Spam
     n 1: a canned meat made largely from pork
     2: unwanted e-mail (usually of a commercial nature sent out in
        bulk) [syn: junk e-mail]
     v : send unwanted or junk e-mail

	

	SPAM
     Send Phenomenal Amounts of Mail (Usenet, EMP, telecommunication-slang)

	

	SPAM
     Spiced Pork and hAM (Usenet, EMP)

	

	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-posting (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. 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 lusers 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 (http://www.spam.com/ci/ci_in.htm) on the Internet usage.

	

	spam
     
        1.  (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: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.  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.  (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)