Post Ahdrn2JAn0SIDov42y by colin@mastodon.colincogle.name
 (DIR) More posts by colin@mastodon.colincogle.name
 (DIR) Post #Ahdrn1ePEZqUBNqVVI by colin@mastodon.colincogle.name
       2024-05-03T15:52:52Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Happy birthday, spam! The email thing celebrates its 46th birthday today. #OnThisDay in 1978, DEC salesman Gary Thuerk has his assistant begin sending an email to ARPANET users on rhe west coast, advertising DEC’s new computer that ships with #ARPANET connection support included. At the time, the network was run by the U.S. Department of Defense, and Gary got a very stern phone call from a high-ranking general ordering him not to try anything like that again, as it was against the then-Internet’s terms of service.Here’s a link to the actual electronic mail message:https://www.templetons.com/brad/spamreact.html#msg#DEC did actually get a better-than-expected turnout at their West Coast trade shows, so one can argue that the world’s first spam message was actually a success.But, the term “spam” to describe something unwanted (and likewise, the less-popular term “ham” to describe emails you actually want) wouldn’t be popularized until someone watched Monty Python and put two and two together.Gary Thuerk, last time he was interviewed, said that his personal #spam filter only accepts email from known senders.#RetroComputing #Internet #InternetArchive #ComputerHistory
       
 (DIR) Post #Ahdrn2JAn0SIDov42y by colin@mastodon.colincogle.name
       2024-05-03T15:54:05Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       But you’re probably here for the #MontyPython sketch: https://youtu.be/anwy2MPT5RE?si=TsC3c95s4DE_6Yiq#spam #spam #spam #spam #LovelySpam #WonderfulSpam #comedy