Who created Godwin's law, the internet adage about Hitler comparisons?

Mike Godwin created Godwin’s law, the internet adage about comparisons to Hitler or the Nazis.

Godwin’s law states that as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Hitler or the Nazis approaches one. It began as an observation about arguments in online forums rather than as a formal scientific law. The saying is often invoked when a debate becomes so heated or repetitive that one participant reaches for a Nazi analogy.

Mike Godwin, an American attorney and author, developed the idea during the early history of internet discussion communities. He later became the first staff counsel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and served as general counsel of the Wikimedia Foundation from 2007 to 2010. He is also associated with popularizing the concept of an internet meme.

Godwin’s law does not literally forbid Nazi comparisons, and a comparison can sometimes be historically relevant. Its point is mainly predictive and rhetorical: extreme analogies become increasingly likely in long, contentious arguments. Chris Messina is associated with the hashtag, Scott Fahlman with the emoticon, and Nathan Poe with Poe’s law, so they are related internet-culture figures but not the creator of Godwin’s law.