Spam

The U.S. Congress proudly trumpeted the fact that it e-mailed legislation to President Clinton. The bill, a Y2K legal reform measure, was “signed” using light pens on a computer screen by House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senate President Pro Tempore Strom Thurmond, witnessed by a gaggle of congressmen huddled around the terminal, and sent by e-mail to Clinton’s “President@whitehouse.gov” mailbox. But since electronic signatures are not legal for such documents, a traditional copy on parchment, hand signed, was delivered to the White House later. (AP) ...Which was a good thing, since the immediate electronic response was “550: User Unknown”.