What Is Spam

Spam is unsolicited electronic mail sent indiscriminately to multiple mail lists, individuals, or newsgroups. Most spam is commercial advertising often described as solicitation for dubious or questionablable products.

There are two principal forms of spam. Usenet spam, and direct email spam.

Usenet spam is described as a single message sent to 20 or more Usenet newsgroups. Usenet spam is aimed at the silent majority of people who visit newsgroups, but who rarely ever post or give away their address. Usenet spam robs users of the utility of newsgroups by overwhelming the site with advertising or other irrelevant post. Moreover, Usenet spam underminds the ability of system administrators and owners to manage the topics they accept on their systems.

Direct email spam targets individuals with solicitation directly to the user's mailbox.

Why is spam bad?