The first SPIM lawsuit

Internet service providers file more spam lawsuits: "In the new round of lawsuits, AOL is suing numerous defendants and seeks damages as well as court orders forcing the alleged spam senders to give up their profits and cease their activities. One suit targets spam sent via instant messaging, also known as SPIM, the first such lawsuit, according to AOL."

Must be on ICQ (owned by AOL). Probably because it is so easy to send unknown users a message (since users are assigned and addressed by a sequential member number), it has been plaugued with unsolicited messages for years.