Date:  Mon, 10 Nov 1997 09:05:21 -0600
From:  Bonnie Briggs <BBRIGGS[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ADMIN2.MEMPHIS.EDU>
Subject: Re: Word of the Year

SPAM is good and everything you say is very true. But my pick is the Ping of
Death. Didn't think the Internet could be so morbid, did you? At first, this
appears to be a joke or the product of what many of like to refer to as the
"wire-head" culture. However, it is very real and can shut down someone's
network very quickly. Pinging has been around for a while. That's where you
send a Ping command to a server to see if it is working. This is usually done
when people are trying to access a site and keep getting error messages. The
Ping of Death sends a huge amount of bytes, more than a server could possibly
handle, thereby shutting it down.

Bonnie Briggs
The University of Memphis



> My unofficial nomination for word of the year is:
>
> SPAM: unsolicited, bulk email (there is also a verb form). Alternate
> sense: to bombard people with useless information. Source possibly a
> Monty Python skit in which the name of the product "Spam" is used a
> zillion times in a list of menu possibilities in a comedic reference to
> the main source of meat in post-WWII Britain.
>
> Having received 86 pieces of email spam in October alone, I think this
> word stands a chance of winning.
>