I read this chapter with great interest, as one of the aspects that I find most fascinating about the Internet is the "interconnectedness" of the medium, through the use of links. At the same time, though, I am also constantly frustrated by links on websites or webpages, especially when they either break the flow of the textual information to the point where content/intent is "hijacked" or when the links lead me to another page or site where I cannot understand the "link" between the two groups of information. I think that the Internet is still in its infancy, though, and that these problems will be resolved as some basic codification is applied to website design. The idea of codifying how information is indexed and linked on the Internet is a topic that I work with daily, through my employment, and I am enjoying playing the role of the observer as I watch some of these difficulties being resolved (or at least being addressed in a comprehensive manner.)

Shields, in this essay, says that "[i]n the case of the World Wide Web, the preoccupations and interests of authors may be different from those of their readers, who may be more concerned with the ongoing thread of connections from one page to another rather than focusing on the linear flow of a narrative on a given page or set of pages." (page 149) Shields continues, saying "[l]inks offer the opportunity to move out of any predefined thread of webpages…[i]t is their use of, and attitude toward, hypertext links that divides the Web author and reader." (page 149-150) I think that this is an essential point regarding some of the problems currently being expressed about hypertextual linkings. I can see both the point of the webpage author and the point of the webpage reader, having been on both ends of that connection. As an author, I struggle with how to "guide" someone through a site that I am creating – what information do I feel is most essential to convey, and how can I ensure that my reader will "receive" it? And yet, at the same time, I want to provide my audience with the ability to navigate at least somewhat freely through the site and the information contained in the site. After all, if I wanted to remove almost all freedom from my readers, I would be publishing in printed format rather than electronic. In adding links throughout my sites, I have to made some design considerations about how I think or how I want my readers to navigate – do I want to give them a list of "basic" links, on every page, so that they can move about the entire site from every page, or do I want one page to just link selectively? And then, how do I portray my links? Are they graphical (such as clicking on a picture that takes the reader to information about that image) or are they textually imbedded within the "text" of the information? And do I tell my readers "If you want information about blah, then click here" and have the "here" be a link to another page, or is the information imbedded in the sentence, such as "There are many different opinions about blah" and have the link stand that way? It is a struggle, as I hate it when links break-up textual information, as I find them to be distractions. On the other hand, if I am trying to completely inform someone on a specific topic, I need to provide links to other pages and sites.

From the point of view of a reader of webpages and websites, I find I am most frustrated when a link takes me to a page or a site that is not "obviously" connected to the previous information. I find that links provided separately from text, that are clearly labeled such as "Home" and "Site Index" and "Contact Information" and so forth tend to be helpful, in that I can easily "guess" where that link will take me. On the other hand, a link that is imbedded in text, such as the one I previously mentioned "There are many different opinions about blah", is somewhat nebulous. This link might take me to a page of links to articles by different people about the topic, or maybe it's a link to a definition of "different opinions", or possibly the link would take me to an essay about the problem with different viewpoints. All of these might be valid and relevant hypertextual linkages, but it is not clear from the content of the link where I will be taken. Therefore, I have to "explore" – and sometimes exploration is fund and rewarding, but sometimes it is an exercise in futility.

Another point that Shields discusses in this essay is the idea of indexing information so it can be "found" on the Internet. On page 159, Shields writes "[u]nlike geographic space, the Web is an expanding universe whose limits are set not in spatial terms, but rather by the imagined expansion of the elements that fill it, and the hypertext linkages that connect them." When I read this, I mentally pictured a bucket that is being filled with water – as the bucket fills with the water (the information and hypertextual links connecting that information) it reaches a point of overflowing…and then I loose the metaphor/imagery I am working on. Maybe the best metaphor for the Internet is the idea of a spider's web, with the connecting strands being the links. And as spiders will rebuild their webs every day, so too is the Internet constantly relinking its information. Hmmm…perhaps this is a better description. But, regardless of the metaphor or imagery that we use to attempt to make sense of the Internet, what really ties it together are the links between clusters of information. However, this information needs to be accessible and "searchable" so that the exact information that is being sought can be found, especially when the Internet is being used as a research tool.

Actually, I think that one of the other difficulties with the Internet and hypertext, right now, is differentiating between the reader who is seeking a precise piece of information and the reader who is just meandering and looking for entertainment, whatever that may be. When I am looking for specific information, I want links that are relevant to the topic and which take me to the information in as short of steps (links) as possible. On the other hand, when I am just browsing, I don't really care about the links, as I enjoy the exploration and "discovering" new information.