spamspan not working, how to apply patch? http://drupalcode.org/project/email.git/commitdiff/523cd0d

This is the link to the patch but looking up how to apply a patch I understand the command to use in terminal but I don't understand how to dload the patch?

What type of file is it saved as? and do you apply within modules folder or sites folder?
There's nothing too sophisticated about a patch file -- you can copy the commit code in the above link to your clipboard and paste it into a text editor. This link might make it easier: 

http://drupalcode.org/project/email.git/patch/523cd0d

Then, you want to save your new file in the same folder as the module file you're trying to patch (based on the path in the actual patch file) and run the patch script as outlined here:

https://drupal.org/patch/apply