“I don't even have an E-mail address. I have reached an age where my main purpose is not to receive messages.”

First reaction to reports of the first commercial "spam" email, sent by DEC salesman, Gary Thuerk (8 May 1978), as quoted in "Reaction to the DEC Spam of 1978" http://www.templetons.com/brad/spamreact.html#msg<!-- also only partially quoted in "Damn Spam", by Michael Specter, in The New Yorker (6 August 2007) http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/08/06/damn-spam -->
1970s
Context: I didn't receive the DEC message, but I can't imagine I would have been bothered if I have. I get tons of uninteresting mail, and system announcements about babies born, etc. At least a demo MIGHT have been interesting. … The amount of harm done by any of the cited "unfair" things the net has been used for is clearly very small. And if they have found any people any jobs, clearly they have done good. If I had a job to offer, I would offer it to my friends first. Is this "evil"? … Would a dating service for people on the net be "frowned upon" by DCA? I hope not. But even if it is, don't let that stop you from notifying me via net mail if you start one.

Source: The Swan Thieves

"Roger writes to readers" Chicago Sun Times (11 October 2006)

Tickets Still Available (2006)

Discussing New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, who was recruited by local Tea Party activists and was accused of forwarding racially insensitive and pornographic e-mails, at an April 12 Tea Party Express bus stop in Buffalo, New York
Source: http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/24840/tea-party-leader-have-you-seen-the-e-mails/

Quoted on CNN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN, concerning sexually explicit e-mails and instant messages sent by Congressman Mark Foley to congressional pages that were underage. (2006-10-02).

Source: On the Jellicoe Road

Source: School's Out—Forever