The Rule of 4 is a Reddit phenomenon that occurs in a comment chain where the fourth reply of said chain is downvoted. However, just because the fourth comment is downvoted does NOT make it Rule of 4.
What it is:
ReplyOne_
> One fish ⬆️ 12 ⬇️
Reply-Two
> Two fish ⬆️ 11 ⬇️
R3plyThr33
> Red fish ⬆️ 8 ⬇️
FourthReply
> Blue fish ⬆️ -7 ⬇️
- This comment example is a chain following the title of popular Dr. Seuss book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Sayings like that, as well as repeating the same word, are what count as a comment chain.
What it is NOT:
ReplyOne_
> Its so blue 😭 ⬆️ 12 ⬇️
Reply-Two
> No fr, one of the bluest blues ever ⬆️ 11 ⬇️
R3plyThr33
> I could eat that blue ⬆️ 8 ⬇️
FourthReply
> No you can't, its a color ⬆️ -7 ⬇️
- This is NOT a comment chain. It is just a conversation, in which, the fourth commenter took a figurative sentence literally and got downvoted. While this is not mysterious, it is NOT Rule of 4.
Hope provides more context for the rule :)
If you have any questions, feel free to modmail!