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As someone who is currently working on an excavation report for publication in Internet Archaeology I though I'd add my thoughts... I agree that internet publication offers the possibility of having a layered approach to publishing an excavation, but with an excavation there is almost always going to be some linear progress, even if it is only chronological (latest to earliest of vice/versa). The very nature of archaeological stratigraphy surely creates a certain linear progression in the understanding or interpretation of a site. I think the most useful aspect is the possibilities it opens up for integrating other parts of the report, such as pottery/finds/environmental data- the ability to click on a context number and be given a list of finds etc is incredibly useful, and so much easier than trying to read a site report as I'm sure most people have done, with fingers or book marks in a three or four different sections, trying to cross-reference sf numbers and context numbers.To a certain extent this is not more non-linear than a paper publication. Surely the very presence of an index in the back of a book, means that they can be read in non-linear ways, My biggest worry about truly free-form texts is what happens when they are taken off the Internet- whilst an article/paper may be orginally designed for an Internet presentation, I think at the moment many people are going to be making hard-copies of useful articles, and treat them like photocopies- this is something I have often done myself, for the simple reason, that whatever the pros/cons of Internet publishing you can read a print-out on the train, in the bath etc,. Equally although publications like Internet Archaeology are always going to be securely archived, there is a worry that some papers may disappear from the Internet for a whole host of reasons, and thus only survive as a hard-copy. Thirdly until everyone has instant access to the Internet, paper copies of publications are inevitably going to continue to be circulated, as it is the only means many people have of getting at the information. I know from personal experience that I have often had to make printouts of Internet articles to pass on to a friend in India, who has no Internet access. In such a situation the non-linearity of an Internet publication could turn into a positive nightmare when on paper. Whilst ideally Internet publications should be able to ignore the linear dimension of a written text, there are always going to be these very practical limitations to using truly non-linear approaches to Internet publication Dave Petts Editor York Archaeological Trust Cromwell House 13 Ogleforth York >From: Jo Clarke <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Jo Clarke <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Non-linear arguments >Date: Mon, 24 May 1999 14:07:34 +0100 () > >Just to add a little to the linear/non-linear argument.... > >Some forms of written work do require a linear argument, ie articles and >theses, but that is only the backbone of the piece, hypertext allows you >to link to the supporting evidence and do without lengthy re-explanations >of a previous point. > >Also just because there is a link does not mean that it has to be >followed, it is only there to expand on a point - usually! > >I believe that is is very important that hypertext gives an opportunity to >be non-linear, and that some types of publication, ie excavation reports, >definately benefit from the layering that is possible using hypertext. >Therefore readers with different levels of interest are able to get as >much as they require from the report without becoming bogged down in >detail, the detail is there however for those who need it. > >I can however agree that it is sometimes easy to lose your way in some >electronic publications, but with the use of a table of contents, as in >Internet Archaeology, or a more visually based site map, it is possible to >see what has been missed and what hasn't. > >In my view, things like excavation reports have only been linear documents >because that was the only real option with paper publication. They are >collections of so much interlinking information, that a non-linear >structure would seem to be the most logical way of presenting all the >information. > > >Jo > > > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%