Imagine that a new popular character has appeared on the internet. Someone jokingly searches for their adult fan art — and finds nothing. It seemed that the famous Rule 34 had come to an end: an exception actually exists. But the old Internet anticipated even such a scenario.

For this, there is Rule 35, or Rule 35: if such content does not yet exist, it will be created.

The rule is closely related to the much more well-known Rule 34 and actually serves as its insurance against any exceptions. At the same time, the history of Rule 35 is more interesting than it seems: the wording of the rule has changed, and its modern version very accurately describes the speed at which internet communities react to new characters, games, and memes.

The most common modern formulation can be translated approximately as follows:

Sometimes slightly different versions occur: “If it hasn’t been found yet, it will be made” or “If it doesn’t exist yet, it will exist soon.” The meaning remains the same.

Rule 35 should not be taken literally. Like most “Internet Rules,” it is a hyperbolized joke about user behavior on the network, not a real law.

The idea is simple: the Internet is so vast, and fan communities are so productive, that the absence of a certain type of content is perceived only as a temporary state.

This is where confusion most often arises.

Rule 34 states: if something exists, there is already a pornographic version of it on the Internet.

Rule 35 adds: if it is not available yet — it will appear.

That is, Rule 34 speaks of existence, while Rule 35 speaks of the inevitability of appearance.

These two rules actually create a small logical trap. If the content exists — Rule 34 “has triggered.” If it does not exist — Rule 35 comes into play, promising that the situation will soon change.

That is why Rule 35 is often referred to as a supplement or a sort of backup point to Rule 34.

There is an interesting nuance in the history of Rule 35 that clearly shows why “Internet Rules” should not be perceived as a single canonical document.

One of the early versions of the list, preserved from early 2007, contained a completely different Rule 35:

In fact, this was yet another absurd joke: if literally everything has a pornographic version, then the only exception could supposedly be the statement about it.

However, the “Internet Rules” were copied, rewritten, and supplemented many times. There was no single official list, and the numbers and wordings could differ depending on the site or specific version. In later and much more popular lists, Rule 35 was already established in the familiar meaning today: if the corresponding content does not exist yet, it will be created.

This version survived the 2000s and is still used in memes.

Unlike Rule 34, which can be traced back to a separate history even before the emergence of the large list of “Internet Rules,” Rule 35 was initially closely tied to it.

Rule 34 existed as an internet expression at least in the first half of the 2000s, and in 2006 it made its way into lists of rules circulated among Anonymous, 4chan, and Encyclopedia Dramatica. Over time, Rule 35 began to appear alongside it.

The Rules of the Internet were not created by one specific person. They were discussed in IRC channels, rewritten on forums and wiki sites, and the number of points constantly grew. In one version, there could be about 50, in another — hundreds. By 2012, there were lists with numbers exceeding 900.

Therefore, it is hardly correct to talk about the “author of Rule 35.” It is rather a collective internet joke that gradually received its most well-known formulation.

Rule 35 is particularly noticeable where new characters instantly gain a large fanbase.

One of the most famous examples is Overwatch.

Even before the official release of the game in May 2016, a large fandom formed around its characters: artists were drawing Tracer, Mercy, Widow, Pharah, and other heroes, and character models were used for fan 3D animation.

The Overwatch game was released on May 24, 2016. By May 27, PC Gamer was writing about the rapid spread of adult fan content based on the game and attempts to remove certain works due to copyright complaints.

That is, between the official release of one of the loudest games of the year and articles in major gaming media about its Rule 34 culture, literally only a few days passed.

For the old joke about Rule 35, it is hard to come up with a more vivid illustration.

Eight years later, a very similar situation arose around Marvel Rivals.

Even before the game was released, users joked that its detailed 3D character models would quickly meet the fate of the characters from Overwatch. Squirrel Girl drew particular attention after the presentation.

Marvel Rivals was released on December 6, 2024, but jokes about the upcoming adult fan content began to spread even before the release. According to the chronology of Know Your Meme, the first 3D animations using character models appeared within the first days after the game’s release.

Interestingly, it is not even the existence of such content that is noteworthy, but the community's reaction. People anticipated in advance that it would appear.

And here Rule 35 works almost literally: the question was no longer whether fan NSFW creativity would appear, but when exactly it would happen.

The popularity of the character is not even necessary.

In March 2022, in an official video TailsTube related to the Sonic the Hedgehog series, an unnamed woman with pink hair briefly appeared in the background.

The character did not even have a proper introduction or an important plot role. However, the short appearance was enough for users to start discussing her personality and creating fan art. Know Your Meme separately notes that works related to Rule 34 quickly emerged around the mysterious heroine.

This case well conveys the main joke of Rule 35: the Internet sometimes does not even need a fully-fledged character. A design that someone notices is enough.

Most “Internet Rules” today exist primarily as historical artifacts from the era of forums and imageboards. Rule 35 has proven to be much more resilient because the phenomenon it describes has not gone anywhere.

On the contrary, creating and spreading fan content has become easier. Artists no longer need a separate forum or specialized site: new art can spread through social media within hours after the release of a trailer, character, or meme.

Because of this, around major releases, a separate meta-art has even emerged: users observe how quickly artists manage to react to a new character. In the case of Marvel Rivals, the anticipation of such content became part of memes even before the game itself was released.

Rule 35 gradually transformed from a statement about a certain type of content into a joke about the speed of fan culture's work in general.

Of course not.

There are millions of little-known characters, items, works, and phenomena on the Internet for which no one has ever created anything similar. Like Rule 34, Rule 35 deliberately exaggerates.

Its humor lies in the categorical nature of the word “always.”

If an exception is found, the rule does not acknowledge defeat — it simply shifts the fulfillment of its “promise” to the future.

In this sense, Rule 35 is a very characteristic product of the Internet of the 2000s: absurd, self-assured, and constructed in such a way that it is practically impossible to argue with it.

Rule 34 says: “It already exists.”

And Rule 35 replies: “Not yet? Then just wait.”

SEO Title: Rule 35 (Rule 35) — what the Internet rule means

SEO Description: What is Rule 35 or Rule 35, where it came from, and how it differs from Rule 34. The history of the rule, its meaning, and interesting examples from internet and fan culture.