RULE 34 (2006)NSFW

added May 19, 2009 at 01:10AM UTC

part of a series on Rules of the Internet

Rule 34 of the Internet Says:

if you can think of it, someone has already made a porn of it… no exceptions.

Meme of Dubious Origin

According to Wikipedia, Rule 34 is generally thought to originate from “The Rules of the Internet” copypasta. Despite the possibility that Rule 34 came from the larger list, this singular rule is by far the most popular, widespread, and therefore enforced. This can be proven by studying the search results and activity.

Search Traffic

First, a Google Insights for Search analysis.

The following terms were compared:

  • Rule 34
  • the rules of the internet
  • 100 rules of the internet
  • Rules 1 and 2

Rule 34 has generated over 99% more search traffic than any of the compared terms.
“The Rules of the Internet” appears to have existed prior to 2004, but that specific phrase is a very common part of speech and is likely to have appeared in wide usage outside of the context of (and prior to) the copypasta.

Search Volume

  • As of today (June 2nd, 2009) the phrase “The Rules of the Internet” returns 32.5 Million results.
  • “Rule 34” returns 277,000 results.
  • “Rules 1 and 2” returns 90,600 results.

Origin: Zoom-Out

According to the LURKMORE WIKI, Rule 34 originated from this comic on the now defunct site http://www.zoom-out.co.uk

On May 15th, 2009 in a thread entitled “Ask me about inventing Rule 34” on the SomethingAwful forums, a user named Electric Eggs claimed to be the former author of the comic on Zoom-Out.co.uk, and inventor of “Rule 34.”


A long time ago, me and my sister made a web-comic.

She would draw and I would write. Most of the time it was pretty dross. I’m not the greatest comedy writer and I was following the dark path of web-comics; lovely video game jokes.

We had a passable following, and occasionally I would make a funny joke. Life was good.

Then one day someone sent me Calvin and Hobbes porn. And I made a little comic about how ridicolous the scope of porn was on the internet.

Anyways, college and life got in the way and we stopped updating. But one day…

Someone mentioned rule 34 on an IRC I was in. I was like “Wah?”. Googled it and saw how crazy it had become.

I actually have the original drawing somewhere in my loft, seriously I should ebay that poo poo.

Also, I’m skint so I can’t afford for the domain, so if any goon wants to take zoom-out.co.uk, it’s going up for grabs soon.

I keep meaning to throw a few more comics together, but both me and my sister are doing Uni work so it’s not too feasible.

So yeah, erm, ask away…

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

Archive.org confirms that the site Zoom-out.co.uk existed from 2004-2006, and did indeed host webcomics. Unfortunatel, the images do not show up.

Correlation of Dates

Current State

Although we can confirm that Rule 34 is by far the only important rule, we can neither confirm nor deny the origin at this point, but there are two likely paths that this meme spread.

  • Scenario A:
    Rule 34 first appeared on zoom-out.co.uk sometime between 2004-2006, then spread to somethingawful, and eventually became ubiquitous.
  • Scenario B:
    Rule 34 was the most memorable and funniest of “The Rules of the Internet” copypasta, which currently has an unknown origin.

With the information given, Scenario A is likely to be the more plausible of the two. This post will retain the “researching” tag until more facts can either prove or disprove the origin story.

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44 Comments

james
May 19, 2009 at 01:24AM UTC , james wrote:

i’m sorry if i ruined the memory of Captain Planet and the Planeteers for anyone

Selene
May 19, 2009 at 02:04AM UTC , Selene wrote:

@james
NOOOO! All of my childhood memories…. T.T

Blah-tan
May 19, 2009 at 04:00AM UTC , Blah-tan wrote:

Rule 35: If there is no Rule 34 of it, it will be made.

Tylord14
May 19, 2009 at 09:28PM UTC , Tylord14 wrote:

like i said in an earlier comment. someone should make a ‘rules of the internet’ meme page. all 100 of them…or however many there are

Blah-tan
May 19, 2009 at 11:04PM UTC , Blah-tan wrote:

There are only three “official” rules: Rule 1, Rule 34, and Rule 35. The rest are dubious.

james
May 20, 2009 at 02:14AM UTC , james wrote:

Um, to whoever added all of the rules, that belongs somewhere else. Rule 34 is its own meme, as it is frequently cited for its standalone comedic effect.

Max Gladding
May 21, 2009 at 07:32PM UTC , Max Gladding wrote:

Blah, you are wrong.
the three “official” rules are;
1, 2, 34.

james
May 22, 2009 at 12:50AM UTC , james wrote:

that’s excellent old bean, why don’t you write Rule 1 & Rule 2 their own entry’s?

kaether
May 22, 2009 at 09:10PM UTC , kaether wrote:

Did this originate with xkcd, or is he referring to an already existing rule? I always assumed the former:

http://xkcd.com/305/

Tylord14
May 22, 2009 at 11:49PM UTC , Tylord14 wrote:

somebody should still make an entry describing what the 100 rules are. dubious or not. if it gets deadpool’d then it gets deadpool’d.

cooltoonist
May 23, 2009 at 10:52AM UTC , cooltoonist wrote:

Wow, Rule 34 has spawned here?
I think we need an appeal to seperate G-rated content from umm… “Mature Audiences” content.

james
May 24, 2009 at 06:51PM UTC , james wrote:

thats what NSFW or “NOT SAFE FOR WORK” means

Chris Menning
May 24, 2009 at 06:55PM UTC , Chris Menning wrote:

So when does one of the 100 rules become “official” and what’s not dubious about the rest of them?

Blah-tan
May 27, 2009 at 06:48AM UTC , Blah-tan wrote:

When 4chan says so.

Basically nobody could “agree” on one list of 100 rules, and somehow everybody left three/four rules the same in every list. Since everyone “agrees” with those rules, they become “official”.

Jamie Dubs
May 29, 2009 at 01:05AM UTC , Jamie Dubs wrote:

I contend Rule 34 to be the only true internet rule. because it’s funny. I welcome its NSFW addition to our ranks :D

rules 1 & 2 are cough Fight Club ripoffs, and only referenced by /b/tards. Rule 34 is way bigger than 4chan

Chris Menning
Jun 02, 2009 at 07:10PM UTC , Chris Menning wrote:

I want to confirm this so bad, but until we have more on the origin it’ll be stuck in Submissions. I’ll start looking around again now.

Mediego
Jun 04, 2009 at 02:27AM UTC , Mediego wrote:

Definitely a meme… and definitely disturbing.

Xander C
Jun 05, 2009 at 02:23PM UTC , Xander C wrote:

Any chance of adding reference of Rule 43? (Transgendered of the original characters will exist as well.) It might be a /d/ thing though.

pandafarts
Jun 05, 2009 at 05:58PM UTC , pandafarts wrote:
So i heard you like tuwtles
Jun 05, 2009 at 07:50PM UTC , So i heard you like tuwtles wrote:

That Left 4 dead meme kinda turns me on, is that bad?

oninochuck
Jun 10, 2009 at 01:40AM UTC , oninochuck wrote:

does slash fiction count in this as well, because that has existed pre-00s, but I guess not in an image tag capacity. Google “a night on thundera”… that is all I am going to say.

Flyer3232
Jun 12, 2009 at 06:26PM UTC , Flyer3232 wrote:

Rule 34 and the More Desu rule go hand-in-hand =X

Leon3036
Jun 30, 2009 at 11:43PM UTC , Leon3036 wrote:

Rule 67…once you see something…you cannot unsee it…

Titanium Dragon
Jul 08, 2009 at 06:25AM UTC , Titanium Dragon wrote:

I’m pretty sure that the rules of the internet postdate rule 34; rule 34 implies there are other rules, but the number of it, as well as its much greater prominence and the generally lower quality of the other rules, as well as that it seemed to appear earlier, indicates it was just a made-up number, acting as though citing a larger list of rules, but the rules were a false document originally.

Benjamin S S
Jul 09, 2009 at 01:27AM UTC , Benjamin S S wrote:

I still cant find any “bunchie” porn

Kirsten S
Jul 09, 2009 at 05:23AM UTC , Kirsten S wrote:

You can always create it, Benjamin S S. ;P

Captain Blubber
Jul 09, 2009 at 12:13PM UTC , Captain Blubber wrote:

I found some. Posted.

Kirsten S
Jul 09, 2009 at 08:16PM UTC , Kirsten S wrote:

Yep, no exceptions.

EPIKFALE
Jul 14, 2009 at 05:04AM UTC , EPIKFALE wrote:

unfortunately, no exceptions… OH My God, what has humanity done!!!!!!!!

PTL
Aug 08, 2009 at 08:49PM UTC , PTL wrote:

I will personally hunt down and disembowel whoever came up with rule 34, and i will use their spine as a belt.

34GET
Aug 22, 2009 at 10:29AM UTC , 34GET wrote:

pure win

BlakFenix
Sep 14, 2009 at 02:00AM UTC , BlakFenix wrote:

Love the hilariousness of this rule.

HOWEVER!!! Mythbusters, and Chuck Noris should be the only excpetions to both this and rule 35. I mean. . . oww, that. . . really fucking burns my eyes. . . just. . . no, no, no. . . Do Not Want.

Eliwyn
Oct 24, 2009 at 07:01AM UTC , Eliwyn wrote:

Sadly, I’ve seen Jesus and Buddha rule 34. Together. I will never un see that. 0_0

Crazyshark70
Nov 08, 2009 at 09:39PM UTC , Crazyshark70 wrote:
Hector Hessy
Nov 08, 2009 at 09:45PM UTC , Hector Hessy wrote:

@ Crazyshark
OMGWTFBBQTSTIS!!!
lol

Lolrus
Dec 15, 2009 at 03:30AM UTC , Lolrus wrote:

I’m pretty sure most people agree that Rosie O’Donell is THE exception to rule 34.

Wringer
Dec 15, 2009 at 06:35AM UTC , Wringer wrote:

Oh snap!

Jake
Dec 23, 2009 at 02:06PM UTC , Jake wrote:

I feel like going to 4chan and saying “Rule 34 on a 20MPH Speed Limit sign” just to see what happens.

CriticalHit
Jan 04, 2010 at 11:14PM UTC , CriticalHit wrote:

The 48 Rules of the Internet appear on Dramatica about 5 weeks later, November 25, 2006.

…48?

What about Rule 64? (Genderbend)

inferior_squirrel
Feb 09, 2010 at 02:31AM UTC , inferior_squirrel wrote:

LULZ STEER CLEAR

Last HCompany
Feb 12, 2010 at 09:59AM UTC , Last HCompany wrote:

Why, Rule 34? WHY!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!

Although, If you combine rule 64 and 34, you’ll get… OHNOES. PLEASE DON’T!

Last HCompany
Feb 12, 2010 at 10:02AM UTC , Last HCompany wrote:

Above comment error. It’s RULE 63 AND THEN, RULE 34.

Serris
Feb 21, 2010 at 10:04PM UTC , Serris wrote:

“Showing 1-69 of 69 photos”

Shii
Feb 27, 2010 at 07:57PM UTC , Shii wrote:

Whoever wrote this entry is retarded, there’s literally no doubt that this came from zoom-out.co.uk

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