Ted Nelson’s script for his proposed #PaleFire #Hypertext SJCC demo. Hypertext Editing System, 1969
Ted Nelson Stretchtext
Hypertext Note 8. 29 April 1967.
“The text Stretches, becoming longer, with replacement phrases, new details and additional clauses popping into place. The good of this structure should be evident. The reader remains oriented. If he loses track of where he is, he "shrinks" the text to a higher, shorter level; if he wants to study a topic in more detail, he magnifies it.”
Nelson’s Law - Ted always said it first. 🙂
@marick The #hypertext author should be expected to craft an interesting trail that’s rewarding to explore, and fit for purpose, like a well scripted scene for a movie — fictional or documentary.
@marick 🧵#Hypertext Trails
Brian — or anyone — can you recommend a tool or app that can use a reference to the head of a Mastodon thread like this to create a neatly structured sequence of posts as a document that can be edited into a coherent linear trail? Markdown would be best, but anything would be helpful.
Not limited to a single author or simply linked thread, but using a depth first topological ordering from the root.
@marick The #hypertext author should be expected to craft an interesting trail that’s rewarding to explore, and fit for purpose, like a well scripted scene for a movie — fictional or documentary.
@marick I agree that it’s interesting to be able to branch away from the trail, shift trails, explore alternatives, but I also think it’s part of the author’s job to make it easy to find your way back and orient yourself.
Getting lost in #hypertext is a bug not a feature!
@marick The first time I read Nabokov’s #PaleFire, I decided to follow all of the links, depth first. I had to use six or seven numbered bookmarks to mark my place!
Since I was busy with other studies and CS, I read mainly late at night, but when I got sleepy, it took so much time to carefully review my bookmarks that I was wide awake again!
@marick I agree that it’s interesting to be able to branch away from the trail, shift trails, explore alternatives, but I also think it’s part of the author’s job to make it easy to find your way back and orient yourself.
Getting lost in #hypertext is a bug not a feature!
@marick 🧵#Hypertext trails
Two web models for the AWMT trail vision
Threads - somewhat like this, but with the ability of the author (single or collaborative) to edit the posts and sequences of posts, like scenes of a movie;
A Guide page - with a title, brief description of its purpose, author, supporting references, and…
a trail section consisting of a sequence of elements, each with a a title, link, and brief explanation of the relevance of that element (or what happens).
@marick 🧵#Hypertext trails
In both cases:
1) The trail is a URL addressable, sharable, viewable as a W3C object using a vanilla Web browser; It can be indexed and shared trivially.
2) The trail can be edited using an internal representation that is constrained only by a requirement to make it URL addressable, shareable, viewable, per 1).
3) People already know how to create, use (or watch) videos, guidebooks, annotated reference lists as recorded context that’s helpful to them or others.
I’ve seen attempts to create ‘trail blazing’ apps or extensions which visualize trails by sliding back and forth along an authored trail of links, often with some sort of annotation.
They all seemed to create an experience like clicking through a random PowerPoint slide deck - linking web pages rather than authored slides.
Not very pleasant or satisfying - a fragmented ‘look out the window’ scrapbook experience, not the narrative flow of a movie or trail guide.
@marick 🧵#Hypertext trails
Two web models for the AWMT trail vision
Threads - somewhat like this, but with the ability of the author (single or collaborative) to edit the posts and sequences of posts, like scenes of a movie;
A Guide page - with a title, brief description of its purpose, author, supporting references, and…
a trail section consisting of a sequence of elements, each with a a title, link, and brief explanation of the relevance of that element (or what happens).
I’ve seen attempts to create ‘trail blazing’ apps or extensions which visualize trails by sliding back and forth along an authored trail of links, often with some sort of annotation.
They all seemed to create an experience like clicking through a random PowerPoint slide deck - linking web pages rather than authored slides.
Not very pleasant or satisfying - a fragmented ‘look out the window’ scrapbook experience, not the narrative flow of a movie or trail guide.
@bosak It looks like they already have that document logged.
It contains a copy of one of my favorite Doug Engelbart papers and diagrams!
I think of an Engelbart style Journal as a space to record, cite, and link dialog, external references, and knowledge products for some continuing, broadly defined purposes of an organization or individual.
CODIAK process, Doug Engelbart (1992)
https://dougengelbart.org/content/view/116/#6
#engelbart #journal #hypertext #augment
https://archive.org/details/BootstrapCollectiveIQ9703/mode/2up
@bosak 🧵Engelbart blue numbers
How great it is to use a W3C standard link to a particular item in a report published 33 years ago in a 57 year old hypertext system using a Web interface created about 30 years ago.
While the rest of the world randomly trashes links created 5 years ago, or whenever the last juice is squeezed from an article by a once famous author writing for a once respected publisher by any of a myriad of private equity predators.
@bosak It looks like they already have that document logged.
It contains a copy of one of my favorite Doug Engelbart papers and diagrams!
I think of an Engelbart style Journal as a space to record, cite, and link dialog, external references, and knowledge products for some continuing, broadly defined purposes of an organization or individual.
CODIAK process, Doug Engelbart (1992)
https://dougengelbart.org/content/view/116/#6
#engelbart #journal #hypertext #augment
https://archive.org/details/BootstrapCollectiveIQ9703/mode/2up
A comprehensive introduction to the NoteCards hypermedia system developed in Interlisp at Xerox PARC. This 1985 videotape covers and demonstrates tha basic system, the programmer's interface, and research issues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZCitxFlnqQ
What's that one bit of advice you'll tell anyone at the slightest hint that it's warranted. The thing you learned, the thing you believe so strongly you can't shaddup about it, the thing you have such deep experience in that you truly know your experience is meaningful and helpful most of the time.
@NanoRaptor 🧵Strong #advice
5 Aug 2025: When you write something, start with the date you wrote it, and include the publication date for any quote. Date is supremely important for context of all that follows.
Keep a standard series of patent notebook style handwritten journals with dated notes and sketches.
It’s the quickest and most reliable way to fix it in your memory, log a digital note later, find it again, and link to a note by date in any paper journal volume.
#Fotovorschlag 'Deine Obsession'
Hypertext
Hypertext Editing System (1969), Brown University
Green colorized scan of a 35mm Plus-X photo. Nikkormat-FT, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4
#filmphotography #hypertext
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