史蒂芬?芬克(Steven Fink)最近收到一封陌生邮件，里头有一名女子的几张裸照，遭到这名女子抛弃的前男友想羞辱她。那个人想来是希望这些私密照片能在网上广为传播；而现在无数陌生人也确实在充当帮凶，参与到他这个居心不良的行为当中。

　　In the pre-Internet age, the dumped boyfriend may have expressed his anger by throwing darts at her photo. These days, however, the outlets for vindictiveness have multiplied almost to infinity -- and your reputation is more fragile than ever.

　　在互联网时代之前，男人被甩后可能会对着前女友的照片掷飞镖，以此泄愤。但如今，发泄的途径近乎无穷无尽──人们的名誉变得前所未有的易受攻击。

　　All of us now live under the threat of easy and instant humiliation. It's no longer just celebrities and business executives who need to think about aggressive reputation-protection and face-saving techniques.

　　羞辱别人变得如此简便和快捷，而我们每个人都活在这种威胁之下。以前只有名人和公司高管需要考虑采取积极措施保护自己名誉，学习挽回脸面的技巧；但现在，这已成为一种大众需求。

　　Not long ago, people who routinely plugged their own names into online search engines were thought to be engaging in 'vanity Googling.' These days, it is an act of self-preservation. 'Google yourself at least once a week,' advises Richard Levick, who heads a strategic communications firm in Washington, D.C. 'You need to track what's being said about you' on blogs, message boards and social-networking websites.

　　不久前，总在网络搜索引擎查询自己名字的行为被视为虚荣心使然。如今，这是一种自我保护的手段。华盛顿一家公关公司的负责人理查德?莱维克(Richard Levick)说，每周至少搜索一次你的名字，随时留心关于你的网上言论，无论是在博客、论坛，还是在交友网站上。

　　Any time you leave your house, you could be targeted. Drive over to Wal-Mart for a gallon of milk and you may end up on PeopleofWalmart.com. The site -- not, needless to say, affiliated with the retailer -- runs smirk-inducing photos of overweight or oddly dressed shoppers, most of them sent in by other shoppers.

　　只要你走出家门，也许就会成为别人的目标。开车去沃尔玛(Wal-Mart)买盒牛奶，你的照片就可能被登在网上。这个网站并不是沃尔玛搞的，主要张贴一些肥胖人士或奇装异服的沃尔玛购物者的搞笑照片，大多是其他购物者拍摄并上传的。

　　Such sites raise the question: Have we become a more malicious society? There are differing views.

　　这类网站不禁让我们提出一个疑问：我们这个社会是不是变得越来越恶毒了？对此，人们的观点不一。

　　'Human nature hasn't changed,' says Jonathan Bernstein, a crisis consultant in Los Angeles. 'There have always been people whose aim in life was to cause pain to others. If they saw people embarrassing themselves, they got pleasure in sharing that information. Before the Internet, they had to gossip with their neighbors. Now they can gossip with the world.'

　　“人性并没有改变，”洛杉矶危机管理顾问乔纳森?伯恩斯坦(Jonathan Bernstein)说，“总有这样一种人，存在的目的就是给他人带来痛苦。如果他们看到别人的尴尬之事，就想搞得尽人皆知，并以此为乐。没有互联网的时候，他们只能跟邻居窃窃私语；而现在，他们可以跟全世界的人八卦一下。”

　　Others argue that there has been a ratcheting up of meanness -- that the changes in technology have made us nastier and more cynical. 'It's like a blood sport,' says Mr. Fink, who runs a crisis-management firm in Los Angeles. 'It feels like everyone has their cellphone out, ready to take a photo that will hurt someone else.'

　　另一种观点认为，人性的卑鄙一面确实在不断滋生壮大──科技进步让人们变得更为龌龊，更加玩世不恭。“这是一种伤人的消遣，”在洛杉矶经营一家危机管理公司的芬克说，“似乎每个人都拿着手机，随时准备拍下一些给他人带来不利影响的照片。”