[Trei, Peter] stanSqncrs [SMTP:StanSqncrs@aol.com] wrote:

Apparently only as far back as 1993, the definition of the word "spam" from the on-line jargon file was this (according to the New Hackers Dictionary) -

spam [from the MUD community] vt. To crash a program by over-running a fixed- size buffer with excessively large input data. See also Buffer Overflow, Overrun Screw, Smash the Stack.

Obviously that definition has changed since then. I've seen it go from that to repetitive commercial advertising, and I've seen it used to brand someone as an outcast of a list for future removal simply because a small minority didn't like what that person had said (so it was being used at that time to mean 'objectional material').

And in all the times I've seen the word fly, there has never been anykind of volume that would come close to overblowing the forum's mechanical capabilities.

So, I'm curious as to who/what dictated the meaning of that to change so drasticly. Write me in private if it's off-subject (and yes, you can write me anonomously if you don't want a response. :-) )

How quickly they forget... It's not a change of meaning; rather, it is a new branch off of an earlier root meaning. The ultimate root, is of course, Hormel's processed meat product. I don't know how old that is but it goes back at least to WW2. The immediate root lies in a Monty Python sketch of the early 70's. The text may be found at http://w3.informatik.gu.se/~dixi/spam.htm (don't miss the sound clip.) It takes place in a cafe, where almost every menu item includes Spam. As a waitress reads the menu to some patrons ("egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam; spam bacon sausage and spam; spam egg spam spam bacon and spam; spam sausage spam spam bacon spam tomato and spam..." etc), a group of Vikings at the next table start to sing: "Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam" "Lovely Spam! Wonderful Spam!" "Lovely Spam! Wonderful Spam!" (repeat endlessly) ---------------- At certain science fiction conventions in the late 70's and early 80's it became a tradition for groups of fans (to whom the Pythons were minor deities) to parade en mass through the corridors of convention hotels singing the Spam Song. Many online fen were also active in early MUDs, so the term came to be used for unwanted, repetitive, voluminous, and content-free input of all kinds. ------------ Flash forward to April 14, 1994. The WWW is not on most peoples radar yet; it's still the Age of Usenet. Cantor & Siegel, a pair of shysters, figure out that they can advertise their dubious 'services' (charging $100 for information which the government gives out for free) at no cost on usenet. Like many lawyers, they suffer from a mental disorder which leads them to believe that any action which is not explicitly against the law is reasonable and appropriate. They send their ad to over 5000 newsgroups, regardless of topic. In those days, many netusers read multiple newsgroups every morning. That day, every newsgroup you opened included the same article in the subject list, along with dozens of angry denouncments of the off-topic post. *Every* *single* *newsgroup*. The resemblance to the menu at the Python cafe was unmistakeable, and 'spam' was the term instantly adopted to describe the practice. Since then, the use of the term 'spam' has been expanded to refer to any sort of off-topic and undesired information sent over the net, especially when a shotgun approach is used. Question: When was the *first* spam type message? I remember in the early 80's a student spammed Usenet, asking for small donations to help him meet tuition. Are there any earlier cases? Peter Trei ptrei@securitydynamics.com