The Slashdot effect is a surge in traffic to a small website caused by a link from a larger site. This can overload servers and take the site offline temporarily. Other sites like Digg and Fark can also cause this effect. While it can be flattering, it can also be problematic and expensive for site owners. Efficiently designed websites and major media outlets are less likely to be affected. Some solutions have been proposed, but the best way to avoid it is to stick to boring content.
The Slashdot effect is a sudden temporary increase in traffic to a small website generated by a link from a larger website. The effect gets its name from a popular website called Slashdot, where users can submit stories of interest to share with other users. For a small website, the Slashdot effect can overwhelm the server, temporarily taking the site offline.
When a website is Slashdotted, it can potentially have over 1,000 hits per minute in the first few hours, which can be a drastic change for a site that only got about 1,000 hits per day before linking on Slashdot. Within a few hours, the Slashdot effect usually begins to subside, as the story drops to the front page, and within a day or so, the results will drop dramatically as the story is removed from the front page entirely.
Sites that have a large number of audio, video or image files can quickly become overwhelmed with traffic from a major site as these files eat up bandwidth every time they load. Inefficiently designed websites can also be taken down temporarily, as users overload the site’s content management system. The Slashdot effect can also impact web communities such as message boards, as the influx of interested visitors can lead to large numbers of new signups, sparking community resentment.
Several other sites can generate a Slashdot effect; Digg, Fark, and Metafilter all link directly to stories across the Internet, for example, sometimes causing web traffic overload for small sites. While the sudden rush of attention can be very flattering to a site owner, it can also be problematic. Site owners may be required to purchase more bandwidth or move their sites to dedicated servers, a much more expensive method of managing web traffic.
Generally, when news sites like Slashdot link to other big sites, the Slashdot effect isn’t a big deal, because the site has the ability to handle it. For example, if a Digg user links to an interesting BBC article, the increased traffic won’t lead to the BBC website being shut down, because the organization is used to handling a high volume of web traffic. Most major newspapers and media outlets are equipped for heavy use and are able to accommodate a wave of visitors.
Ultimately, many webmasters consider the Slashdot effect a good thing, as it indicates that the content on their sites is interesting enough for thousands of people to check it out. Numerous methods have been proposed to deal with the Slashdot effect, from mirroring small sites on other servers to asking smaller sites for permission before connecting to ensure they don’t get swamped with traffic. These solutions aren’t terribly practical in the real world; webmasters who want to avoid getting Slashdotted, Farked, or Dugged should probably stick to boring content.
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