The internet can be a terrible place. Even on the most respectable of mainstream news sites the web seems to bring out the worst in many people: open comment threads and social media are often poisoned by racism and sexism one seldom hears offline. Women, in particular, routinely face barrages of abuse – often threats of murder and rape. And, sometimes, these do not come from one or two strangers, but a swarm.
      互聯網可能變成一個恐怖之地。即使是在最受尊敬的主流新聞網站上，互聯網似乎也能引出很多人心中的惡：公開評論以及社交媒體常被現實世界中罕有耳聞的種族主義以及性別歧視言論所污染。女性在互聯網上遭到接二連三的謾駡更是家常便飯——通常是有關謀殺或強姦的威脅。而且有些時候這些威脅並非來自一兩個陌生人，而是一整群烏合之眾。

      This phenomenon is commonly referred to as “trolling” – although the behaviour outlined above is better described as harassment. Thanks to social media, it has never been easier to contact huge numbers of strangers, and the personal cost of being rude or abusive has never been lower. Twitter, in particular, has given people the ability to communicate directly with celebrities and strangers in the news – and, often, the easiest way to get their attention is to be outrageous and offensive. Add anonymity to the brew, so your rantings will not harm your personal relationships or employment prospects, and many oddballs become trolls.
      這種現象一般被稱為“網路暴力”——雖然以上描述的行為被稱作“騷擾”更加合適。由於社交媒體的普及，聯繫大量陌生人從未像現在這樣容易，而行為粗魯或者惡言漫駡給施暴者帶來的成本則從沒有像現在這樣低。又由於互聯網具有匿名性，你的叫駡不會影響你的人際關係或者就業前景，因此很多怪人都變成了“網路暴民”。

      In response to the latest round of threats, there have been calls to streamline procedures for reporting abuse. Twitter has been noticeably slow to respond to such suggestions because of its self-conscious commitment to free speech. There is also the risk that an abuse button could itself be abused to target controversial individuals.
      為了應對最新一輪的威脅謾駡，有人呼籲簡化舉報辱駡的流程。推特由於自覺要維護言論自由，因而回應這類建議的速度異乎尋常的慢。同樣存在這樣的風險，即一個舉報辱駡的機制本身被濫用于攻擊某些富有爭議性的個人。

      Unfortunately, there will always be those who are angry or obsessive or maladjusted and seek to take it out on other people. This is saddening: one of the great benefits of the web is the way that it has enabled vast communities across the world to talk – and to crowdsource information, volunteers and money. It can take relatively few individuals to destroy those gatherings.
        不幸的是，總是有那麼一些或者憤怒、或者偏執、或者無法適應環境因而試圖將怒氣發洩在其他人身上的個體。

      But there are grounds for optimism that online abuse will not be the great plague of the 21st century. It appears that we have already passed the peak of “RIP trolling” – leaving offensive messages on dead teenagers’ Facebook pages. A notorious group imploded in 2010 and several were prosecuted. One, a British 25-year-old called Sean Duffy, was jailed for 18 weeks and banned from social networking sites for five years after leaving messages such as “Help me mummy, it’s hot in hell” on pages for a 14-year-old who died from an epileptic seizure.
      但我們也有理由抱著樂觀態度，相信網路暴行不會成為21世紀的大瘟疫。目前看來，我們已經度過了“願靈安息”網路暴力(RIP trolling)的高峰階段——在死去青少年的Facebook主頁上寫下侮辱性的留言。

      What is left, then, is the subtler problem of the ways in which the internet – technological marvel though it is – makes us all worse people. A 2012 study from the University of Haifa showed that it is easier for arguments to become uncivil when participants cannot see each others’ eyes. This is, of course, an endemic problem online. But we should be optimistic: social stigma and proper policing will catch up with all but the most hardened trolls.
      接下來更加微妙的問題是，雖然互聯網是一個技術上的奇跡，但它使我們全都變成了更壞的人。海法大學(University of Haifa)2012年的一項研究顯示，在爭論當中，如果參與者相互之間無法看到對方的眼睛，爭論就更容易變得不文明。當然，這是網路世界所特有的問題。但我們應當保持樂觀：除了最鐵石心腸的“網路暴民”之外，社會譴責以及恰當的監督管理能夠解決絕大多數網路謾駡問題。

        Just look at British football.
        What changed? First, football grounds stopped being all-male, all-adult spaces and became somewhere male fans would take their families. The same effect is softening the web: as talking online is becomes more normal – and less dominated by technically minded men – its social mores will blur with those of the offline world. We will not feel so much like someone else when we talk on the internet.
      同樣的作用也正在軟化互聯網上的氛圍：隨著網上聊天變得愈加平常——並較少由技術型思維的男性主導——線上與線下世界風俗習慣之間的差異逐漸模糊。我們在網上發言的時候，給人的感覺不會像是徹底變了一個人。

        Second, society as a whole began to find overt racism less acceptable. It is striking that the overt racism that used to mar football has mutated into online abuse of black players; in May, a British 25-year-old was arrested over tweets to two Northampton Town players. The challenge is to make such behaviour as despised as throwing bananas on to the pitch.
      第二點在於，社會整體對公開的種族主義言論的接受度日益降低。當前的挑戰在於，使網路謾駡像往球場上扔香蕉的行為一樣受到社會譴責。
        We know that trolls often have consistent pseudonyms and seek the approval of their peers; so, without others to be impressed by their behaviour, many will stop. Others will get the message that harassment and threats are no less illegal because they happen in the digital world, and a sense of self-preservation will kick in before they hit “send”. What will remain are the unhinged, and we just have to learn to live with them.
      我們知道，“網路暴民”常使用同一個化名，並在自己的同齡人中間尋求認同。因此，如果沒有人欣賞他們的行為，其中的很多人將因此罷手。而其他的人將逐漸認識到，騷擾和威脅不會因為發生在網路世界而變得合法，在他們點擊“發送”鍵前，一種突然生出的自我保護本能將阻止他們真的這麼做。剩下的將是一些精神錯亂者，我們只能學著忍耐他們。

      Every new communication technology is disruptive and requires a period of adjustment. But it has happened before. As researcher Dr Claire Hardaker put it to me: “You don’t hear about heavy breathing phone calls any more, do you?”