spam
: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
ng (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
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.
Jargon File Version 4.3.1, 29 JUN 2001 =
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