Hanlon's Razor

Hanlon's Razor prov.  A corollary of {Finagle's Law},
   similar to Occam's Razor, that reads "Never attribute to malice
   that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."  The
   derivation of the common title Hanlon's Razor is unknown; a similar
   epigram has been attributed to William James.  Quoted here because
   it seems to be a particular favorite of hackers, often showing up
   in {sig block}s, {fortune cookie} files and the login banners
   of BBS systems and commercial networks.  This probably reflects the
   hacker's daily experience of environments created by
   well-intentioned but short-sighted people.  Compare {Sturgeon's
   Law}.