Please don't list this on a work's page as a trope.
Examples can go on the work's YMMV tab.

Internet Backdraft

aka: Live Action TV

Watch

Well...that's the last time I bring that up...

"The Internet has given everybody in America a voice. For some reason, everybody decides to use that voice to bitch about movies."

— Holden, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Poor, innocent, hapless newbie wanders into a forum and wonders aloud if that guy in that show should be with that girl in that show. The forum erupts into flames, igniting all the boards that deal with the show, which ignites whole sections of the Internet into a blazing Inferno.

The poor, innocent, hapless newbie has opened the door, causing an Internet Backdraft.

It works like this: Controversial Event X occurs, resulting in flame wars, including ones spanning multiple forums. Internet vigilantes occur who muck up the issue even more into a morass of rumors. Eventually it gets to the point where people are so sick of flame wars about Event X, that this in turn causes flame wars conducted by those who want it to just die. Which it eventually does, sort of, in a smoldering-ember sort of way. Then some n00b gives it enough oxygen to make it flare up all over again.

This is also known as "Holy Wars"

. Trolls and Fan Dumb are drawn to to them like flies to a carcass. Mike Reed's Flame Warriors refers to this, when the metaphorical "door" is opened on purpose, as a Grenade

. It is also why we have the Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment, and one of the most frequent reasons for a trope page specifying No Real Life Examples, Please!. Some tropes and/or audience reactions are themselves this - which is why they are listed as Flame Bait.

The single item in common for these is that people outside the involved communities are astounded that anyone could care enough about the issue to get in any kind of argument about it at all, much less a big argument.

It sometimes leads to people saying "Pass the Popcorn." Here's a video

setting the whole concept to a Billy Joel song.

Not to be confused with Internet Counterattack - That's when the internet acts as one to make someone in real life pay.

No examples, please. Everything can cause this to an extent, whether if it's on the Internet or not.

Related Tropes

Alternative Title(s):

The Internet Is For Scorn, Anime And Manga, Comics, Film, Literature, Live Action TV, Music, New Media, Other, Tabletop Games, Toys, Video Games, Webcomics, Politics

Index

Ink Stain Adaptation Unexpected Reactions to This Index Invincible Hero

Hype Backlash Audience Reactions I Liked It Better When It Sucked

Instant Web Hit The Internet Internet Incorporated

Instant Web Hit New Media Tropes Internet Counterattack

Hot Pursuit Administrivia/Images Without a Source It's A Small Net After All

Troperville

Toys

Tools

Genre

Media

Narrative

Other Categories

Topical Tropes

Internet Backdraft

Related Tropes

Alternative Title(s):

Previous

Index

Next