Except that Slashdot doesn't have a userbase capable of bringing a server to it's knees anymore.

Hardly a unique phenomenon. In society we have so many terms as a nod to their (deceased) inventor(s), or as a nod to a (deceased) person of interest.

"She had her moment in the limelight." - "Limelight" hasn't been used for stage lighting (or anything like it) in over a century.

"The application is tied up in red tape." - "Red tape" as a binding for important documents is now little used outside of handful of places.

"The company bigwigs fired half the staff." - Once upon a time, people in authority wore wigs as a symbol of authority. Now it's limited to a few legal and parliamentary systems; CEOs and the like don't wear them.