Computer-mediated Textuality - Narrative, Author, Knowledge, Self & Power

The following text is based on Dr. Stewart's notes found at Blackboard Academic Suite.

Hypertext. Does it change everything? Is it the end of books? Here are some cultural characterisations of books and computer-mediated texts (Stewart. 2006:57&74):

Cultural characterisations of books

* durable;
* bounded;
* fixed; and
* finished.

Cultural characterisations of computer-mediated texts

* ephemeral;
* evanescent;
* flexible;
* fluid;
* kaleidoscopic;
* multiple;
* plastic;
* provisional;
* transient;
* vibrant; and
* volatile.

"...hypertext fiction was building on a recent literary tradition in which there has been considerable interest in non-linear writing."

Is this post, and every other text, non-linear? Probably, yes. It, probably, is non-linear in space since the reader can be redirected to other pages and other texts through links,photos and videos. Even if someone does not think that the term "non-linear" can be used in this occasion, I believe that the computer-mediated reading experience is completely different than the real reading experience. A book has a structure, a beginning and an end. Hypertext has a more complicated structure (which can be edited and changed anytime) including digital "crossroads" (links, videos and photos). What about beginning and end?

Hypertext has a beginning but the end seems absent. The end isn't absent; it's not unique. In every hypertext we have the opportunity to define which part of the text is our ending, so we have many endings in one text. When reading a book, the end is defined by the last page and the back cover. Hypertext allows us to read selectively what we want and place our own full stop wherever we want.

Another question. I can find Dr. Stewart's notes at Blackboard Academic Suite as hypertext. From there I copy-paste some parts of the notes to my blog, using the opportunities that hypertext offers. If I print these notes in 4-5 pages, have I transformed hypertext into a simple "linear" text? Personally, I think yes. When I read Dr. Stewart's notes online, I have the opportunity to use the links, to watch videos related to the subject or read related articles. Therefore, my reading has not a specific structure. When I print the same notes, I cannot use the links so I am, just, reading 4-5 pages with a beginning and an end. If hypertext is printed, it loses some basic structural elements and, then, it gets a different form.

What is a cybertext?
According to Dr. Stewart's notes:

"In her introduction to Cyberspace Textuality, Computer Technology and Literary Theory Marie-Laure Ryan defined a cybertext as:

"a cybernetic system that generates a different sequence of signs every time the work is experienced" (Ryan 1999:16)

However, It is important to recognize that cybertexts do not have to be computer-mediated, for as Espen J.Aarseth noted:

"A cybertext is a self-changing text, in which scriptons and traversal functions are controlled by an immanent cybernetic agent, either mechanical or human." (Aarseth 1994: 71)

In his seminal work, Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature Aarseth recognised that the ancient Chinese text the 'I Ching' is an early example of a human-controlled cybertext. He also regarded tarot cards, runes and other divinational texts as early human-controlled cybertexts.

Typologies of cybertext

The majority of Aarseth’s book deals with computer-mediated cybertexts. He provides a fascinating typology of examples, such as:

Chatterbots;
Story writing programs (like Racter);
Interactive Fiction (IF); and
Multi-user Dungeons/Domains"