One-way Doors, Teleportation and Writing without Prepositions: an analysis of WWW hypertext links

Jaime Henriquez

As a method of communication, the World Wide Web is unusual in several ways - in its delivery (by computer rather than printed page, radio waves, etc.), speed, audience, multimedia aspects, interactivity, connections to databases, and so on. Attempting to assess the effects of this chimera on communication is daunting in part because it is difficult to know what new aspect to examine first. As a starting point, I have chosen to examine the web's hypertext link, in its current form.

New media create new forms of communication. Each medium both enhances and restricts different aspects of communication. The key to understanding how communication via the web differs from other forms of communication lies in the link. If we look closely at the link, we find in its traits clues to the ways in which communication changes when conducted over this new medium.

1.1. The role of links

To begin with, a World Wide Web link is a connection between some point on one web page (which I'll call the A page) and a point (usually the beginning) of any other web page (the B page). When reading the A page, with an appropriate web browser program, clicking on the link causes the B page to be displayed instead.

Links exercise a considerable influence on what material a reader sees, and in what order. While there is no limit to the length of a web page, most are no longer than a few printed pages. When the reader finishes a page, links provided by the author offer the most obvious options for continuation, though not the only ones. Any page which can be reached by link can be reached directly, without the link, so long as its address (its Universal Resource Locator, or URL) is known. Directly specifying the URL of the page you want to see requires some knowledge, however, and those who regard computers as inherently mysterious frequently choose not to take this route, especially as URLs are typically a 20-30 character near-nonsense string which must be typed in precisely as given. Clicking on a link is easier.

Web page URLs are inherently uninformative - they indicate nothing about what you will see when the page is displayed (1). Telephone numbers pose a similar problem, giving little or no indication of who will answer the phone if you dial the number, or how you might find that person by some other means (by mail, for example). The lack is corrected by telephone directories, or address books, which supply some or all of that missing information. Links do for web pages what directories or address books do for telephones, i.e. they give some information about what is on the B page. The link implies, at a minimum, that the author of the A page thought the B page to be of some interest, for some reason. One can call any phone number at random, but the majority of calls are to someone, made with the help of a directory of some sort. Similarly, most web pages are displayed with the help of a link. Links invite the reader to new pages and, as we shall see in the discussion of the link's directionality, the invitation is a forceful one.

Links, then, have a strong impact on a reader's choices and, ultimately, what s/he sees. An analysis of the World Wide Web link can shed light on the similarities and differences of communicating via the web rather than other media, and at the same time suggest guidelines for creating effective web pages. While some of these conclusions and suggestions will be familiar to developers of web content, even those who are familiar with the suggestions may profit by a better understanding of the reasons behind them.

Three aspects of the World Wide Web link have strong effects on writing. These characteristics can create problems for both authors and readers. They are:

• the link is directional; • the link is instant; • the link is generic.

1.2. The Directional Link

A link in a chain looks and acts the same regardless of which way one travels the chain to get to it. From either direction, it is just as strong or weak. A web link, on the other hand, is different when seen from the A page or the B page. On the A page, a link is indicated by highlighting of text and/or by a change in the cursor. On the B page, there is nothing. Going from A to B is following the path of less resistance, going 'downstream,' if you will. Going from B to A, perhaps via a Back button, is travelling 'upstream' — not impossible certainly, but a very different proposition.

The directional nature of links is crucial to the rapid growth of the web. It means that anyone, regardless of who or where they are, can create an enduring link to a page which interests them, without the permission or even the knowledge of the page's author. For an author, making information available in this way comes with a one-time cost. Since there is no complementary link back to the A page, links to the author's page require no work on their part. The only effort is on the part of the person who wishes to link to it. This directionality was an inspired decision by the creators of the World Wide Web, one which enhances the flow of information via computers. It does, however, have a down side.

Loss of Context

The author of a web page need not know who is setting up a link to their page; it is also true that the author cannot know this. Consequently, the reader's entry path is unpredictable. There is no way to know what web page a reader just came from, or what is likely to be in their mind because of it. Writers of books have some assurance that attentive readers are following the sequence laid out for them in previous pages. Even if readers are less than cooperative, authors can comfort themselves with the...