Talk:spam

Turkish entry

The Turkish entry is written almost entirely in Turkish but should be in English. — Hippietrail 14:38, 10 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Computing backronym

Anyone ever heard that "spam" as a computing term originated from the acronym, Simultaneously Posted Advertising Message(s) ? It's the only explanation I've ever heard as to its origin in computing.

The Monty Python derivation now mentioned in the article is well-accepted. I've never heard the backronym you suggest. Along those lines, I don't see any evidence for the "disputed" "Sliced Pressed American Meat", which just reeks of back-formation. The official SPAM home page has a time line showing the name "SPAM" being the winning entry in a contest for finding a new name for "spiced ham". The contest took place in 1937, well after WWI and before WWII, casting further doubt on the "military packaging" story. Further, googling "Sliced Pressed American Meat" finds only Wiktionary and its mirrors. And come on. "American Meat"? Having been burned myself falling for a military explanation of duck tape, I'm inclined just to remove this one. -dmh 16:49, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Proper Noun/Adjective

Isn't 'SPAM' technically an adjective (that is what 'Wikipedia' says) (SPAM Luncheon Meat). Calling the meat just SPAM is a misuse, isn't it?

SPAM == Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages

Most internet communitys and people on IRC define spam as "Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages" ~ wikipedia:User:EvilHom3r

Backronyms often follow genuine slang. While that is interesting, it is misleading, as it implies that S.P.A.M. is an acronym, which it isn't. --Connel MacKenzie 03:39, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

Most Internet communities eh? That's a lot of communities, how could you possibly source such as statement with a credible source? Mglovesfun (talk) 17:01, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

Possible new sense

On YouTube the verb "spam" is often used to mean "mark as spam", e.g. (from two years ago) "i know this is going to get spammed but that was crap". He means "I know that my comment will be downvoted" (presumably because nobody on YouTube can stand criticism). Equinox ◑ 15:28, 4 September 2011 (UTC)

I refer to unsolicited telephone calls as spam too. Not sure it's a sense of spam though, just the way I use it. Not sure, so posting it here. Mglovesfun (talk) 17:00, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

Dutch pronunciation

@Morgengave Is the pronunciation /spɑm/ correct for Flemish? ←₰-→ Lingo ^Bingo _Dingo (talk) 17:59, 1 July 2020 (UTC)

@Lingo Bingo Dingo Yes, indeed, like many common English loan words (e.g., tram, plan), the pronunciation follows spelling in Flemish-Dutch. Morgengave (talk) 07:56, 5 July 2020 (UTC)

so what was the MUD sense

We mention this was used in the 1980s on multi-user dungeons, but none of our definitions mention MUDs and we dont say what that sense is. I havent looked through the history yet, but does anyone know? —Soap— 00:54, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

@Soap: Wikipedia says, "Spamming had been practiced as a prank by participants in multi-user dungeon games, to fill their rivals' accounts with unwanted electronic junk." More here from Brad Templeton: [1]. Equinox ◑ 01:06, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

Personally I didn't encounter online chat systems until after the heyday of MUDs, but the "fill the screen with garbage" thing was known at that time (late '90s) as flooding — a sense I remember adding to Wiktionary years ago. Equinox ◑ 01:07, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

Okay, thank you for the prompt reply. Should we scrub the in a different sense part of the etymology, then? That's what misled me into thinking it was about some wholly unrelated thing. —Soap— 01:24, 3 January 2024 (UTC)