Spam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For spam on Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Spam and Wikipedia:WikiProject Spam

Spam originally referred to SPAM, a canned meat product sold by the Hormel Foods Corporation. Since then, many other uses of the term have emerged, all of which may be traced back to the original Spam food product.

• Spam (Monty Python), a comedy sketch. The "Spam" in the sketch refers specifically to the meat. This sketch is considered to be the most likely source of other, primarily technological, uses of the term.

• Spam (electronic), unsolicited or undesired bulk electronic messages. There are many types of electronic spam, including

• E-mail spam, unsolicited e-mail.
• Forum spam, posting advertisements or useless posts on a forum.
• Spamdexing, manipulating a search engine to create the illusion of popularity for webpages.
• Spam in blogs, posting random comments or promoting commercial services to blogs, wikis, guestbooks.
• Newsgroup spam, advertisement and forgery on newsgroups.
• Messaging spam ("SPIM"), use of instant messenger services for advertisement or even extortion.

• Spam (computer game), to repeatedly use one weapon or tactic. This term is based on the technological meaning of undesired bulk electronic message.
• Flyposting ("street spam"), illegal blanket advertising in public places.

• Spam (song) can also refer to a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. The song has no connection to either the earlier Monty Python sketch nor to the electronic uses of the term that came about afterwards. The song is a parody of Stand by R.E.M.