18th
December
2001
Origin of the term “spam” to mean net abuse
“Much to the chagrin of Hormel Foods, maker of the canned ‘Shoulder Pork and hAM’ luncheon meat, the term ’spam’ has today come to mean network abuse, particularly junk E-mail and massive junk postings to USENET. How did the term get this meaning? I went on a mission of etymological research…”