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If you're ever in Austin, MN, be sure to check out the SPAM Museum. It's right off I-90 near the Hormel headquarters. Also, check out this link - http://media.hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?id=9&catitemid=16
I couldn't find a specific email address for a Quibble, so I'm putting it here.
I disagree with your source of the word "spam" being used for spreading unwanted nasty stuff all over the place, in this case, email. Where I come from, Australia, and I'm also sure in the rest of the world, there's a very common saying, "when the s**t hits the fan". This refers to the fact that unwanted nasty material that hits the fan will then be widely splattered all over the place and no-one misses out. Polite people have then changed the word for a nicer one, notably "spam". After all, spam, the meat product, is about the same colour and consistency and just as undesirable.
This substituted expression, as far as I can remember, pre-dates the Monty Python sketches.
I disagree with your source of the word "spam" being used for spreading unwanted nasty stuff all over the place, in this case, email. Where I come from, Australia, and I'm also sure in the rest of the world, there's a very common saying, "when the s**t hits the fan". This refers to the fact that unwanted nasty material that hits the fan will then be widely splattered all over the place and no-one misses out. Polite people have then changed the word for a nicer one, notably "spam". After all, spam, the meat product, is about the same colour and consistency and just as undesirable.
This substituted expression, as far as I can remember, pre-dates the Monty Python sketches.
Brad Templeton has a very well-researched page on the origins of 'net SPAM, including and attribution to me.
His conclusion is that it came from the MUDs in '85, to Bitnet Relay, and so to the rest of the 'net.
He also has the first known SPAM email, from 1978.
http://www.templetons.com/brad/spamterm.html
His conclusion is that it came from the MUDs in '85, to Bitnet Relay, and so to the rest of the 'net.
He also has the first known SPAM email, from 1978.
http://www.templetons.com/brad/spamterm.html
D'oh! I hate typos and forgetting the end of my sentence.
First line should be "Brad Templeton has a very well-researched page on the origins of 'net SPAM, including an attribution to me, though that's only because I responded to a survey of his, not that I'm a 'net guru."
First line should be "Brad Templeton has a very well-researched page on the origins of 'net SPAM, including an attribution to me, though that's only because I responded to a survey of his, not that I'm a 'net guru."
Recognizing that misconception(s) are perpetuated
by the fact that Hormel doesn't even have the
correct information, I was there and online when
it began...
In the days prior to the Web/chat/instant
messaging/etc, the dissemination or discussion of
information and ideas was through the use of
Bulletin Boards and through Mail Lists. A
particular Bulletin Board or Mail List group was
oriented towards a set of related topics and,
within that set of topics, Discussion Lists were
created and focused to a specific topic. Users
subscribed to Discussion Lists that interested
them and expected to receive (by email) messages
that were related to that singular discussion
topic.
Remember, too, that we used slow modem
connections and our connections used the standard
phone line (no ISP's) and, therefore, the time
spent online cost actual money that could be seen
on your phone bill. Later, we connected through
Connection Providers that charged per-minute
usage: again, real money that could be seen on a
phone bill. Messages/Documents were always
downloaded and read off-line to minimize those
charges.
Somewhere along the line, it was discovered that
a person could use these Discussion Lists to
their advertising advantage by posting off-topic
messages to all the lists on a particular
Bulletin Board or in a particular Mail List
Group. This practice was looked upon with great
disfavor by list subscribers as it increased
their online-time downloading messages they did
not wish to receive. The practice became known as
(S)imultaneous (P)osting to (A)ll (M)embers (or
S.P.A.M.). It was *after* the acronym was coined
that references to Monty Python skits or to
Hormel lunch meat began to be discussed.
In the immortal words of Paul Harvey, "Now you
know the rest of the story."
by the fact that Hormel doesn't even have the
correct information, I was there and online when
it began...
In the days prior to the Web/chat/instant
messaging/etc, the dissemination or discussion of
information and ideas was through the use of
Bulletin Boards and through Mail Lists. A
particular Bulletin Board or Mail List group was
oriented towards a set of related topics and,
within that set of topics, Discussion Lists were
created and focused to a specific topic. Users
subscribed to Discussion Lists that interested
them and expected to receive (by email) messages
that were related to that singular discussion
topic.
Remember, too, that we used slow modem
connections and our connections used the standard
phone line (no ISP's) and, therefore, the time
spent online cost actual money that could be seen
on your phone bill. Later, we connected through
Connection Providers that charged per-minute
usage: again, real money that could be seen on a
phone bill. Messages/Documents were always
downloaded and read off-line to minimize those
charges.
Somewhere along the line, it was discovered that
a person could use these Discussion Lists to
their advertising advantage by posting off-topic
messages to all the lists on a particular
Bulletin Board or in a particular Mail List
Group. This practice was looked upon with great
disfavor by list subscribers as it increased
their online-time downloading messages they did
not wish to receive. The practice became known as
(S)imultaneous (P)osting to (A)ll (M)embers (or
S.P.A.M.). It was *after* the acronym was coined
that references to Monty Python skits or to
Hormel lunch meat began to be discussed.
In the immortal words of Paul Harvey, "Now you
know the rest of the story."
Perhaps you missed the portion of my post in which I indicated I was "there", lived through, and watched the creation of what you are calling a "backronym"...
Believe as you wish, but I am speaking from first-hand knowledge.
Believe as you wish, but I am speaking from first-hand knowledge.
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