Beaver College could put up with 75 years of ribaldry at the expense of its name, even from Howard Stern - but it's drawing the line at Internet filters blocking it because of porn sites with guess-which-word in or on them. The college is mulling whether to change its name, and its asking current students, staff, and alumni for input before making a decision. "The word 'beaver' too often elicits ridicule in the form of derogatory remarks pertaining to... sexual vulgarities," wrote Beaver College President Bette Landman in a letter. "We have a lot of evidence that people aren't able to get our information in high schools because of Web filters in the libraries" that block out sites with "Beaver" along with other presumed smut words, says college spokesman Bill Avington. "With so many people using the Net as initial means to look at colleges, that's a serious disadvantage. "E-mail that isn't filtered is frequently deleted by people who assume it's porn spam when they see the domain name, he says. The survey deadline is March 24. Not that boys should not still be boys on the Net - a newsgroup discussion on the Beav's dilemma included this crack: "Apparently, there's also a Ball State University!! LOL!!"
NEW YORK - He's a court fixture, sort of, as Det. Lennie Briscoe in NBC's Law and Order, but veteran actor Jerry Orbach is raising some disorder in the court in the real world - he's sued eBay (www.ebay.com/) for displaying his Social Security number online. The suit charges the online auction king with posting the information last week when advertising the sale of two Orbach contracts from 1958, when he was mostly a character actor. The sale was on behalf of the History Store, a dealer of used books and documentary material, according to the suit. Orbach charges the sellers had no permission to use his name or Social Security number, exposing him to identify theft and credit card fraud. Damages sought aren't yet specified. Orbach is also known for playing the father of Jennifer Grey's character in the 1987 hit film Dirty Dancing.
CARSON CITY, NV - Cybererotica (www.cybererotica.com/) has become a new corporate sponsor for 69Spot.com, a rising and leading adult Webmaster resource that says it now receives over 900 unique Webmaster hits daily. "The fact that Cybererotica has chosen to become the Corporate Sponsor of 69Spot.com means that we've created a successful resource site and are one of the key players in this growing field" says Alec Helmy, President of HELMY Enterprises, Inc., which owns and operates 69Spot.com. The site has just undergone a much-praised redesign, offering both a cleaner, more intuitive presentation and numerous free Webmaster services. "The entire adult Web site sector has become extremely competitive within a relatively short period of time, so Webmasters need sources for solid information ranging from sponsorship program options to Web design tutorials in order to continue to run a successful adult Website," Halmy says. We cover a wide range of information and present it in a user-friendly way." You can see for yourself at www.69spot.com/.
--- Compiled by Humphrey Pennyworth
