This document discusses the debate around whether large earthquakes behave differently than small ones in a way that supports the characteristic earthquake model over the Gutenberg-Richter distribution model for probabilistic earthquake forecasting. It examines two key arguments used to support the characteristic model - that paleoearthquake slip measurements show repeated similar offsets, and that paleoseismic event rates are higher than expected from extrapolating instrumental rates - and finds that a Gutenberg-Richter model can satisfy these constraints as well or better. The document concludes that a Gutenberg-Richter model provides an equally valid approach for probabilistic earthquake forecasting.