Unit-2-Bards-of-the-Internet-课文翻译

Unit2BardsoftheInternetPhillipElmer-Dewitt1.Oneoftheunintendedsideeffectsoftheinventionofthetelephonewasthatwritingwentoutofstyle.Oh,sure,therewerestillfull-timescribblers—journalists,academics,professionalwordsmiths.Andthegreatcentersofcommercestillfounditusefultokeeponhandpeoplewhocoulddraftamemo,abrief,apressreleaseoracontract.Butgivenachoicebetweenpickingupapenoraphone,mostfolkstooktheeasyrouteandgavetheirfingers—andsometimestheirmind—arest.2.Whichmakeswhat’shappeningonthecomputernetworksallthemorestartling.Everynight,whentheyshouldbewatchingtelevision,millionsofcomputeruserssitdownattheirkeyboards;dialintoCompuServe,Prodigy,AmericaOnlineortheInternet;andstarttyping—E-mail,bulletin-boardpostings,chatmessages,rants,diatribes,evenshortstoriesandpoems.JustwhenthemediaofMcLuhanweresupposedtorenderobsoletethemediumofShakespeare,theonlineworldisexperiencingthegreatestboominletterwritingsincethe18thcentury.3.“ItismyoverwhelmingbeliefthatE-mailandcomputerconferencingisteachinganentiregenerationabouttheflexibilityandutilityofprose,”writesJonCarroll,acolumnistattheSanFranciscoChronicle.PatrickNielsenHayden,aneditoratTorBooks,compareselectronicbulletinboardswiththe“scribblers’compacts”ofthelate18thandearly19thcenturies,inwhichmemberspassedlettersfromhandtohand,addingalittlemoreateachturn.DavidSewell,anassociateeditorattheUniversityofArizona,likensnetwritingtotheliterarysceneMarkTwaindiscoveredinSanFranciscointhe1860s,“whenpeoplewerereinventingjournalismbygraftingitontothetall-talefolktradition.”OthersharkbacktoTomPaineandtheRevolutionaryWarpamphleteers,oreventotheElizabethanera,when,thankstoGutenberg,agenerationofEnglishwritersbecameintoxicatedwithlanguage.4.Butsuchcomparisonsinviteaquestion:Ifonlinewritingtodayrepresentssomesortofrenaissance,whyissomuchofitsoawful?Foritcanbeverybadindeed:sloppy,meandering,puerile,ungrammatical,poorlyspelled,badlystructuredandattimesvirtuallycontentfree.“HEY!!!1!”readsanalltootypicalmessageontheInternet,“ITHINKMETALLICAIZREELKOOLDOOD!1!!!”5.Onereason,ofcourse,isthatE-mailisnotlikeordinarywriting.“Youneedtothinkofthisas‘writtenspeech’,”saysGerardVanderLeun,literaryagentbasedinWestport,Connecticut,whohasemergedasoneofthepreeminentstylistsontheNet.“Thesethingsarelittlemoreconsideredthancoffeehousetalkandalotlessconsideredthanaletter.They’renottohaveandhold;they’retofireandforget.”Manyonlinepostingsarecomposed“live”withtheclockticking,usingrudimentarywordprocessorsoncomputersystemsthatchargebytheminuteandinsomecaseswillshutdownwithoutwarningwhenanhourrunsout.6.ThatisnottosaythatwithmoretimeeverywriterontheInternetwouldproduceasparklingcopy.Muchofthefictionandpoetryissecond-rateorworse,whichisnotsurprising,giventhatthebarrierstoentryaresolow.“Intherealworld,”saysMaryAnneMohanraj,aChicago-basedpoet,“ittakesahellofalotofworktogetpublished,whichnaturallyweedsoutalotofthegarbage.OntheNet,justafewkeystrokessendsyourwritingouttothousandsofreaders.”7.Butevenamongthereamsofbadpoetry,gemsaretobefound.MikeGodwin,aWashington-basedlawyerwhopostsunderthepenname“mnemonic,”tellsthestoryofJoeGreen,atechnicalwriteratCrayResearchwhoturnedamoribunddiscussiongroupcalledrec.arts.poemsintoarealpoetryworkshopbymercilesslycritiquingthepieceshefoundthere.“Somepeoplegotangryandsaidifhewassuchagodofpoetry,whydidn’thepublishhispoemstothegroup?”recallsGodwin.“Hedid,andblewthemallaway.”Green’sWellMetinMinnesota,amock-epicaccountofaface-to-facemeetingwithafellownetworkscribbler,isnowreveredontheInternetasaclassic.Itbegins,“ThetruthisthatwhenImetMarkIwasdressedastheCanterburyTales.Ratherdifficulttodoasyoumightsuspect,butIwantedtomakeacertainimpression.”8.Themoreprosaictechnicalandpoliticaldiscussiongroups,meanwhile,havebecomesocrowdedwithwriterscryingforattentionthataDarwiniansurvivalprinciplehasstartedtoprevail.“It’ssocompetitivethatyouhavetoworkonyourstyleifyouwanttomakeanyimpact,”saysJornBarger,asoftwaredesignerinChicago.GoodwritingontheNettendstobeclear,vigorous,wittyandaboveallbrief.“Themediumfavorstheterse,”saysCrawfordKilian,awritingteacheratCapilanoCollegeinVancouver,BritishColumbia.“Shortparagraphs,bulletedlistsandone-linersaretheunitsofthoughthere.”9.Someofthemostsuccessfulnetwritingisproducedincomputerconferences,wherewriterscomposeinakindofcollaborativeheat,knockingideasagainstoneanotheruntiltheyspark.PerhapsthebestexamplesofthisarefoundontheWELL,aSausalito,Californiabulletinboardfavoredbyjournalists.Thecaliberofdiscussionisoftensohighthatseveralpublications—includingtheNewYorkTimesandtheWallStreetJournal—haveprintedexcerptsfromtheWELL.10.Curiously,whatworksonthecomputernetworksisn’tnecessarilywhatworksonpaper.Netwritersfreelylacetheirprosewithstrangeacronymsand“smileys,”thelittlefacesconstructedwithpunctuationmarksandintendedtoconveythewinks,grinsandgrimacesofordinaryconversations.Somehowitallflowstogetherquitesmoothly.Ontheotherhand,polishedprosecopiedontobulletinboardsfrombooksandmagazinesoftenseemslong-windedandphony.Unlesstheyadjusttothenewmedium,professionalwriterscancomeacrossasself-importantblowha