A website that has been "slash-dotted" is one that has been inundated in traffic and internet hits after being referenced to by a larger site, typically a news or dynamic information site. Originally, this term referred directly to the website Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters, a news site devoted to technology and technological developments that made a habit of linking to smaller, underrated and occasionally virtually unknown websites. Since then, the term has been used to refer to other sites whose linking habits have produced similar effects, most notably www.digg.com.
Being slash-dotted can be seen both as a good and as a bad thing. As a positive, internet traffic is a coveted commodity amongst groups and individuals with websites, as it can lead to increased advertising revenue, increased awareness of the service or product they offer, and increased business for companies engaged in online sales. As a negative, however, many of the sites that get slash-dotted are hosted by services that cannot handle the influx of traffic; as a result, the entire website can go down for extensive periods of time, thereby decreasing advertising revenue and business, as well as making the site and group or individual associated with the website seem somewhat unprofessional.
Being slash-dotted can be seen both as a good and as a bad thing. As a positive, internet traffic is a coveted commodity amongst groups and individuals with websites, as it can lead to increased advertising revenue, increased awareness of the service or product they offer, and increased business for companies engaged in online sales. As a negative, however, many of the sites that get slash-dotted are hosted by services that cannot handle the influx of traffic; as a result, the entire website can go down for extensive periods of time, thereby decreasing advertising revenue and business, as well as making the site and group or individual associated with the website seem somewhat unprofessional.