%0 Journal Article %1 Nelson1999 %A Nelson, Ted %D 1999 %J ACM Computing Surveys %K hypertext principle xanadu zzstructure %N 4 %T Xanalogical Structure, Needed Now More Than Ever: Parallel Documents, Deep Links to Content, Deep Versioning, and Deep Re-Use %V 31 %X Project Xanadu, the original hypertext project, is often misunderstood as an attempt to create the World Wide Web. It has always been much more ambitious, proposing an entire form of literature where links do not break as versions change; where documents may be closely compared side by side and closely annotated; where it is possible to see the origins of every quotation; and in which there is a valid copyright system --- a literary, legal and business arrangement --- for frictionless, non-negotiated quotation at any time and in any amount. The Web trivialized this original Xanadu model, vastly but incorrectly simplifying these problems to a world of fragile ever-breaking oneway links, with no recognition of change or copyright, and no support for multiple versions or principled re-use. Fonts and glitz, rather than content connective structure, prevail. Serious electronic literature (for scholarship, detailed controversy and detailed collaboration) must support bidirectional and profuse links, which cannot be embedded; and must offer facilities for easily tracking re-use on a principled basis among versions and quotations. Xanalogical literary structure is a unique symmetrical connective system for text (and other separable media elements), with two complementary forms of connection that achieve these functions --- survivable deep linkage (content links) and recognizable, visible re-use (transclusion). Both of these are easily implemented by a document model using content lists which reference stabilized media. This system of literary structure offers uniquely integrated methods for version management, side-by-side comparison and visualizable re-use, which lead to a radically beneficial and principled copyright system (endorsed in principle by the ACM). Though dauntingly far from the standards which have presently caught on, this design is still valid and may yet find a place in the evolving Internet universe.

@article{Nelson1999, abstract = {Project Xanadu, the original hypertext project, is often misunderstood as an attempt to create the World Wide Web. It has always been much more ambitious, proposing an entire form of literature where links do not break as versions change; where documents may be closely compared side by side and closely annotated; where it is possible to see the origins of every quotation; and in which there is a valid copyright system --- a literary, legal and business arrangement --- for frictionless, non-negotiated quotation at any time and in any amount. The Web trivialized this original Xanadu model, vastly but incorrectly simplifying these problems to a world of fragile ever-breaking oneway links, with no recognition of change or copyright, and no support for multiple versions or principled re-use. Fonts and glitz, rather than content connective structure, prevail. Serious electronic literature (for scholarship, detailed controversy and detailed collaboration) must support bidirectional and profuse links, which cannot be embedded; and must offer facilities for easily tracking re-use on a principled basis among versions and quotations. Xanalogical literary structure is a unique symmetrical connective system for text (and other separable media elements), with two complementary forms of connection that achieve these functions --- survivable deep linkage (content links) and recognizable, visible re-use (transclusion). Both of these are easily implemented by a document model using content lists which reference stabilized media. This system of literary structure offers uniquely integrated methods for version management, side-by-side comparison and visualizable re-use, which lead to a radically beneficial and principled copyright system (endorsed in principle by the ACM). Though dauntingly far from the standards which have presently caught on, this design is still valid and may yet find a place in the evolving Internet universe.}, added-at = {2010-03-08T14:19:58.000+0100}, author = {Nelson, Ted}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2dafb02457efb45690ce3629228f77d85/voj}, interhash = {dbb87e93c98730f76ee3921c2a97d786}, intrahash = {dafb02457efb45690ce3629228f77d85}, journal = {ACM Computing Surveys}, keywords = {hypertext principle xanadu zzstructure}, month = {12}, number = 4, timestamp = {2012-04-01T16:56:26.000+0200}, title = {Xanalogical Structure, Needed Now More Than Ever: Parallel Documents, Deep Links to Content, Deep Versioning, and Deep Re-Use}, volume = 31, year = 1999 }