A ‘Netiquette No-No Spams Back On-Line

OK, so what do Spam and phone sex have in common? Actually, this is not about canned lunch meat. In Internet lingo, “to spam” or “spamming” refers to a single message posted to hundreds or even thousands of news groups at a time--a big ‘Netiquette no-no.

And the most recent spamming--and perhaps the most notorious spam of all time--concerns a post titled “Lonely Lily.” This barely disguised solicitation for phone sex from a lady in Hong Kong said to like to hear from men has appeared in just about every news group, rebuffing the concerted efforts of systems operators around the world to kick her off.

Indeed, while some people on the Internet-abuse news groups thought they had the problem licked, a newly spammed message began appearing. It began, “Rumors of Lily’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. As I said, my friend Lily lives in Hong Kong. She likes to hear from men . . . “

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Mouse Bidding: Speaking of the Internet, the Social Climes staff used to think shopping in cyberspace began and ended at the on-line Kmart. So we were elated to see an announcement of the formation of a Sotheby’s Beverly Hills World Wide Web page, that would allow you to read about, see and even bid on merchandise that was on the block--all without leaving your mouse.

It turned out, however, our elation was premature. The announcement was made by a private user who was displaying Sotheby’s material and took the name without permission.

“We don’t mind them showing our stuff, they just can’t call it the Sotheby’s Web Page,” said a spokeswoman for the auction house who is also an avid Web surfer. She added that the venerable auctioneers were actually looking into establishing a World Wide Web presence.

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In the Pink: Now that the Sultan of Brunei’s gazillion-dollar renovation is complete, people can’t wait to start throwing parties at the Beverly Hills Hotel a.k.a. Pink Palace.

One of the first to be feted there was Rodeo Drive retailer Fred Hayman, who was given a surprise 70th birthday party recently by his longtime significant other, Betty Endo, and his son, Robert.

These two know how to stage a bash. Cocktails and dinner were a glittering affair with guests including Charlton Heston, George Foreman, Ricardo Montalban, Jacqueline Bisset, Ron Silver, Vanna White and Ed McMahon.

--COMPILED BY THE SOCIAL CLIMES STAFF