Slashdot effect

(ˈslæʃˌdɒt)

(Computer Science) computing a temporary surge in the numbers visiting a website and consequent service slowdown or even server crash that sometimes arises as a result of a new link being set up from a more popular website

[C21: from the symbols slash + dot, which are conventions of website addresses]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

References in periodicals archive

Social networks enable content to become highly popular for very short time and some popular sites can bring about great slashdot effect and flash crowd in a very short time [20].

An ICN In-network caching policy for butterfly network in DCN

The tested sites range from government organizations that have to be prepared for emergencies and e-retailers who need to cope with seasonal peaks, to media companies and smaller sites that may need to handle a "Slashdot effect" when a larger website links to them.

The State of Web Readiness 2012: overconfidence behind world wide performance problems

Slashdot effect - noun: the slowing down or crashing of a small website due to a huge increase in traffic when the website is linked to another, much more popular one.

'Tweetups', 'unfriend' added to Oxford English Dictionary

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