Brigading
Etymology
From the military “brigade,” the term hardened on Reddit in the 2010s to describe one community mobilizing to mass-downvote or flood another. Platforms wrote explicit anti-brigading rules because the behavior weaponized ordinary voting and reply features. The word emphasizes coordination — a marching column, not a mob.
noun · /brih-GAY-ding/
A coordinated influx of outsiders descending on a post, forum, or user to overwhelm it.
What it names
Organized swarming, distinguishing a planned raid from spontaneous pile-ons.
Example
The mod locked the thread after another subreddit began brigading it with hundreds of hostile comments in minutes.
Related idea
Brigading differs from dogpiling in premeditation: dogpiling can erupt organically as many people independently pile on, while brigading is summoned.
See also