Poe Paradox

The Poe Paradox is a corollary to Poe's Law. It states that:

"In any fundamentalist group where Poe's Law applies, a paradox exists where any new person (or idea) sufficiently fundamentalist to be accepted by the group, is likely to be so ridiculous that they risk being rejected as a parodist (or parody)."

The term was first used by RationalWiki editor The Lay Scientist to describe an apparent paradox in the management of editing rights at Conservapedia:

A poe paradox: any new member of the Conservapedia project who's not as Conservative as them is liable to be chucked out. However, any new member who is as Conservative as them is in serious danger of being called a parodist, and chucked out.

Poe Paradox by chris12467 August 17, 2008

Poe's Paradox

In any fundamentalist group where Poe's Law applies, a paradox exists where any new idea (or person) sufficiently fundamentalist to be accepted by the group is likely to be so ridiculous that it risks being rejected as a parody (or parodist).

Conservapedia: "Reasonable Explanations for Atheism - Moral depravity, ... poor relationship with father, ... scientism."

New Conservative member (who honestly believes this): "They could also be demons sent by Satan to try to convert our children so they'll go to hell."

Conservapedia: "You're not funny. Parodies have no place here."

Atheist member: "HAH! Poe's Paradox!"

Poe's Paradox by Sleeker February 15, 2009