Source : WordNet®

Spam
     n 1: a canned meat made largely from pork
     2: unwanted e-mail (usually of a commercial nature sent out in
        bulk) [syn: {junk e-mail}]
     v : send unwanted or junk e-mail

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

spam
     
        1.  (From Hormel's Spiced Ham, via the Monty Python
        "Spam" song) To post irrelevant or inappropriate messages to
        one or more {Usenet} {newsgroups}, {mailing lists}, or other
        messaging system in deliberate or accidental violation of
        {netiquette}.
     
        It is possible to spam a newsgroup with one well- (or ill-)
        planned message, e.g. asking "What do you think of abortion?"
        on soc.women.  This can be done by {cross-post}ing, e.g. any
        message which is crossposted to alt.rush-limbaugh and
        alt.politics.homosexuality will almost inevitably spam both
        groups.  (Compare {troll} and {flame bait}).
     
        Posting a message to a significant proportion of all
        newsgroups is a sure way to spam Usenet and become an object
        of almost universal hatred.  Canter and Siegel spammed the net
        with their Green card post.
     
        If you see an article which you think is a deliberate spam, DO
        NOT post a {follow-up} - doing so will only contribute to the
        general annoyance.  Send a polite message to the poster by
        private e-mail and CC it to "postmaster" at the same address.
        Bear in mind that the posting's origin might have been forged
        or the apparent sender's account might have been used by
        someone else without his permission.
     
        The word was coined as the winning entry in a 1937 competition
        to choose a name for Hormel Foods Corporation's "spiced meat"
        (now officially known as "SPAM luncheon meat").  Correspondant
        Bob White claims the modern use of the term predates Monty
        Python by at least ten years.  He cites an editor for the
        Dallas Times Herald describing Public Relations as "throwing a
        can of spam into an electric fan just to see if any of it
        would stick to the unwary passersby."
     
        {Usenet} newsgroup: {news:news.admin.net-abuse}.
     
        See also {netiquette}.
     
        2. (A narrowing of sense 1, above) To indiscriminately send
        large amounts of unsolicited {e-mail} meant to promote a
        product or service.  Spam in this sense is sort of like the
        electronic equivalent of junk mail sent to "Occupant".
     
        In the 1990s, with the rise in commercial awareness of the
        net, there are actually scumbags who offer spamming as a
        "service" to companies wishing to advertise on the net.  They
        do this by mailing to collections of {e-mail} addresses,
        Usenet news, or mailing lists.  Such practises have caused
        outrage and aggressive reaction by many net users against the
        individuals concerned.
     
        3. (Apparently a generalisation of sense 2, above) To abuse
        any network service or tool by for promotional purposes.
     
        "AltaVista is an {index}, not a promotional tool.  Attempts to
        fill it with promotional material lower the value of the index
        for everyone.  [...] We will disallow {URL} submissions from
        those who spam the index.  In extreme cases, we will exclude
        all their pages from the index." -- {Altavista}.
     
        4.  To crash a program by overrunning a
        fixed-size {buffer} with excessively large input data.
     
        See also {buffer overflow}, {overrun screw}, {smash the stack}.
     
        5.  (A narrowing of sense 1, above) To flood any
        {chat} forum or {Internet game} with purposefully annoying
        text or macros.  Compare {Scrolling}.
     
        (2003-09-21)