Sunday, 9 August 2009
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The hazards of hypertext
posted at
07:11 PM
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[credit] But just because you can link doesn't mean you have to. The ease with you can link to related information makes it tempting to do it any time it's possible. But bear in mind that when a reader clicks a link, they're leaving the current document and going elsewhere. Although you might imagine that they'll go to the target document, read that, and then come back, who's to say? Before you add a link to something you're writing, I would encourage you to ask yourself: is it ok if my reader leaves right now?
Let me give you an example that, to protect the guilty, will be both invented, and for my own nefarious purposes, exaggerated. Imagine that you are writing up a recipe. Here would be one way not to do it.
Ingredients2 medium eggs. For more information, see About Egg Sizes. 1 c sugar 1 tsp vanilla 2 c sifted flour. (See also Sifting: Really Needed?) 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt Instructions- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Note: Temperature might need to be adjusted for your oven. For more information, see Calibrating Oven Temperature.
- Grease a 9 x 13 pan. For information about using glass vs metal pans, see Which Pan Is Best? For information about how to grease a pan, see The Well-Greased Pan.
- In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, and vanilla. For notes about using a mixer, see Mixer Basics.
- In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients.
- Using a few swift strokes, combine the wet and dry ingredients. (See Cake Secrets: Beating Better Batter.)
- Pour the batter into the pan.
- Bake for 35 minutes. For more information, see Are We There Yet? Testing Cakes for Doneness.
Our fictional author here might have made the argument that in each case, the link provides relevant, useful information right where it might be needed. The argument is not wrong. But the end result is flawed, in a couple of ways:- It's cluttered and distracting. Each invitation to jump to a linked topic breaks the flow of the text.
- As noted, each link invites the reader to go away right now. ("Click here!")
As I say, this is an invented example, but I've seen (that is, edited) tutorials, for example, that weren't a whole lot better than this.
Just because people are reading on the Web and can jump around like frogs on a skillet doesn't mean that we're doing them any favors by encouraging them to do so. Text on the Web is still text, and reading it still involves the same mental energy and concentration that is required to read printed text. (Maybe more.) If you need readers to stay on task, don't put bright shiny objects in front of them all the time. Save the links till later, or create a list of prerequisites that they can read before they start. (But be aware that they might go and not come back.) But don't send them away just as you've gotten their attention and have them following you closely.
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writing
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