Wiki source for ReaderWriterAuthorship
===== ReaderWriterAuthorship =====
Because readers ++can++ must interact with writers and the text differently in hypertext than in print, writers have to play new roles for readers.
There's the path idea: the hypertext author creates paths between topics for the reader to discover and follow. There is no canonical path as defined by page order. The author creates reading order - not just the words, sentences, paragraphs, and topics. AuthorAsPathMaker. And this is pretty much where Bolter leaves it in his article.
But there's also (and this is more pronounced on a wiki than elsewhere) the idea that the reader can become co-author.
Because a wiki is - by tradition - open, readers can
- edit or revise existing topics
- create new topics
- create links to new topics in existing topics.
- incorporate existing topics in their own topics.
What's interesting is that the wiki is ''so'' topically oriented that users create new topics by fusing words, which creates
- the writing space for the new topic
- the new topic title
- a link to the new topic
And the ease with which we can create a new topic has an effect on writing,
Bolter points out that the technique - the technology - of writing creates a gap between writer and reader which it then proceeds to mediate (284).
The wiki is not the ultimate mediator of the gap, but as a writing space it sure puts a spin on matters because WriterAndReaderSwapRoles.
Because readers ++can++ must interact with writers and the text differently in hypertext than in print, writers have to play new roles for readers.
There's the path idea: the hypertext author creates paths between topics for the reader to discover and follow. There is no canonical path as defined by page order. The author creates reading order - not just the words, sentences, paragraphs, and topics. AuthorAsPathMaker. And this is pretty much where Bolter leaves it in his article.
But there's also (and this is more pronounced on a wiki than elsewhere) the idea that the reader can become co-author.
Because a wiki is - by tradition - open, readers can
- edit or revise existing topics
- create new topics
- create links to new topics in existing topics.
- incorporate existing topics in their own topics.
What's interesting is that the wiki is ''so'' topically oriented that users create new topics by fusing words, which creates
- the writing space for the new topic
- the new topic title
- a link to the new topic
And the ease with which we can create a new topic has an effect on writing,
Bolter points out that the technique - the technology - of writing creates a gap between writer and reader which it then proceeds to mediate (284).
The wiki is not the ultimate mediator of the gap, but as a writing space it sure puts a spin on matters because WriterAndReaderSwapRoles.