[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}. As a noun, `spam' refers to the messages so sent.
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 on the Internet usage.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {404 compliant}{address harvester}{aliasing bug}{ARMM}{buffer overflow}{Cancelmoose[tm]}{dahmum}{Dave the Resurrector}{DoS attack}{ECP}{EMP}{ham}{Internet Death Penalty}{jello}{Lumber Cartel}{mailbomb}{mung}{NANA}{overrun screw}{RBL}{relay rape}{robocanceller}{rogue}{smash the stack}{spamhaus}{spamvertize}{throwaway account}{UBE}{UCE}{Usenet Death Penalty}{velveeta}]