Spam (the electronic variety) turns 30

Today is a notable anniversary in computer history, although it's one most of us would prefer to forget.

On this date in 1978, the first ever computer e-mail 'spam' message was delivered to multiple unwilling and unhappy recipients.

Gary Thuerk, a marketer with Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), logged onto Arpanet (a forerunner of the Internet) and sent a message to every e-mail address on the US West Coast, plus a few others. He wanted to let them know that DEC had integrated Arpanet protocol support directly into its new DEC-20 computer and its TOPS-20 operating system.

The primitive mail program of the day would only accept 320 addresses. The rest were typed into the body of the message. Needless to say, the message didn't reach many of the latter. The first spammer was a marketer, after all, not a tech geek gee-whiz guy!

You can read about some of the reactions to his message at the link above. For the sake of posterity, here's the text of the world's first spam e-mail. Yes, it was originally sent in all capital letters!


DIGITAL WILL BE GIVING A PRODUCT PRESENTATION OF THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF THE DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY; THE DECSYSTEM-2020, 2020T, 2060, AND 2060T. THE DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY OF COMPUTERS HAS EVOLVED FROM THE TENEX OPERATING SYSTEM AND THE DECSYSTEM-10 COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE. BOTH THE DECSYSTEM-2060T AND 2020T OFFER FULL ARPANET SUPPORT UNDER THE TOPS-20 OPERATING SYSTEM. THE DECSYSTEM-2060 IS AN UPWARD EXTENSION OF THE CURRENT DECSYSTEM 2040 AND 2050 FAMILY. THE DECSYSTEM-2020 IS A NEW LOW END MEMBER OF THE DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY AND FULLY SOFTWARE COMPATIBLE WITH ALL OF THE OTHER DECSYSTEM-20 MODELS.

WE INVITE YOU TO COME SEE THE 2020 AND HEAR ABOUT THE DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY AT THE TWO PRODUCT PRESENTATIONS WE WILL BE GIVING IN CALIFORNIA THIS MONTH. THE LOCATIONS WILL BE:

TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1978 - 2 PM
HYATT HOUSE (NEAR THE L.A. AIRPORT)
LOS ANGELES, CA

THURSDAY, MAY 11, 1978 - 2 PM
DUNFEY'S ROYAL COACH
SAN MATEO, CA
(4 MILES SOUTH OF S.F. AIRPORT AT BAYSHORE, RT 101 AND RT 92)

A 2020 WILL BE THERE FOR YOU TO VIEW. ALSO TERMINALS ON-LINE TO OTHER DECSYSTEM-20 SYSTEMS THROUGH THE ARPANET. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT THE NEAREST DEC OFFICE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXCITING DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY.


Brad Templeton gives an analysis of the first spam message, and reactions to it, here. He discusses the origin of the term 'spam', here. Finally, he shares his reflections on spam on the 25th and 30th anniversaries of its first appearance, here.

Spam has become a daily curse. As of July 2007, it was estimated that 100 billion spam e-mails were being sent every day. (Yes, that's 'billion' with a B!) It's been estimated that well over 80% of all e-mails are spam. Bill Gates is reported to receive something like four million e-mails each year, most of them spam! (Those who have a love-hate relationship with Windows may be part of that problem, of course.) The world-wide cost of spam in terms of lost productivity and wasted time is estimated to be about $50 billion annually. The cost of computer hardware and software to intercept and dispose of spam, plus the time of technicians and specialists, may be as high as $200 billion per year.

What amuses me most is the way the term 'spam' has become multilingual and multicultural. I worked in the computer industry for many years, in one of the largest multinational computer companies, and grew accustomed to being around tech types from any and every country, all jabbering away to one another in their own languages. Every so often I'd hear the word 'spam', whether they be speaking Japanese, Chinese, Tagalog, Spanish or whatever. It's become universal.

(So tell me - why can't we call Spanish spam 'guacamole' or something like that?)

Peter