Get conceited in cyberspace!

Just how much could Netizens or citizens of the Internet get conceited in cyberspace?

Obviously, the answer would be "very," especially with the emergence of the cyber-hubs Gwapo.com (www.gwapo.com) and Pinakamaganda.com (www.pinakamaganda.com).

These two egotistical sites only actually serve as the bulletin board systems (BBS) of the cyber-hangout and chatroom of conceited Filipino Netizens called "ganda-gwapo," accessible through the Internet relay chat (IRC) server DALnet (www.dal.net). But aside from being a mere BBS, both also offer free e-mail accounts similar to those being offered by Web-based e-mail systems like the popular Hotmail (www.hotmail.com) and its Filipino counterpart, Pinoymail (www.pinoymail.com).

So if you want to get conceited with your e-mail address, you can have one like [email protected], or even [email protected] (Ugh! The latter doesn’t seem right, because Pinakamaganda.com appeals to everyone to "please respect the sanctity of the site" by not allowing "homosexual messages" to be posted on it).

Compared to its "brother website," Pinakamaganda.com has more comprehensive sections, taking up the slogan "Basta Pilipina, Maganda! (If she’s a Filipina, she’s beautiful)."

On the other hand, Gwapo.com, a mere BBS site, simply banners itself as "Ang Bahay ng mga Guapo (The Home of Handsome People)," and has "hyperlinks" connected to its "sister website."

At Pinakamaganda.com, one can post "personal ads," like if you are looking for a friend, phone pal, textmate, a cyberfriend or a "love interest."

It also has a BBS section called "Rated-18," which is obviously limited to people who are 18 years old and above. This is where you can describe yourself as either "kinky," "playful," "curious" (about what, it doesn’t say) or "nakatago ang kulo (with a hidden passion)."

Messages posted on "Rated-18" can be viewed at Pinakamaganda.com’s "Adult Section," which should not be viewed by those who still have "virgin eyes."

At Gwapo.com, messages posted are "purged out from the site every two days in order to prevent jamming."

This obviously means that there are, indeed, too many conceited Filipino Netizens roaming around cyberspace.