Comments on: Stretchtext Semi-Extended Remix http://grandtextauto.org/2006/01/04/stretchtext-semi-extended-remix/ A group blog about computer narrative, games, poetry, and art. Thu, 30 Sep 2010 22:43:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: josh g. http://grandtextauto.org/2006/01/04/stretchtext-semi-extended-remix/comment-page-1/#comment-79443 josh g. Thu, 05 Jan 2006 23:38:01 +0000 http://grandtextauto.org/?p=1039#comment-79443 Very interesting essay / experiment. One thing I noticed while reading is that I quickly went to turn everything on. The effect was that I could mentally pick and choose whether to read the meandering nonsense, digressions, and sarcasm as I went along, rather than having to find something to click later and backtrack over the same page. I tend to think that there's an efficiency issue there, rather than just a blind reversion to linear narrative style, but that might just be my narrative-trained mind talking. <blockquote>As long as you're reading this essay in a web browser, you've had to click at least once after loading this page to arrive at this sentence; this sentence is something you've asked for.</blockquote> Is clicking a Next link any more of a conscious choice than turning a page in a book to the average web reader? Very interesting essay / experiment. One thing I noticed while reading is that I quickly went to turn everything on. The effect was that I could mentally pick and choose whether to read the meandering nonsense, digressions, and sarcasm as I went along, rather than having to find something to click later and backtrack over the same page.

I tend to think that there’s an efficiency issue there, rather than just a blind reversion to linear narrative style, but that might just be my narrative-trained mind talking.

As long as you’re reading this essay in a web browser, you’ve had to click at least once after loading this page to arrive at this sentence; this sentence is something you’ve asked for.

Is clicking a Next link any more of a conscious choice than turning a page in a book to the average web reader?

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