I didn't think that one was obscure _here_. Point taken.

It's best to just assume that all acronyms are obscure and spell them out the first time you use them, especially ones related to a specific field of interest, hobby, profession, or culture.

fwiw I’ve seen the term “hug of death” term used for years but that did not cross my mind when I saw “HoD”.

My first thought was "Hood of Defiance".

same. Until today I had only heard it on Reddit.