Who in the world is mengwong@ eniac.seas?

He is most commonly known only as "mengwong@eniac.seas.upenn.edu." Some refer to him as the "Internet Guru." But whatever he is called, the name Meng Weng Wong is inevitably associated with computers. Wong, an Engineering senior, was born in Singapore 19 years ago. He moved to Vancouver in 1990, and arrived at the University at the age of 16. "Penn was the only school that accepted me," Wong said. Upon his arrival, Wong fell in love with the University's computer network. He said he got an e-mail account immediately following his trip to CUPID, and since then has "never logged out." And in the three-and-a-half years that he has been logged on, Wong has profoundly affected the Internet at the University. He created the newsgroup "upenn.talk" in the spring of 1992. At that time, there was no newsgroup like it at Penn. Before "upenn.talk," "the University had no general forum for discussion," Wong said. "'Upenn.talk' was the first, followed by other groups for dorms, dining halls and student groups. It was a trailblazer." But it has been Wong's work on the World Wide Web which has attracted the most attention. He has been interviewed by Forbes magazine and The New York Times for his accomplishments. And his home page has been written up in PC Week as one of the best of its kind. Wong's home page serves two functions. First, it is a link to other pages that are of interest to him. Secondly, it is a resume of Wong's accomplishments and personal information. "You can get to know me as a person through my home page," Wong said. "Since I have a broad range of interests, from artificial intelligence to Zen Buddhism, this is a real hodgepodge of my interests." Wong's home page is utilized by many people who want to find a cool link, or just want to know more about the mysterious Meng Weng Wong. More than 8,000 people access the page every week, Wong said. Wong also designs home pages for other organizations, both on and off campus. He estimated that the 300 pages he has created are looked at by approximately 72,000 people each week. Even though he gets 400 e-mails each day, Wong claims he is only on his computer "two or three hours a day." When he is not typing, he said he practices in-line skating or just "hangs out." In addition to his Internet chores, Wong is vice president of the Dining Philosophers, the undergraduate computer science society. And he is involved with the Penn-Edison project, a community partnership program which is wiring North Philadelphia's Edison High School for Internet access. "The students are going to use the network for making home pages and for putting up English papers and artwork," Meng said. Wong is also a founder of Netsurf, a student-run Internet training service. "If no one teaches you how to use it, an e-mail account is useless," Wong said. "Most people write to their high school buddies, but don't know what else is out there on the Internet." Wong said he was first attracted to the Internet because of the privacy available to users. "You can present the kind of personality you want to present," he said. "You don't have to be constrained by how you look, the way you smell, the last time you took a shower. What really matters is how fast you type." However, this lack of personal contact has its costs as well. "People say to my friends, 'Oh my God, you know Meng Weng Wong? Isn't she that girl who's logged in all the time?' " Wong said. Interested in emulating the man behind the monitor? Wong offers some advice for budding Internet gurus: "All it takes is applying yourself," Wong said. "And not having a social life."

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