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Slashdot

When a website experiences a sudden and overwhelming surge in traffic due to a mention on a high-traffic site, the server may become completely unreachable. This phenomenon is called being "slashdotted."

The term originated in October 1998 after a press release was published on Slashdot.org, a popular technology news website. The publication caused a significant spike in traffic to another server, leading to its crash.

While the term "slashdotting" was common in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it is rarely used today. Modern web servers are better equipped to handle traffic spikes, making it rare for a site to become unreachable.

Updated July 5, 2024 by Per C.

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