Ten years ago today, spam as we know it was born. On 5 March 1994, a message was posted to some Usenet newsgroups by a law firm called Canter and Siegel, advertising their services for the U.S. Green Card lottery. It sounds mild enough today, but at the time that move and its follow-ups provoked increasing outrage across the Net. Many were appalled that “netiquette” – the unspoken rules that hitherto had maintained order in cyberspace – had been breached, sensing perhaps that things would never be the same again.
And look what it’s grown up into: a societal problem that has effectively killed Usenet as a useful resource and is on its way towards knocking off e-mail. We’re so proud.
