The spread of a successful but pernicious {meme}, esp. one that
parasitizes the victims into giving their all to propagate it.
Astrology, BASIC, and the other guy's religion are often considered
to be examples. This usage is given point by the historical fact that
`joiner' ideologies like Naziism or various forms of millennarian
Christianity have exhibited plague-like cycles of exponential growth
followed by collapses to small reservoir populations.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {sig virus}]