20K views · Apr 13, 2018 · 12:23 · 3 HN recommenders · 6 mentions · discussed 2018–2021
Ted Nelson explains the original Xanadu hypertext idea of visible connection, the notion that links between documents should be shown and preserved. He argues that the Web and current document standards lost this concept.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN commenters point to it as the author's own short explanation of Xanadu's core ideas, usually in threads on hypertext, linking and decentralizing the web.
“Ted Nelson recently did a series of videos on the important ideas in Xanadu. Start here”HN comment, 2019
“Ted Nelson recently posted a series of videos describing the important ideas on Xanadu, the original hypertext project”
Ted Nelson on the important ideas of Xanadu
Related, Ted Nelson recently posted a series of videos describing the important ideas on Xanadu, the original hypertext project: this video
“Ted Nelson recently did a series of videos on the important ideas in Xanadu. Start here”
Starting point for Nelson's Xanadu video series
Ted Nelson recently did a series of videos on the important ideas in Xanadu. Start here: this video Also you can buy his classic 'Computer Lib' book here: link
“This video is better”
Nelson's explanation of the linking concept
That's the first thought that came to my mind. I love hearing ted nelson explain it h link It is a good effort to bring that concept to life. This video is better this video
“For more on that idea, see , which contains beautiful examples.”
Beautiful examples of visible connection in text
This is software implementing one version of Ted Nelson's idea of visible connection in text. For more on that idea, see this video , which contains beautiful examples.
“Ted Nelsons ideas around Xanadu and its link representations aren't even mentioned.”
Ted Nelson's link representation ideas
Great to see those ideas discussed! It is a little strange, however, that Ted Nelsons ideas around Xanadu and its link representations aren't even mentioned. this video
Thank you for your kind words, and for asking a great question! My secret system that has gotten me through the coronavirus pandemic is simply an investment in an automatic coffee machine that grind beans and foams milk for me. ;) I use HN search and google site search, copy and paste and clean up old postings, and then check through all the links (since HN abbreviates long links with "..." so I have to copy and paste the full links manually), and I update the broken and walled links with Internet Archive links. I realize some of my posts get pretty long, and I apologize if that overwhelms some people, but it's a double edged sword. One important goal is to save other people's time and effort, since there are many more readers than writers, and I have to balance how long it takes for somebody who's interested to read, versus how long it takes for somebody who's not interested to skip. The new HN "prev" and "next" buttons that were recently added to help make HN posts more accessible to people with screen readers are helpful to everyone else too. (Accessibility helps everybody, not just blind people!) And as the internet has gotten faster and storage cheaper, while the user interface quality, usability, and smooth flow and interactivity of browsers has stagnated (especially on mobile), the cost of skipping over long post gets lower, while the cost of jumping back and forth between many different links and contexts stays ridiculously and unjustifiably expensive (just ask Ted Ne
