Where does the name dogpile come from?

Answer 1

The term "dogpile" probably originated as a US football term for a "gang tackle" (three or more tacklers on a runner). It was adopted as a term for a celebration at the end of sporting events (usually Baseball) when the players would "pile up" on the field after a victory. The slang internet usage is similar to "piling on" where a group of indivuiduals will participate in joint responses, especially disparaging, to a single initial post or comment. The internet meta-search site "Dogpile.com" is one of several (including Answers.com) that merge multiple responses from other major search engines. Dogpile.com is owned by InfoSpace.