Multimedia
The structure of a hypertext document, take this as an example, is web-like. The hypertextual document is not a single document, but a network of interconnected documents, called nodes. (A node is an integrated and self-sufficient unit of information, small relative to the complete
document. In electronic instances, nodes are often thought of as being
small enough to fit on one computer screen.) The writer-author-constructor
(neither of these three words by themselves is self-sufficient) does not only
creates all the nodes, but also he determines how the nodes will be interconnected. The way in which nodes are related is called path.
The path connects the nodes by the way in which the writer-author-constructor
creates links among them. Usually a node may offer several links
giving the reader the opportunity to choose.
Therefore, hypertext's documents offer the reader multiple reading paths. The importance of this is that the reader receives certain control over the act of reading. This navigational control puts the reader in a position in which he/she is no longer just reading passively, but also is active seeking the most convenient or interesting link. The reader is, therefore, also a writer. All this can be understood as decentring: text no longer posses a single center determined by its author. The center, if any, of a hypertext’s narrative is constantly shifting. And this shifting occurs in function of the “reader's” desire.
However, it would be important to mention that although hypertext provides for such decentring it still has some structural guidelines that limit the possibilities of that decentring. The author still holds certain authority by being the one that determines the possible reading paths of the text. Also, some links can be presented different from others in order to encourage the use of ones over the others.
Other important characteristics of Hypertext are:
Hypertext and Post-Structuralism
The Author, the Reader and the Book