Spam

5 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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



From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) [vera]:

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

From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) [vera]:

  SPAM
       Spiced Pork and hAM (Usenet, EMP)
       
       

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

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

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  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-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.  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)