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troperville

"Rules of the Internet" is a loose collection of rules and aphorisms spawned by the infamous 4chan Image Board. Depending on who you ask, they are either not meant to be taken seriously or very Serious Business. Most of them don't apply except for within the community they originated from, and the list is continuously changing but through Memetic Mutation a handful have become well known.

Some of the more notable rules^note include:

Rule 1: You don't talk about /b/.
Rule 2: You DON'T talk about /b/.
Rule 3: We are Anonymous
Rule 4: We are legion.
Rule 5: We do not forgive, we do not forget.
Rule 6: There is no rule 6.
Rule 7: No matter how much you love debating, keep in mind that no one on the internet debates. Instead they mock your intelligence as well as your parents
Rule ⑨: There is a Touhou version of it. No exceptions.
Rule 10: If the character exists, there's someone role-playing as that character on Youtube. No exceptions.
Rule 12: Anything you say can and will be used against you.
Rule 13: Anything you say can and will be turned into something else. - fixed!
Rule 14: Do not argue with trolls - it means they win.
Rule 15: The harder you try, the harder you will fail.
Rule 16: If you fail in epic proportions, it may just become a winning failure.
Rule 19: The more you hate it, the stronger it gets.
Rule 20: Nothing is to be taken seriously. EXCEPT RULE 71!
Rule 29: On the internet, all girls are men, and all kids are undercover FBI agents.
Rule 30: There Are NO Girls On The Internet
Rule 32: Any line can be interpreted with a sexual connotation. No exceptions.
Rule 34: If it exists, there is porn of it. No exceptions.
Rule 35: If no porn is found of it, it will be made.
Rule 36: No matter what it is, it is somebody's fetish. No exceptions.
Rule 42: Always bring your towel. No exceptions.
Rule 43: The more beautiful and pure a thing is - the more satisfying it is to corrupt it.
Rule 47: !???
Rule 48: Profit
Rule 51: No matter how fucked up what you've just seen is, there is always worse.
Rule 50: A Cross Over, even improbable ones, will eventually happen in Fan Art, Fan Fiction, or official release material. No exceptions!
Rule 61: Chuck Norris is the exception to Rule 63, no exceptions or else.
Rule 62: It has been cracked and pirated. No exceptions.
Rule 63: For every given male character, there is a female version of that character (and vice-versa). Including Chuck Norris. Rule 61 is lying to you. And there is always porn of that character. No Exceptions.
Rule 64: If it exists, Tony Stark can make it in a CAVE. With a BOX of SCRAPS.
Rule 71: The internet is SERIOUS FUCKING BUSINESS.
Rule 72: Darth Vader is your father. No exceptions.
Rule 75: Rule 75 is a lie. OH SHI-
Rule 77: The internet makes you stupid.
Rule 78: There is a Wiki of it. No exceptions.
Rule 85: If it exists, there is a pony of it. No exceptions.
Rule 88: If it exists, there is a Furry version of it.
Rule 103: For every song, there is a Vocaloid version of it.
Rule 104: If there is not a Vocaloid version of it, there will be. No exceptions.
Rule 105: Rule 71 is SERIOUS FUCKING BUSINESS.
Rule 123: 456789.
Rule 177: Tropicana tastes like rainbow. No exceptions.
Rule 169? Nah, I'd rather have 2 69s.
Rule 190: The only good hentai is yuri, that's how the internet works. Only exception may be Vanilla.
Rule 269: Yeah, finally...2 69s!
Rule 284: What has been seen cannot be unseen. Even the post clearance that's coming up.
Rule 647: Keldeo is a pony.
Rule 9001: It's over 9000!!! No exceptions.

Tropes associated with the Rules of the Internet:

Complete Monster: Rule 3 says this about Anonymous.
Crossover: Rules 50 and ⑨ (which is sufficiently enforced for Touhou to get its own page of these) Also, as much as some of us might hate it, 85. Indeed, rules 85 and ⑨ have intersected (with there being ponies of the actual Touhou characters). More recently, there have also been humanized ponies drawn in Touhou-styled outfits, or ponies cosplaying as Touhou characters.
Epic Fail: Rule 16
Four is Death: Rule 4
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Rule 9001 is "It's over 9000!!! No exceptions."
Homage: Rules 1 and 2.
Hypocritical Humor: Rule a and Rule b. Also, Rule i.
l33t l1ng0: Rule 0.96
Memetic Mutation: Everywhere
Mouthful of Pi: Rule 3.14159265358979323846
Rule 34: Trope Namer, along with Rule 63
Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: Rule 9
Shaped Like Itself: Rule 9001
Shout Out: Many rules of the internet are references, e.g. Rule 42 or rules particular to certain communities that may be localised memes.
Sparse List Of Rules: Rule 34 was written first, and even now there are a number of gaps of varying size.
Streisand Effect: The idea behind Rule 19. The more you want something to not happen, the more likely it will happen just to piss you off.