spam

from Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)

spam
 vt.,vi.,n.

   [from Monty Python's Flying Circus]

   1. To crash a program by overrunning a fixed-size buffer with
   excessively large input data. See also {buffer overflow}, {overrun
   screw}, {smash the stack}.

   2. To cause a newsgroup to be flooded with irrelevant or inappropriate
   messages. You can spam a newsgroup with as little as one well- (or
   ill-) planned message (e.g. asking "What do you think of abortion?" on
   soc.women). This is often done with {cross-post}ing (e.g. any message
   which is cross-posted to alt.rush-limbaugh and
   alt.politics.homosexuality will almost inevitably spam both groups).
   This overlaps with {troll} behavior; the latter more specific term has
   become more common.

   3. To send many identical or nearly-identical messages separately to a
   large number of Usenet newsgroups. This is more specifically called
   ECP, Excessive Cross-Posting. This is one sure way to infuriate nearly
   everyone on the Net. See also {velveeta} and {jello}.

   4. To bombard a newsgroup with multiple copies of a message. This is
   more specifically called EMP, Excessive Multi-Posting.

   5. To mass-mail unrequested identical or nearly-identical email
   messages, particularly those containing advertising. Especially used
   when the mail addresses have been culled from network traffic or
   databases without the consent of the recipients. Synonyms include
   {UCE}, {UBE}. As a noun, `spam' refers to the messages so sent.

   6. Any large, annoying, quantity of output. For instance, someone on
   IRC who walks away from their screen and comes back to find 200 lines
   of text might say "Oh no, spam".

   The later definitions have become much more prevalent as the Internet
   has opened up to non-techies, and to most people senses 3 4 and 5 are
   now primary. All three behaviors are considered abuse of the net, and
   are almost universally grounds for termination of the originator's
   email account or network connection. In these senses the term `spam'
   has gone mainstream, though without its original sense or folkloric
   freight -- there is apparently a widespread myth among {luser}s that
   "spamming" is what happens when you dump cans of Spam into a revolving
   fan. Hormel, the makers of Spam, have published a surprisingly
   enlightened position statement on the Internet usage.

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)

spam
spamming

   1. <messaging> (From Hormel's Spiced Ham, via the Monty Python
   "Spam" song) To post irrelevant or inappropriate messages to
   one or more {Usenet} {newsgroups}, {mailing lists}, or other
   messaging system in deliberate or accidental violation of
   {netiquette}.

   It is possible to spam a newsgroup with one well- (or ill-)
   planned message, e.g. asking "What do you think of abortion?"
   on soc.women.  This can be done by {cross-post}ing, e.g. any
   message which is crossposted to alt.rush-limbaugh and
   alt.politics.homosexuality will almost inevitably spam both
   groups.  (Compare {troll} and {flame bait}).

   Posting a message to a significant proportion of all
   newsgroups is a sure way to spam Usenet and become an object
   of almost universal hatred.  Canter and Siegel spammed the net
   with their Green card post.

   If you see an article which you think is a deliberate spam, DO
   NOT post a {follow-up} - doing so will only contribute to the
   general annoyance.  Send a polite message to the poster by
   private e-mail and CC it to "postmaster" at the same address.
   Bear in mind that the posting's origin might have been forged
   or the apparent sender's account might have been used by
   someone else without his permission.

   The word was coined as the winning entry in a 1937 competition
   to choose a name for Hormel Foods Corporation's "spiced meat"
   (now officially known as "SPAM luncheon meat").  Correspondant
   Bob White claims the modern use of the term predates Monty
   Python by at least ten years.  He cites an editor for the
   Dallas Times Herald describing Public Relations as "throwing a
   can of spam into an electric fan just to see if any of it
   would stick to the unwary passersby."

   Usenet newsgroup: news:news.admin.net-abuse.

   See also {netiquette}.

   2. (A narrowing of sense 1, above) To indiscriminately send
   large amounts of unsolicited {e-mail} meant to promote a
   product or service.  Spam in this sense is sort of like the
   electronic equivalent of junk mail sent to "Occupant".

   In the 1990s, with the rise in commercial awareness of the
   net, there are actually scumbags who offer spamming as a
   "service" to companies wishing to advertise on the net.  They
   do this by mailing to collections of {e-mail} addresses,
   Usenet news, or mailing lists.  Such practises have caused
   outrage and aggressive reaction by many net users against the
   individuals concerned.

   3. (Apparently a generalisation of sense 2, above) To abuse
   any network service or tool by for promotional purposes.

   "AltaVista is an {index}, not a promotional tool.  Attempts to
   fill it with promotional material lower the value of the index
   for everyone.  [...] We will disallow {URL} submissions from
   those who spam the index.  In extreme cases, we will exclude
   all their pages from the index." -- {Altavista}.

   4. <jargon, programming> To crash a program by overrunning a
   fixed-size {buffer} with excessively large input data.

   See also {buffer overflow}, {overrun screw}, {smash the stack}.

   5. <chat, games> (A narrowing of sense 1, above) To flood any
   {chat} forum or {Internet game} with purposefully annoying
   text or macros.  Compare {Scrolling}.

   (2003-09-21)