and in my recent work I've been a bit of a pessimist.

我是強納生·席全，

So I thought this morning I would try to be the optimist,

我最近的工作讓我有點悲觀，

and give reason to hope

所以我今早決定要讓自己樂觀一點，

for the future of the Internet

我想談談網路的現狀，

by drawing upon its present.

好讓我們對網路的未來

Now, it may seem like there is less hope today than there was before.

能抱持一點希望。

People are less kind. There is less trust around.

現在的人好像沒以前那麼充滿希望，

I don't know. As a simple example,

不那麼友善、不那麼互信。

we could run a test here.

這我可不確定。舉個簡單的例子

How many people have ever hitchhiked?

測驗一下。

I know. How many people have hitchhiked

搭過便車的人，請舉手？

within the past 10 years?

我就知道。那麼，有多少人

Right. So what has changed?

過去十年內搭過便車的？

It's not better public transportation.

沒錯。到底有了什麼改變呢？

So that's one reason to think that we might be

這可不是因為大眾運輸有了改善...

declensionists, going in the wrong direction.

你們看，這就是讓我們相信

But I want to give you three examples

世風日下、人心不古的原因之一。

to try to say that the trend line

但是我要告訴各位三個例子，

is in fact in the other direction,

我要證明，整個趨勢其實還是

and it's the Internet helping it along.

往另一個方向發展的，

So example number one: the Internet itself.

而且網際網路一路上推波助瀾。

These are three of the founders of the Internet.

第一個例子：網路本身。

They were actually high school classmates together

這三位是網際網路的創始人，

at the same high school in suburban Los Angles in the 1960s.

他們原先是高中同學，

You might have had a French club or a Debate club.

1960年代就讀於洛杉磯市郊的同一所高中。

They had a "Let's build a global network" club,

高中時你可能會參加法文社或辯論社，

and it worked out very well.

他們參加的則是

They are pictured here for their 25th anniversary

「共同打造全球網路」社，結果還真不錯。

Newsweek retrospective on the Internet.

這張是新聞週刊回顧網際網路報導

And as you can tell,

為他們拍的慶祝25年週年照片。

they are basically goof balls.

可以看出來，

They had one great limitation

他們基本上是一群呆瓜。

and one great freedom

試圖構作全球網路時，他們得克服

as they tried to conceive of a global network.

一個很大的障礙，

The limitation was that they didn't have any money.

但他們也有很大的創作自由。

No particular amount of capital to invest,

障礙是他們沒有什麼錢，

of the sort that for a physical network

實在沒有資本可以投入，

you might need for trucks and people

沒有建造實體網路時

and a hub to move packages around overnight.

所需的卡車、工人

They had none of that.

或轉運中心，隔夜就可以把貨物送到。

But they had an amazing freedom,

那些他們都沒有。

which was they didn't have to make any money from it.

可是他們有驚人的自由，

The Internet has no business plan, never did.

也就是他們不必從這頂上賺什麼錢。

No CEO,

網際網路沒有營運計畫，從來沒有，

no firm responsible, singly, for building it.

沒有CEO，

Instead, it's folks getting together

也沒有單獨的一家公司負責打造網際網路。

to do something for fun,

不過是一些人聚在一起，

rather than because they were told to,

為了好玩而做這件事而已，

or because they were expecting to make a mint off of it.

既沒有人要他們做這件事，

That ethos led to a network architecture,

也不是他們當時想靠這個發財。

a structure that was unlike

那樣的特質導致一種網路架構，

other digital networks then or since.

這種架構前所未有，

So unusual, in fact,

其後的其它數位網路也無法比擬。

that it was said that it's not clear the Internet could work.

真的很特別，

As late as 1992, IBM was known to say

那時大家也搞不懂網際網路是否行得通。

you couldn't possibly build a corporate network

直到1992年，IBM還宣稱

using Internet Protocol.

利用網際網路協定根本不可能

And even some Internet engineers today say

打造出公司網路。

the whole thing is a pilot project and the jury is still out.

甚至今天還有些

(Laughter)

網路工程師說這只是個試行計畫，還沒有定論。

That's why the mascot of Internet engineering,

(笑聲)

if it had one, is said to be the bumblebee.

因此有人說，若要幫網際網路選定吉祥物的話，

Because the fur-to-wingspan ratio of the bumblebee

絕對非大黃蜂莫屬。

is far too large for it to be able to fly.

因為大黃蜂翅膀小，身體又太大得不成比例，

And yet, mysteriously, somehow the bee flies.

根本飛不起來才對。

I'm pleased to say that, thanks to massive government funding,

但很奇怪的是，這些蜜蜂還是飛了起來。

about three years ago we finally figured out

我很高興在此宣布，感謝政府的大力資助，

how bees fly.

我們三年前終於瞭解

(Laughter)

蜜蜂到底是怎麼飛起來的。

It's very complicated, but it turns out they

(笑聲)

flap their wings very quickly.

道理很複雜，但說穿了

(Laughter)

就是翅膀拍得很快。

So what is this bizarre architecture configuration

(笑聲)

that makes the network sing and be so unusual?

究竟是什麼怪異的架構，

Well, to move data around

讓網路合唱得如此美妙與特別呢？

from one place to another -- again, it's not like a package courier.

嗯，要從一個地方

It's more like a mosh pit.

傳送資料到另一個地方，這並不像包裹快遞，

(Laughter)

反倒比較像魔秀舞池。

Imagine, you being part of a network

(笑聲)

where, you're maybe at a sporting event,

假設你是某網路的成員，

and you're sitting in rows like this,

你們在某個運動比賽場合，

and somebody asks for a beer,

像這樣坐成一排，

and it gets handed at the aisle.

有人點了啤酒，

And your neighborly duty

那要從走道傳進去給他，

is to pass the beer along,

你坐在鄰近就有義務

at risk to your own trousers,

把啤酒傳過去，

to get it to the destination.

冒著弄髒自己褲子的風險

No one pays you to do this.

也要把啤酒傳到。

It's just part of your neighborly duty.

沒有人付錢要你這麼做，

And, in a way, that's exactly how packets move around the Internet,

你坐在鄰近就有這個義務。

sometimes in as many as 25 or 30 hops,

某個程度上來說，這正是網路傳遞封包的方式，

with the intervening entities

有時得經過25到30個節點，

that are passing the data around

附上協調性的信息，

having no particular contractual or legal obligation

幫忙把資料傳遞下去，

to the original sender

與原始送件人或收件人之間，

or to the receiver.

並沒有特定的合約

Now, of course, in a mosh pit it's hard to specify a destination.

或法律上的義務。

You need a lot of trust,

當然，在魔秀舞池裡很難料定目的地，

but it's not like, "I'm trying to get to Pensacola, please."

需要很大的信任，

So the Internet needs addressing and directions.

不能簡單說：「請送我到潘薩科拉，謝謝。」

It turns out there is no one overall map of the Internet.

網際網路上需要地址和方向，

Instead, again, it is as if we are all sitting together in a theater,

可是網路世界並沒有涵蓋整個領域的地圖，

but we can only see amidst the fog

反倒比較像大家都坐在戲院裡，

the people immediately around us.

只因為煙霧迷漫，我們只能看到

So what do we do to figure out who is where?

緊鄰我們的幾個人，

We turn to the person on the right,

那要怎麼知道誰在哪裡呢？

and we tell that person what we see on our left,

我們轉向右邊的人，

and vice versa.

告訴他我們在左邊看到的是什麼，

And they can lather, rinse, repeat. And before you know it,

他也反過來依樣畫葫蘆，

you have a general sense of where everything is.

大家告訴大家之後，

This is how Internet addressing and routing actually work.

大家就大略知道戲院裡的狀況了。

This is a system that relies on kindness and trust,

這就是網路找尋路徑的方法。

which also makes it very delicate and vulnerable.

這個系統依賴的是大家的友善和信任，

In rare but striking instances,

但也因此，網路是很嬌嫩脆弱的。

a single lie told by just one entity

在某些少見的特殊情況下，

in this honeycomb

只要有那麼個成員在這個蜂巢裡

can lead to real trouble.

撒了個小謊，

So, for example, last year,

就可能造成大麻煩。

the government of Pakistan

舉例來說，去年(2008)，

asked its Internet service providers there

巴基斯坦政府

to prevent citizens of Pakistan from seeing YouTube.

要求當地的網路服務業者，不要讓

There was a video there that the government did not like

巴基斯坦人民看到YouTube，因為政府當局

and they wanted to make sure it was blocked.

不樂見那裡的某支影片，

This is a common occurrence. Governments everywhere

所以想確保封鎖它。

are often trying to block

這種事很常見，

and filter and censor content on the Internet.

到處總有政府試圖

Well this one ISP in Pakistan

封鎖、過濾、檢查網路內容。

chose to effectuate the block for its subscribers

好啦，這家巴基斯坦ISP

in a rather unusual way.

選用了一個相當不尋常的方式

It advertised --

來達到封鎖用戶的目的，

the way that you might be asked, if you were part of the Internet,

它宣稱--

to declare what you see near you -- it advertised

你若是網路的成員，有時別人會要你回報

that near it, in fact, it had suddenly awakened to find

你看到鄰近有些什麼--它宣稱

that it was YouTube.

在它附近有...--不對--它突然發現

"That's right," it said, "I am YouTube."

自己就是YouTube，

Which meant that packets of data

它說：「沒錯，我就是YouTube。」

from subscribers going to YouTube

從那一刻起，用戶們傳送

stopped at the ISP, since they thought they were already there,

給YouTube的封包，

and the ISP threw them away unopened

全都被那家ISP給擋了下來，

because the point was to block it.

那家ISP不拆包就丟包了，

But it didn't stop there.

因為目的只是封鎖而已。

You see, that announcement

但這件事並非到此為止，

went one click out,

只要一點選YouTube，

which got reverberated, one click out.

那個公告就會傳出去，

And it turns out that as you look

每次點選都會把消息擴散出去。

at the postmortem of this event,

要是我們從事後

you have at one moment

來看這件事，

perfectly working YouTube.

前一分鐘

Then, at moment number two,

YouTube還好好的，

you have the fake announcement go out.

下一分鐘，

And within two minutes,

那份假的公告傳了出去，

it reverberates around

兩分鐘之後，

and YouTube is blocked everywhere in the world.

到處都在傳播這個假公告，

If you were sitting in Oxford, England, trying to get to YouTube,

全世界的人都無法使用YouTube了。

your packets were going to Pakistan

假如你在英國牛津，想連上YouTube，

and they weren't coming back.

你的封包

Now just think about that.

就會被導向巴基斯坦，一去不復返。

One of the most popular websites in the world,

現在請想想，

run by the most powerful company in the world,

這是最受歡迎的網站之一，

and there was nothing that YouTube or Google

也是最有權勢的公司所經營的，

were particularly privileged to do about it.

但Google或YouTube卻無任何特權

And yet, somehow, within about two hours,

可以處理這種情況。

the problem was fixed.

但不知怎的，不到二個小時，

How did this happen?

問題解決了。

Well, for a big clue, we turn to NANOG.

到底怎麼回事？

The North American Network Operators Group,

嗯，NANOG可以提供一點線索，

a group of people who,

NANOG就是北美網路營運商會。

on a beautiful day outside,

有一群人在外頭

enter into a windowless room,

天氣不錯的日子裡，

at their terminals

關在沒有窗戶的房間裡，

reading email and messages

用他們的電腦

in fixed proportion font, like this,

讀取像這種標準字體大小寫的

and they talk about networks.

郵件和訊息，

And some of them are mid-level employees at Internet service providers

他們談的是網路。

around the world.

他們有些人是世界

And here is the message where one of them says,

各地ISP的中階員工，

"Looks like we've got a live one. We have a hijacking of YouTube!

其中有人寫下這則訊息：

This is not a drill. It's not just the cluelessness

「看來有麻煩，有人挾持了YouTube！

of YouTube engineers. I promise.

這不是演習，也不是YouTube工程師的愚蠢，

Something is up in Pakistan."

我保證不是。

And they came together to help find the problem and fix it.

問題出在巴基斯坦！」

So it's kind of like if your house catches on fire.

然後他們集合起來找問題，把它修復。

The bad news is there is no fire brigade.

這就像是你家失火了，

The good news is random people apparate from nowhere,

糟糕的是附近沒有救火隊，

put out the fire and leave without expecting payment or praise.

但幸好有幾個不認識的人不期然出現，

(Applause)

幫你滅了火，然後分文不取就離開了。

I was trying to think of the right model to describe

(掌聲)

this form of random acts of kindness

我在想，要用什麼模式來形容

by geeky strangers.

這些電腦怪客

(Laughter)

隨機的善行義舉呢？

You know, it's just like the hail goes out

(笑聲)

and people are ready to help.

就好像有人一招手，

And it turns out this model is everywhere, once you start looking for it.

就有人前來幫忙一樣。

Example number two: Wikipedia.

我發現只要開始找尋，到處都有這種善行義舉。

If a man named Jimbo came up to you in 2001

我們來看第二個例子：維基百科。

and said, "I've got a great idea! We start with seven articles

如果2001年有個名叫金寶的人來找你

that anybody can edit anything, at any time,

說：「我有個好主意！我們設定七個主題，

and we'll get a great encyclopedia! Eh?"

人人都可以隨時上來編寫，

Right. Dumbest idea ever.

這不就可編寫出很棒的百科全書了嗎？」

(Laughter)

沒錯，這是有史以來最笨的主意。

In fact, Wikipedia is an idea so profoundly stupid

(笑聲)

that even Jimbo never had it.

其實，維基百科這個主意簡直笨到極點，

Jimbo's idea was for Nupedia.

就連金寶也不這麼想。

It was going to be totally traditional. He would pay people money

金寶的主意是「新百科全書」，

because he was feeling like a good guy,

完全傳統方式、付錢請人寫。

and the money would go to the people

他覺得自己是個好人，

and they would write the articles.

付錢請人寫，

The wiki was introduced

就會寫出文章。

so others could make suggestions on edits --

維基的概念來自於

as almost an afterthought, a back room.

讓別人提出編寫建議，

And then it turns out the back room grew

好比補充作業或加蓋密室，

to encompass the entire project.

但後來密室卻越蓋越大，

And today, Wikipedia is so ubiquitous

涵蓋了整個工程。

that you can now find it on Chinese restaurant menus.

今天，維基百科已經普及到

(Laughter)

連中國餐廳的菜單上也找得到它。

I am not making this up.

(笑聲)

(Laughter)

這可不是我捏造的！

I have a theory I can explain later.

(笑聲)

Suffice it to say for now that I prefer my Wikipedia

關於這點我有個理論，稍後再作解釋。

stir-fried with pimentos.

現在我只說我的最愛是

(Laughter)

青椒炒維基就夠了。

But now, Wikipedia doesn't just spontaneously work.

(笑聲)

How does it really work? It turns out

不過，維基並非自發性的作品而已。

there is a back room that is kind of windowless,

究竟怎麼運作的呢？

metaphorically speaking.

打個隱喻說，我發現

And there are a bunch of people who, on a sunny day,

維基有個沒窗戶的密室，

would rather be inside

有那麼一群人

and monitoring this, the administrator's notice board,

即使外頭陽光普照也寧可待在房間裡

itself a wiki page that anyone can edit.

盯著管理員的公布欄看，

And you just bring your problems to the page.

那是人人都可以編輯的維基頁面，

It's reminiscent of the description of history

可以把問題放到那個頁面上。

as "one damn thing after another," right?

這讓人想起一句老話：

Number one: "Tendentious editing by user Andyvphil."

「壞事接踵而來」對不對？

Apologies, Andyvphil, if you're here today.

第一件：「安地夫菲爾的編輯有傾向性」。

I'm not taking sides.

安地夫菲爾，如果你在現場的話，對不起啦，

"Anon attacking me for reverting."

我沒有偏袒誰的意思。

Here is my favorite: "A long story."

還有「只因我撤回修改，阿儂就攻擊我」。

(Laughter)

這是我最喜歡的：「說來話長」。

It turns out there are more people checking this page for problems

(笑聲)

and wanting to solve them

結果，越來越多人在那個頁面上找問題，

than there are problems arising on the page.

想辦法解決問題，

And that's what keeps Wikipedia afloat.

那個頁面上就越來越少問題。

At all times, Wikipedia is approximately

那就是讓維基百科飄浮不沉的原因。

45 minutes away from utter destruction. Right?

任何時刻，維基百科都面臨著

There are spambots crawling it, trying to turn every article

45分鐘後就會解體的危機，不是嗎？

into an ad for a Rolex watch.