Rule 34 (Internet meme)

Rule 34—"If it exists, there is porn of it – no exceptions"—is a prevalent Internet meme that states that Internet pornography exists concerning every conceivable topic. The most popular targets of Rule 34 are fictional characters from television series and video games.

This memetic Internet "rule" may have originated from a 2003 webcomic, captioned "Rule #34 There is porn of it. No exceptions.", which was drawn by Peter Morley-Souter to depict his shock at seeing Calvin and Hobbes parody porn. Morley-Souter posted his comic on the United Kingdom website Zoom-Out in 2004, and it has been widely reproduced. The exact origin of Rule 34 is unknown, though it may be related to the "Rules of the Internet", a list of protocols and conventions which first appeared on 4chan.

Internet users have made Rule 34 into a prevalent meme, owing to the ubiquity of Internet pornography, especially among genres such as fan fiction, slash fiction and hentai.

In 2008, users of the imageboard 4chan posted numerous sexually explicit parodies and cartoons illustrating Rule 34. In the special argot of 4chan request forums, "porn" is called rule 34, Pr0nz. One dictionary of neologisms claims that Rule 34 "began appearing on Internet postings in 2008."

As Rule 34 continued spreading on the Internet, traditional media began reporting on it. A 2009 Daily Telegraph article listed Rule 34 as third of the "Top 10" Internet rules and laws. A 2013 CNN story said Rule 34 was "likely the most famous" Internet rule that has become part of mainstream culture.

According to Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam, "Today, Rule 34 thrives as sacred lore on blogs, YouTube videos, Twitter feeds and social networking sites. It's frequently used as a verb, as in 'I Rule 34'ed Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell on the judging table'." They propose the reason why the maxim resonated with so many people is because it "certainly seems true" for "anybody who has spent time surfing the Web."

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