SourceThe first spam message sent on what was to become the Internet—Arpanet—is attributed to Gary Thuerk, who on May 3, 1978 sent a message to a mailing list of 393 people promoting a new computer model from the now defunct Digital Equipment Corporation.
The practice was immediately condemned by Arpanet users, but the mailing did sell a computer or two for DEC, which only encouraged spammers, who were willing tolerate a little revulsion in exchange for sales.
A Guy