Glossary - Chickenboner

A spam-fighter once painted a vivid picture of an archetypical spammer living in a decaying trailer in a run-down trailer park, unkempt and wearing dirty clothes, hunched over a computer in semi-darkness, surrounded by rotting chicken bones in half-eaten fried chicken buckets, with stacks of empty (and a few spilled) beer cans and piles of dirty cigarette butts obscuring the furniture and computer.

This image gained popularity in the 1990s, especially as many spammers were deeply offended by it and reacted more than angrily in forums such as NANAE and various eMail lists, and the term "chickenboner" was commonly used to describe any two-bit spammer trying to incorrectly convince others that they were some sort of wealthy self-made big shot.

Although 20 years later this term may still apply to some, spammers come from nearly all walks of life nowadays, with states of wealth that are assumed to range from the super-poor to the super-rich.  Some spam-fighters continue to use the word "chickenboner" when referring to spammers out of nostalgic regard for tradition worth remembering.

See also

• Spam (eMail)
• The Rules of Spam
• Whack-a-mole

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