5 Fast Facts About the World Wide Web on Its 30th Birthday萬維網30年：小知識一覽

米歇爾·德貝克扎克

Though the World Wide Web has only been around for a few decades， it’s practically impossible to imagine life without it today. In honor of its 30th birthday， here are some facts about the system that keeps the world connected1.

1. The World Wide Web was invented by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989.

Thirty years ago， CERN2 computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee proposed an idea for a database of hypertext links that would allow people to send data and communicate across a network. Berners-Lee wasn’t looking to transform modern life when he invented the World Wide Web; he had just gotten tired of having to switch computers whenever he needed to access information that wasn’t on his main work computer.

2. There’s a difference between the internet and the World Wide Web.

Though the terms are often used interchangeably， the internet and the World Wide Web are not the same. Many experts peg3 the start of the internet to September 2， 1969， when a team of computer scientists at UCLA got two computers to send data to each other through a network for the first time. Twenty years later， the World Wide Web made this technology user-friendly and accessible to the public.

3. The world’s first website is still online.

Many websites from the early days of the Web have gone dark4， but the first one is still live. Berners-Lee brought the site online from a lab in the Swiss Alps in 1991. Even though it looks primitive， the site has actually been updated from its original state several times.

4. The first image ever uploaded is very ’90s.

In 1992， Berners-Lee needed a photo to test out the World Wide Web’s new image-hosting capabilities. An IT developer shot a photograph of a comedy band， Les Horribles Cernettes5， which was comprised of other CERN employees at the Swiss lab where they worked. When the picture was uploaded， it made history as the first image ever shared on the Web.

5. Berners-Lee has mixed feelings about his invention today.

Over the past 30 years， Berners-Lee has watched his creation evolve into a force he could have never envisioned. In an open letter published to mark the World Wide Web’s 30th birthday， he wrote， “while the web has created opportunity， given marginalized groups a voice， and made our daily lives easier， it has also created opportunity for scammers， given a voice to those who spread hatred， and made all kinds of crime easier to commit.”6 He urged people to fight to minimize the negative consequences of the Web， such as harassment， polarizing discourse， and the spread of misinformation.

萬維網創立不過短短幾十年，而如今人們卻很難想象離開它要怎么生活。慶祝萬維網誕生30周年之際，在此分享一些有關萬維網的小知識。

1. 萬維網是蒂姆·伯納斯-李于1989年發明的。

30年前，歐洲核子研究組織計算機科學家蒂姆·伯納斯-李構想出了一種超文本鏈接數據庫，使人們可以通過網絡發送數據并進行通訊。伯納斯-李發明萬維網時并未指望它改變現代生活，他只是受夠了每次讀取儲存在非主工作計算機上的數據時還須進行切換罷了。

2. 萬維網有別于互聯網。

雖然“萬維網”和“互聯網”兩個詞經常互相替換使用，但二者卻并不相同。許多專家認定互聯網誕生于1969年9月2日，當天一組加州大學洛杉磯分校的計算機科學家首次實現了兩臺計算機間經由網絡的信息互傳。20年后，萬維網將互聯網技術發展得更為人性化、大眾化。

3. 全球首個網站如今仍然在線。

許多早期出現的網站早已不可訪問，但第一個網站至今仍在服務。1991年，伯納斯-李在瑞士阿爾卑斯山的實驗室里上線了該網站。盡管看起來很原始，該網站從初始狀態發展至今卻歷經了數次更新。

4. 第一張上傳到網絡的圖片極具1990年代風格。

1992年，伯納斯-李需要一張照片來測試全新的萬維網圖片存儲功能。當時，一些和他一起在瑞士實驗室工作的歐洲核子研究組織員工成立了一支幽默樂隊，名為Les Horribles Cernettes，一名信息技術開發人員為他們拍攝了一張照片。而這張照片上傳到網絡后，就成為了首張通過萬維網分享的照片并載入史冊。

5. 時至今日，伯納斯-李的發明讓他喜憂參半。

過去的30年間，伯納斯-李目睹了他的發明演變出超乎想象的力量。他在紀念萬維網誕生30周年的公開信中寫道：“萬維網創造了不少機遇，大大提高了生活便捷程度，也讓邊緣化人群得到發聲的機會;但同時，網絡上騙子橫行，有些人借機煽動仇恨，而且各種各樣的犯罪行為也變得更加容易。”他敦促人們盡力減少萬維網的負面影響，如網絡騷擾、極端言論和信息誤傳等。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎選手）