and Open Source. This means that the software is free, and the code is open for change, improvement, and examination by anybody who choses to do so. There’s no corporate nastiness, no privacy invasion, and nobody profitting from the system. It’s all just a community effort. Given this sort of atmosphere, I decided that Linux is my best shot at escaping Apple before it grows too large, nasty and locked down.

Learning to pilot the escape capsule

I’ve had some Linux experience in the past. I’ve installed a few different versions on my Powerbook, and they were all just good enough to be tantalizing. Of course, none of the specialized software ran on an Apple Laptop with a PPC chip, so I couldn’t get good graphics, Flash Player, or several other programs, but damnit, it was a good start. I gained some experience, some background, and a bit of preference in terms of what I wanted to do, and now, I’ve finally made the leap.

Enter the Liberator

As I said, PPC Linux on an Apple Laptop is far from ideal, so I knew that to really make this work, I’d need new hardware. Rather than getting a really expensive new laptop or desktop for the experiment, I decided to build my own. I bought some parts from a friend, both some others online, and after around two hours worth of assembly, I had a functional computer, which I’ve named “Liberator”. The non-geeks among you may want to skip the next sentence or so, but here are the specs: AMD Athlon 3000+ processor, 1GB RAM, ATI Radeon 9600 Graphics card, 2x 160GB Samsung Drives, 1 Samsung DVD burner, and a beautiful new case with 420W PSU.

All of the above roughly translates to “Quite fast enough”, and the resulting machine is really quite nice, especially given my total cost to build and buy, which was less than $300USD. Couple that with a used keyboard and mouse from my house and an existing display, and I’ve got a fully functional machine. Then, I just had to install software.

Kubuntu for Fun and Profit

I chose to use the Kubuntu Linux distribution for my computer, based on my personal preferences in the past. This is the KDE version of the Ubuntu Linux distribution. It’s probably the easiest one to set up, and I like the interface better in KDE. Of Linguistic Note, the Ubuntu distribution is named after an “african word” (apparently nobody told them that there are a number of languages in Africa) which means “humanity to others”.

I also chose to use the Edgy Eft distribution, the most recent beta version of Ubuntu, mostly because I like to live dangerously. Another Linguistic note, “Eft” is an archaic word for “Newt”, and apparently “Newt” was formed when “eft” when to “ewt”, and then “an ewt” became “a newt”. This distribution is pretty solid, even now, and I’m very impressed with the ease of use. There are always little things to change, but hey, such is life.

State of the Unit

At the moment, the Liberator and Edgy Eft is my primary computer. All my basic needs are met, and it’s stable and fast enough to use as my daily driver. I’m still ironing out little kinks and learning new tricks, but hey, that’s what I expected. So far, I’m pleased with the new change, enjoying a bunch of new programs, and some things that just plain work better than OS X. I’m still working on converting documents and finding ways to do everything I could on my Mac, but I’m feeling good enough about things that I’m glad I made the switch.

Until Next time…

I’m going to make a few posts about important linguistics and language related issues in Linux, as well as discussing different ways to accomplish various linguistics-related tasks on the new OS. However, I just thought I’d keep you all in the loop, and let you know that if you’re not happy with Apple and Windows, there is another path!