The Road to Hell is paved with Links
Links: they’re everywhere. In fact, a person would be hard-pressed to find anything on the internet that isn't linked. Yes, linking can be a temptation to so many people in so many ways. But that’s why I’m here. To help you and to guide you away from these distractions that lay in wait, nestled between the very words upon which we read.
If you, young scholars, access the internet to research a topic for a paper, you must resist the temptation of the almighty hyperlink. The links within the text hold the biggest enticements and beckon the reader to “click here”. And before you even realize what has happened or how far you've gone, you’re in deep, without a true sense of how you even got there. Unfortunately, these links will not necessarily be easy to identify as the authors utilize every deception at their disposal to lead you down an alternate path. I ask you to fear not and believe that all will be revealed to you today. For today, I will show you the true evil that is linking. I have made an example of Mark Bernstein before, and today, so shall I again.
Bernstein can be quoted as saying:
“The attention of the audience is a writer’s most precious possession.”
Upon entering his website, Hypertext Gardens, one might be taken off guard by its simplicity; however, once one knows what to look for, Bernstein’s desire to possess the reader becomes evident throughout.
Proceed with the utmost caution, my young scholars; you may alight upon the homepage with the purest of intentions:
“I will simply go ‘Into the Garden’, have a quick look around and be done.”
I assure you, go “into the garden,” and you are well on your way down the road of temptation. Understand that Bernstein’s well-placed links have other plans for you, for once you've entered, you will be lulled into a sense of false complacency by the understated text and the nonintrusive link at the bottom of the page. Take heed, for this new link is a distraction under the guise of being a helpful footnote.
I know what your young, inquisitive mind is thinking for I have been down this road to temptation many a time. You have clicked on your first link in Hypertext Gardens and have found your way “Into the Garden”. It is good and, now, faced with the choice of tapping that back button or clicking the next link — you want more. You crave it. Relevant to your research or task at hand be damned. And before you even realize what has happened . . . you click the next link.
The shortest path is not always the best.
The more one clicks, the more ensconced one becomes in Bernstein’s ideology:
“The key to planning a hypertext garden is to communicate the promise of unexpected delight while assuring the reader that she is not entering an unplanned wilderness.”
“Unexpected Delights” — these are the very seeds of distraction he plants throughout his garden. His links are everywhere. “Planning Pathways” is a clear example of such enticements. On this page, Bernstein makes the link part of the text. For many, who are engrossed in their findings, they never see the link coming, until it is upon them. The link slumbers and waits until the innocent hovering of the cursor occurs and then it awakens to offer the reader an alternative: read on or click on. Many choose to click on, forgetting all about the text they were reading. Others, however, are immediately drawn to the link like a moth to the flame. It is they who have it worst of all because they are the ones who know what is on the other side of that link . . . more temptations . . . more distractions.
The promise of more is always just a click away.
How does one, you may wonder, keep from straying? This is not an easy question for me to answer, so I sought guidance from the book. And what I found may not be a solution, but it’s definitely a start in the right direction. Take heart, for Hot Text offers ways in which we can avoid temptation and not stray from the path. They believe one be given enough information on a link so one can better decide whether to read on or click on.
“Write links that don’t have to be followed.” — Bricklin
Understand that this is not a solution to the evils of linking, young scholars, and I urge you: continue to proceed through a website with the utmost caution. For even though Price encourages rollovers to guide your way, links will remain a temptation. And the reason for this is simply that you must still move your cursor over the intended link in order to activate the pop up. It then beckons and entices you to “click on”.
My young scholars, there is a strong temptation with links on every page. Some websites you enter, such as Facebook, will be saturated with links. Price feels this is a necessary evil because, as they put it, a site should have enough information for each niche audience. But I say: avoid social medias at all cost. They are the dens of iniquity that so many of our youth frequent today. Heed my words, for although they are easy to enter, once ensconced, it becomes difficult to sever the ties that bind.
Yet not all temptations are quite so obvious. The sites that are most likely to pave the road to hell with links, are the ones like Hypertext Gardens. Afterall, it is at Bernstein’s “garden’s end” where he reveals his ideal purpose in creating the garden.
“ . . . designers should strive for the comfort, interest, and habitability of parks and gardens: places that invite visitors to remain, and that are designed to engage and delight them, to invite them to linger, to explore, and to reflect.”
Yes, young scholars, links are everywhere. However, armed with the knowledge you now have, I have faith that you will be able to recognize temptation’s “gates and signposts” and inevitably choose to read on.
