blog entry 2/23

The hypertext link as the first new form of punctuation in centuries.

On one level, this assertion makes sense, given that the point of punctuation is ostensibly to clarify and streamline prose. An alternate definition could suggest that punctuation marks are signposts on the road of linear thought provided by prose. A period means come to a full stop before continuing, a comma signifies a brief pause, etc. A third possible definition suggests that punctuation marks are what truly give speech its defining emphasis. Everybody is familiar with the scene from Anchorman in which Will Ferrell's character delivers his signature line as a question instead of a statement ("I'm...Ron Burgundy?) because of an errant question mark at the end of the Teleprompter. Are words so bankrupt of meaning that we desperately need punctuation marks to signify strong emotion?

By keeping all of these in mind, I am forced to disagree with the claim that the hypertext link is the newest form of punctuation mark. Firstly, hyperlinks do not streamline or clarify prose. Their inclusion in online articles is mainly for additional information not deemed relevant enough to be included in the main text of the article. Hyperlinks may be informative, but by clicking on one every two to three words (as in a Wikipedia page), the flow of information is not augmented but stilted by having the brain be forced to digest new and unrelated pieces of information in the middle of each sentence.

Hyperlinks do not offer clues into the meaning of prose. Although they may seek to illuminate information contained within the main body of text, it is safe to assume that if this information was relevant in the first place, it would have been included in the text. This is akin to forcing a magazine reader to skip from page to page 20 to 30 times in the middle of a 5 to 6 page article.