Johannesburg, 14 Apr 1999
ITWeb recently experienced the dreaded "Slashdot effect", feared by network administrators the world over. After a link to ITWeb`s story about Silicon Graphics` name change was mysteriously posted on the Slashdot site, the story received more than 17 000 hits in a short period of time. And it must be admitted that our server, used to a more pedestrian hit count from SA, experienced a slight wobble.
We apologise for any inconvenience our users might have had as a result.
Slashdot (http://slashdot.org) boasts not only a nearly unpronounceable URL, but also a readership of more than 70 000 hard-core geeks. The slogan "News for nerds - stuff that matters" is well suited to a site that gathers information from all around the Internet in search of news of interest to its Linux-loving fans.
Readers have a certain pride in the "Slashdot effect", caused by thousands of users pouncing on an unsuspecting site simultaneously when a link is posted on Slashdot. The effect and the term "Slashdotted" are now in wide use after being listed in Wired Magazine`s jargon column, and at least one semi-scientific paper has been written on its causes and effects.
Speculation on the ITWeb story, posted in the form of comments on Slashdot, confirmed before the official release of the news that SGI would be changing its brand but not its name. It was also one of the first sites to link to the SGI press release on their site.
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