spam definition
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-posting, 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.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)
Nearby terms:
SPADE « spaghetti code « spaghetti inheritance « spam » spamdex » spamming » spanning tree algorithm
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