Spam
Richard Schultz (schultz@garnet.berkeley.edu)
27 Jul 1995 17:59:53 GMT
In article <3v8a4c$28n@mn5.swip.net>,
WebWalker <m-6129@mailbox.swip.net> wrote:
>Bill Hoyt <billhoyt@sun.olympia.com> wrote:
>:>m-6129@mailbox.swip.net (WebWalker) wrote:
>:>> :>franz glasl <h7650286> wrote:
>:>> :>>what I HAVE SEEN IS THAT THE USA MUST HAVE A LOT OF LAW PAPER
>:>> And stop spamming, will ya?
>:>Hey, Web, got a quick question for ya. What, exactlyy, does it mean
>:>to "spam"?
>Spreading the same meaningless stuff to many newsgroups, especially
>groups where it doesn't belong. Spamming can cost you your account
>since it's regarded as a serious breach of "netiquette".
I believe that while in colloquial parlance, "spam" is used to refer to
any post to a large number of inappropriate newgroups, it orignally
meant to post individually to a large number of inappropriate newsgroups.
Massive crossposting, while impolite, is technically not as grave an
offense, as most decent newsreaders will only allow you to see a
creossposted article once, whereas if it's individually posted, you'll
see it in every newsgroup where it appeared. The "original" spam,
I believe, was Canter & Spiegel's infamous "Green Card Lottery".
And yes, it comes from the Monty Python song.
--
Richard Schultz
"I seem to smell a peculiar and a fishlike smell."
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