Der Schreiberling "signatur" rührt auf dem alten Rollberg die Werbetrommel für die "digitale Signatur" und die "Elektronische Zustellung behördlicher Schriftstücke". "Signatur" ist identisch mit einem Zustellserver, der diese Dienste anbietet.

When Ken Pugh, a computer consultant, returned to his home office in Durham, N.C., this summer after spending three weeks hiking the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut and New Hampshire, he discovered a new breed of junk e-mail fighting for his attention among the usual crowd of penis enlargement and Viagra advertisements.

He was the disgruntled recipient of political spam from then wannabe-senator Elizabeth Dole. Pugh, who gets about 25 spam messages a day, had received eight unsolicited e-mails from candidate Dole, outlining her positions on everything from estate taxes (she's against them) to drought relief for North Carolina farmers (she's for it).
[more salon.com]

Sex swindles, credit card cons, dubious diet plans, drugs to grow hair and other body parts -- if it arrives in an unsolicited e-mail, the Federal Trade Commission wants it.

Since 1998, the Federal Trade Commission has asked people to forward any and all spam to a special e-mail address: "uce@ftc.gov."

[more: wired]