What is the appropriate word for "following trail" or similar in English?
In this scenario, suppose someone gives me a down vote, for whatever reason. After that someone else comes and sees the down vote and thinks this should be down voted. Another down vote. Another person comes and does the same.
What do you call this phenomenon in English? I want to use it in an article. If it has an ironic tone, all the better. I want to use the word as in the following sentences.
- My question again got word -ed (past participle).
- Everyone in this site loves word -ing
- Oh, another word!
N.B.: Please don't hesitate to up-vote or down-vote this question or even flag or close-vote it. This question has nothing to do about the question's status itself. I am just looking for a word. When I get it I'll accept the answer and up-vote it.
Some phrases that might be related to what you are asking are
- follow the leader
- monkey see, monkey do
- trail blazing or trailblazing
- jump on the bandwagon, also referred to in wikipedia as a form of groupthink (or information cascade as mentioned in previous answer) or herd behavior
- steamrollered, flattened out by a seemingly irresistible force
- mobbed, or being ganged up on
I've also seen pirhana effect and shark attack used in such a context, but from further reading gather that those terms are unfair to pirhanas and sharks.
If you are looking for a verb, one is pile-on, so your first two examples become
- Again my question got piled-on.
- Everyone in this site is piling-on.
An Information Cascade.
This is herd mentality.
One person does something with or without reason; the others do it for the sole 'reason' that the first person has done it. Their simplistic logic is: 'If that were not so, why would the first person have done it in the first place?' -- also, 'he did the thinking for me, so why do I need to think about it all over again?'
The metaphor usually is 'sheep', after its characteristic behavior. So,
"There comes another sheep", maybe?