> Mike Godwin coined the term "Pierre Salinger Syndrome"?

Full Version: Mike Godwin coined the term "Pierre Salinger Syndrome"?

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anthony

http://www.fitug.de/debate/9706/msg00100.html

QUOTE

There is also the possibility on the Internet for what Mike Godwin, staff
attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, calls "the Pierre
Salinger syndrome" -- that is, the ability of the global network to spread
utterly unfounded rumors around the globe in seconds.

Still, Godwin said Friday, with the Decency Act as precedent, governments
worldwide may have to learn to live with the bazaar of speech that is the
Internet -- with junk hawked in some booths, jewels in others.

"On the Internet," Godwin said, "everybody has a loud voice."

Predates the Moira Gunn article. Weird.

Kato

I read that somewhere on the internet about Mike Godwin. I don't believe it though. I think it was someone else.

irony alert

Anyway he's absolutely right, much to my despair. But it's a bit rich someone at the WikimediaFoundation talking about "learning to live with the bazaar of speech that is the Internet -- with junk hawked in some booths, jewels in others"! Some of the leading editors including Jimbo Wales himself have tried to hawk all kinds of baseless rumours into articles of those whose ideologies they don't agree with. And worse, they do it under the guise of "an encyclopedia". I can't think of any modern institution that has done more to obscure the boundaries between fact and fantasy.

Dawkins, save us from this terrible fate.

PS: We're by no means immune to hawking junk ourselves. In fact, that's what we seem to be doing more than anything else at the moment. All we can do is be vigilant and do our best with the available evidence.

anthony

QUOTE(Kato @ Sat 3rd November 2007, 9:10pm)

I read that somewhere on the internet about Mike Godwin. I don't believe it though. I think it was someone else.

That's what the nazis said.

Kato

QUOTE(anthony @ Sat 3rd November 2007, 9:14pm)

QUOTE(Kato @ Sat 3rd November 2007, 9:10pm)

I read that somewhere on the internet about Mike Godwin. I don't believe it though. I think it was someone else.

That's what the nazis said.

Nice one.

I like a good Godwin, Nazi, Salinger irony feedback gag!

blissyu2

Can we be absolutely sure that Mike Godwin coined the term "Pierre Salinger syndrome"? Is there any history to back it up? We know that he coined the term "Godwin's law" (in reference to everything ending up talking about Hitler/Nazis) but is this true too? What other terms has he come up with?

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