I'm going to answer that here in a new thread since the question was asked in the introduction thread of a member.
The most common stated origin for spam being used to refer to unsolicited email is related to a skit by Monty Python's Flying Circus.
It was in a restaurant that had Spam in every item and the waitress kept saying spam when talking about each item.
A group in a corner starting singing: "Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, lovely spam! Wonderful spam!" They got on the nerves of the people in the restaurant.
Cool video... thanks for the info! The reason I like spam is kinda weird tho... when was in junior high school, I had a teacher named Mr. Gardener. I found out later that he actually had a place on the board of Hormel foods... he one the lottery, with a 127 million jackpot, and invested his winning in Hormel. Anyways, he used to give the kids cans of spam whenever we did a good job. I was poor at the time, and never got to eat lunch, because my mom was to embarrassed to apply for welfare of free cafeteria lunch. So Mr. Gardener gave ma a fried ham and Miracle Whip sandwich every day for 2 years... I still eat one nearly everyday for lunch, as he sends me a box of 50 cans every year. :P
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The first spam message was sent on May 3, 1978 by Gary Thuerk. It wasn't called spam then.
That was even before what we know as the Internet. This was ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network).
Peter Trei is believed to have been the first person to use the term in the manner we now know it. He did it on April 12, 1994. He actually used the word spamming.
Others starting using the term spamming and spam in posts they made and within about a week it had quickly become the accepted term.
The word was used one time in an earlier message from March of 1993, but it was about a different set of circumstances involving a programming mistake and is not even close to spam as we now know it.
I mentioned that Gary Thuerk sent the first spam message. He never sent another and he now sometimes does promotional work for anti-spam companies.
At the time he sent his message there were only about 2600 people in the entire world with email accounts. He sent it to around 400 of them. Approximately 2 dozen people attended each of the 2 events he mentioned in his email.
He said he sent it because it was cheaper than postage needed to mail letters and quicker than phone calls.
The message he sent was in ALL CAPITAL letters. In case you are interested, here is the first spam email that was ever sent:
Quote:
DIGITAL WILL BE GIVING A PRODUCT PRESENTATION OF THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF THE
DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY; THE DECSYSTEM-2020, 2020T, 2060, AND 2060T. THE
DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY OF COMPUTERS HAS EVOLVED FROM THE TENEX OPERATING SYSTEM
AND THE DECSYSTEM-10 COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE. BOTH THE DECSYSTEM-2060T
AND 2020T OFFER FULL ARPANET SUPPORT UNDER THE TOPS-20 OPERATING SYSTEM.
THE DECSYSTEM-2060 IS AN UPWARD EXTENSION OF THE CURRENT DECSYSTEM 2040
AND 2050 FAMILY. THE DECSYSTEM-2020 IS A NEW LOW END MEMBER OF THE
DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY AND FULLY SOFTWARE COMPATIBLE WITH ALL OF THE OTHER
DECSYSTEM-20 MODELS.
WE INVITE YOU TO COME SEE THE 2020 AND HEAR ABOUT THE DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY
AT THE TWO PRODUCT PRESENTATIONS WE WILL BE GIVING IN CALIFORNIA THIS
MONTH. THE LOCATIONS WILL BE:
TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1978 - 2 PM
HYATT HOUSE (NEAR THE L.A. AIRPORT)
LOS ANGELES, CA
THURSDAY, MAY 11, 1978 - 2 PM
DUNFEY’S ROYAL COACH
SAN MATEO, CA
(4 MILES SOUTH OF S.F. AIRPORT AT BAYSHORE, RT 101 AND RT 92)
A 2020 WILL BE THERE FOR YOU TO VIEW. ALSO TERMINALS ON-LINE TO OTHER
DECSYSTEM-20 SYSTEMS THROUGH THE ARPANET. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND,
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT THE NEAREST DEC OFFICE
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXCITING DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY.
Why unsolicited email is called spam
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