Actually it has a name, "The HN Effect" (inspired by "The Digg Effect", I guess) and it's a real thing as many web sites go down when they are featured in the front page.
Or the Reddit alternative, "The Reddit Hug," which sounds quite heartwarming.
I've always seen it written as "the reddit hug of death". Not quite as heartwarming.
fyi, it used to be the slashdot effect before anything else.