Why do people write the word "spam" in all-caps? It's not an acronym...

yobfountain · on March 15, 2013

Perhaps it's because the name brand is spelled in all caps.

mintplant · on March 15, 2013

Actually, it is. It stands for "Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages".

...At least, that's what I've always thought it to be, anyway. Now that I go back and check, I can't quite find a source for this claim.

monkeyspaw · on March 15, 2013

My understanding is that it's derived from 1970s database programmers "spamming the database" with dummy data. The original term comes from Monty Python's Spamalot skit, I believe.