老外在中國：揭開互聯網匿名面紗

原來網站新用戶注冊只用簡單填個表格就可以了，現在注冊還需要提供電話號碼、郵件地址，有些時候還需要身份證明。網上匿名的面紗正被掀開，網絡行為因此可以得到更規范的管理和監督。

I've been away a lot these past few weeks, filming the latest entries in the Good Luck China series of videos.
過去幾周，我一直忙碌于《好運中國》系列片最新作品的拍攝工作，很長時間都在外地。

There's been some unforgettable experiences - most notably floating down the Lijiang River with a pair of cormorants on a traditional bamboo fishing raft - but it's also meant spending extended periods of time far away from home.
拍攝過程中有許多難忘的經歷。例如，印象最深的便是乘竹筏順漓江而下時，竹筏上還有一對鸕鶿。但這也意味著要長時間遠離我家。

Luckily, my fiancee bought me an e-reader recently, which not only gives me something to occupy my mind during the long journeys, but also makes it easier than ever to catch up on my reading. And catch up I have!
十分幸運的是，我未婚妻最近給我買了一個電子閱讀器。有了它，漫長的旅途終于不再無所事事，終于可以更加輕松地趕上我的閱讀進度了。是的，我趕上了！

Previously, I could only rarely be seen with a book in hand - my excuse always being that, after a day of reading for work, the last thing I wanted to do is read some more once I got home. When stuck inside a plane, train or automobile, however, I soon change my tune.
我以前很少有時間看書，我的理由是——在單位看了一天的東西，回到家一點其他的內容都讀不進去。然而當我窩在飛機、火車或者汽車上時，我又變了主意。

Street of Eternal Happiness by Rob Schmitz was my book of the summer. I read it from cover to cover while on the road filming back in July and was absorbed by the characters' stories, all of which are connected by a single Shanghai street.
今年夏天我讀了羅伯?施密茨寫的《長樂路》。七月拍攝返程時我把這本書從頭到尾讀完了，沉浸在人物故事中不能自拔，這些故事都發生一條上海的街道上。

Next on my reading list was something completely different, however - the sci-fi adventure Ready Player One.
然而，我之后讀的《玩家一號》則是風格則完全不同的科幻冒險小說。

Not only had I heard that it was riveting, I was also keen to explore the virtual world created by its author Ernest Cline before it appears on the big screen next spring, courtesy of Stephen Spielberg.
這本書引人入勝，明年春天史蒂芬?斯皮爾伯格導演將把它搬上大屏幕，我迫不及待想在電影上映之前，探秘作者恩斯特?克萊恩一手創造的虛擬世界。

The plot revolves around a favorite topic of mine: virtual reality and artificial worlds. Yet something rather odd occurred to me as I plowed my way through its 385 pages - this story, set in the year 2044, already seems a little dated.
這本書討論的正是我喜歡的話題：虛擬現實與人工世界。然而，在閱讀這本385頁書的過程中，我發現了一些稀奇之事——這個設定于2044年的故事，現在看倒有點過時。

Ready Player One was only published six years ago and, in many ways, the future it portrays is pretty relatable. Our technology might not be as advanced as that in the book, but what's described is at least believable.
《玩家一號》在六年前才出版發行，從許多角度來說，它塑造的未來是有跡可循的。也許未來人類的科技發展不會像書中那樣先進，但起碼書中的描寫是可信的。

Yet a key element of the plot, which I believe I can share without giving too much away, is the protagonist's ability to remain anonymous online - a quality that is increasingly becoming a thing of the past.
然而，在不劇透的情況下，我可以透露一點的是，這個故事的關鍵一環便是主人公可以在互聯網上一直保持匿名狀態——對于我們來說，網上匿名已經逐漸成為過去時了。

Websites that once allowed new users to sign up by doing little more than filling in a form now require phone numbers, email addresses and, in some cases, formal ID.
原來網站新用戶注冊只用簡單填個表格就可以了，現在注冊還需要提供電話號碼、郵件地址，有些時候還需要身份證明。

The veil of anonymity is being lifted, so that online behaviors can be better regulated and policed.
網上匿名的面紗正被掀開，網絡行為因此可以得到更規范的管理和監督。

Here in China, as of the first of this month, internet companies and service providers now have to ensure users complete real-name registration before they are allowed to post comments online.
這個月開始，中國首次實行全網實名制，互聯網公司和服務商必須確保用戶在網上發表言論前完成實名登記。

I wouldn't be surprised to see similar moves made elsewhere, by private companies if not the governments themselves.
如果其他國家的政府或者私人企業也采取了類似措施，我一點也不意外。

It truly seems that the Web's Wild West phase is drawing to a close, and whatever follows is unlikely to mirror Mr Cline's vision of our shared virtual future.
互聯網上“狂野的西部世界”似乎將不復存在，不管我們共同的虛擬空間未來如何發展，都不再會像克萊恩描寫的那般了。

英文來源：“CHINA DAILY”微信公眾號
翻譯：姚芊芊（中國日報網iNews譯者）
編審：丹妮 董靜
音頻編輯：焦潔

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Broadcaster

Greg Fountain is a copy editor and occasional presenter for China Daily. Before moving to Beijing in January, 2016 he worked for newspapers in the Middle East and UK. He has an M.A in Print Journalism from the University of Sheffield, a B.A in English and History from the University of Reading and a Basic Food Hygiene Certificate from a pub in South Yorkshire.