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rule 63 run train

Examples Origin Usage

SLANG DICTIONARY

rules of the
internet
WHAT DOES RULES OF THE INTERNET
MEAN?

Rules of the internet refers to a humorous list of

unofficial rules guiding online conduct or
listing axioms about what the internet is and
how users should behave on it.

 

WHERE DOES RULES OF THE INTERNET

COME FROM?

independent.co.uk
Contrary to what the name may imply, the so-
called rules of the internet are not laws
enforceable by any official authority. Rather,
they are a series of in-jokes, guidelines, and
references related to internet culture as it was
in the early 2000s. Many of the catchphrases
within the rules of the internet, as it exists today,
are specific allusions to memes on 4chan or
popular references to Fight Club, South Park,
and so on.

Emerging as a kind of Netique"e for the

Internet group Anonymous, the rules of the
internet were published on the satirical wiki,
Encyclopedia Dramatica, in 2006, before an
a"empt at a more official list emerged on 4chan
in 2007. The founder of 4chan, Christopher
Poole, has said that the rules became so
popular that users tended to ignore 4chan’s
rules in favor of their own homemade rules of
the internet.

There’s no one, consistent, agreed-upon set of

rules of the internet. The original list claimed,
for instance, to have 50 rules, but actually only
had 18. Some later versions have only 48
entries, whereas others have 100. While the
rules vary quite a bit across online subcultures,
a few have become well established, including
a number of holdovers from the original
Encyclopedia Dramatica:

Rule 1: Do not talk about rules 2-33

Rule 34: There is porn of it. No exceptions.
Rule 35: The exception to rule #34 is the
citation of rule #34.
Rule 36: Anonymous does not forgive.
Rule 37: There are no girls on the internet.
Rule 38: A cat is fine too
Rule 39: One cat leads to another.
Rule 40: Another cat leads to zippocat.
Rule 41: Everything is someone’s sexual fetish.
Rule 42: It is delicious cake. You must eat it.
Rule 43: It is a delicious trap. You must hit it.
Rule 44: /b/ sucks today.
Rule 45: Cock goes in here.
Rule 46: They will not bring back Snacks.
Rule 47: You will never have sex.
Rule 48: ???
Rule 49: Profit.
Rule 50: You can not divide by zero.

Whatever the particular list, the rules of the

internet are intended to be funny, and many
rules purposely contradict each other. Rule 34,
for example, refers to the ubiquity of
pornography online: “There is porn of it. No
exceptions.” Then, Rule 35 follows up: “The
exception to rule #34 is the citation of rule
#34.”

Other rules of the internet are misogynistic or

provocative in nature. Rule 30 (in some
versions), for instance, declares: “There are no
girls on the internet.” as if to claim the internet
as an exclusively male space. And Rule 31
demands: “Tits or GTFO,” or “Show me a picture
of your tits or get the fuck out,” said to female
users in online forums.

The early rules of the internet reflected the

nature of 4chan at the time: raw, new,
anonymous, and widely used by younger males
with nerdy interests, like anime and gaming. As
the internet expanded and evolved, the rules of
internet evolved with it, leading some users to
think the rules are dramatically out of date.

EXAMPLES OF RULES OF THE INTERNET

“@tarastrong It is a frightening
place, the internet. A lot of
rules as well. The two I've come
to know are Rule 34 and 63.
Scary place.”

The Great Mediocrity @SteelEagleShane

Twi!er (February 17, 2012)

“On the internet, there are 48

rules; The Rules of the
Internet.”

“Rules of The Internet,” Encyclopedia

Dramatica (January 10, 2007)

SEE MORE EXAMPLES



WHO USES RULES OF THE INTERNET?

The rules of the internet were never intended to

be actual law, so much as general guidelines,
in-jokes, and clever axioms found amidst the
internet community. Actually following the rules
would be a joke unto itself, because, as Rule 15
says: “The harder you try, the harder you will
fail.”

Some of the more popular and widespread

memes have become memes of their own. Rule
34, as mentioned above, is a notable example,
which has spawned entire websites all its own.
Rule 63—“For every fictional character that
exists, there is a counterpart of the opposite
sex”—is also well known, though it was a later
addition to the original rules. Another popular
entry is Rule 32—“Pics or it didn’t happen”—
which was also added later. While the rules of
the internet are meant to be jokes, be mindful of
the misogyny in some particular items.

JUST ADDED

piqued my interest, Chinese New Year emoji,

Dating Sunday, date me doc, Lunar New Year

NOTE

This is not meant to be a formal definition of

rules of the internet like most terms we define
on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal
word summary that hopefully touches upon the
key aspects of the meaning and usage of rules
of the internet that will help our users expand
their word mastery.

rule 63 run train

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