Mountain, sit down and lean in close... Once upon a time (about 8 months ago or so?) a guy named Nef made a thread here, in which he repeated a post with only one line in it 20 times over. He did this so he could escape Junior Memberhood and become a Member.
Endymion posted after this something to the effect of
"You are a retard. From now on, I will use the term "nef" in place of "retard." (paraphrasing)
And it gradually evolved to mean anyone who repeatedly posts meaningless shit.
Thus a simple label was applied to an age-old practice that had none.