Peeping Dot-Coms

LOBSTERCAMS, SHOECAMS-WHAT'S THE WEB COMING TO?

There are Web sites you shouldn't be looking at. They're the ones you click on after your partners, parents, or pets have gone to bed. You may be sitting in a chair, but you know you're crossing a line. Sneakypeekers .com offers voyeur video, including window peeping, bathroom spying, and "upskirts"

(a new word to describe a new technology!). Supposedly, some guy walks around with a hidden camera on his shoe, sidles up to women on the street, and posts his findings on the Web. In a way, it's a victimless crime, since no one can be recognized by these video snatches. Still, this site turns every viewer into the pencil-dropping, creepy kid in third grade, and that can't be a good thing. A better version of this site is llovebacon.com, which, instead of stealing photos, simply requests them from the general public. The result is a joyous celebration of flashing. Contributors include the always cheerful Jenna, who celebrates her freedom—and her breasts' freedom in our nation's capital.

Another voyeur site that doesn't bother asking permission is midcoast.com/lobcam, which points a small video camera at a regulation lobster trap. These lobsters are totally nude all the time—and you can tell the water's cold!

This brings us to the most insidious site of all. A site that made me so uncomfortable that I had to leave after five minutes. It wasn't pom but real estate that scared me. Homegain.com allows you to type in the address of any home in the country and discover the price its last buyer paid for it and its estimated current value. The site poses as a "Home Valuation Tool," but go and you'll see how quickly it descends into a "Home Competition Tool." Oh sure, you'll start off by plugging in your own address.

And next you'll probably try the house you grew up in. But as Eve was tempted by the snake to eat from the tree of knowledge, you'll be tempted by the mouse to submit a friend's or neighbor's address. And that will be your downfall. This knowledge strips your friends bare and can lead only to two paths: envy and smugness. Either way, the balance of power will shift. One of the few remaining taboos in polite society is asking people what they paid for their house. Even Jerry Springer hasn't done the show "I paid twice as much for my house as my next-door neighbor!" because not even a lingerie-wearing, wife-stealing male prostitute would want to admit that. So my advice is, if you value your relationships, stay away from Homegain.com. It is better to dwell in the Garden of Eden than to know how much the house attached to it cost. - NELL SCOVELL