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Subject:Re: Origin of spam From:John Renish <John -dot- Renish -at- CONNER -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 24 Mar 1995 08:25:32 PST
Surely there is an authoritative source for the origin of spam in the
context of the net that could end all these speculations. However, this
response isn't it.
Rather, it is a response to the perpetuation of a modern myth vis-a-vis
"bug." Yes, it is true that the famous moth is taped to the page of a log.
What is not true is that this episode is the origin of the word in the sense
of a system failure. That usage in the engineering sense goes back to before
World War I. See *The Dictionary of Misinformation*. Sorry, I can't remember
the author's name offhand.
John -dot- Renish -at- conner -dot- com
My statements are my own and do not represent Conner Peripherals, Inc.
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