'If an argument against textual computing proceeds any further than the chorus-like complaint ". . . but you can't read it in the bathtub!," it usually degenerates into labeling hypertext the bastard child of the book and the Nintendo unit.' John Tulva (Heresy)

     Hypertext is the bastard child of the codex. No one will take credit for it and most people do not seem to trust it within the academic community. It is an intriguing dilemma to those who write in this form of media. They can easily publish their own thoughts and ideals, but fail to gain recognition from the mindless drivel often placed within hypertext's domain. Frances Cairncross noted this when she stated, "One of the biggest revolutions made possible by the Internet has been access to information. By slashing the costs of this, the Internet brings together previously uncollated material and makes affordable material previously too expensive to obtain. It also, of course, allows publication of screens full of worthless dross" (105-6).

     This is the inherent flaw in hypertext. Numerous professors and class syllabi claim that Internet sources are not credible. Pedagogy seems to leave the bastard child out in the cold to die of exposure. Yet, hypertext has become more then most expected. Not only did it live through the environment of doubt; the child came back to make predictions of the new educational world. However, professors with antiquated ideals still refuse to let it through the door. Damn their eyes.

     This, of course, leads to the idea that many hold false conceptualizations about hypertext and its impact on society and academia. Hypertext is a difficult subject, hard to comprise into words. The breadth of the subject is varied and like the bastard child it is, sometimes diseased. To examine the scope of this topic, one needs to explore its presentation and composition, audience relationship while receiving hypertext, and effects on pedagogy. While most are brief sections, more attention will be paid to reception of hypertext, which is the heart of the issue in my mind.