Spam goes back to the 70s. On the web side I remember back to at least 95 pretty well and there were banner ads everywhere. I had a homepage with like 3-4 web

Spam goes back to the 70s. On the web side I remember back to at least 95 pretty well and there were banner ads everywhere. I had a homepage with like 3-4 web ring banners on it + the ads from Geocities themselves. A quick look says the first banner ads appeared in 1994 and the first paid ads in 1993. I think you're probably looking back with rose tinted glasses.