In the gateway structure, pre-requisite information is
presented before access to other information. Readers are forced
to view the pre-requisite information on their way to the premium
content.
In
the proximity model, pre-requisite information exists in
close proximity to the other information being presented. The
reader can choose to skip it, or can take the time to read it.
The
glossary strategy places dependent information a link away
from the primary content. Readers can easily find the information
should they need it.
The
tendancy of users to leave a web site, or abandonment, is not the
only limitation of hypertext as it exists today on the Web. The
devices and software limit the interactivity of a Web site to typically
two input devices: a keyboard and a mouse pad. When
and if more input devices that are affordable and easy to use become
popular, the information users input to their computers could change
drastically from today's model, and in turn change our view of hypertext
completely.
For
example, Xerox uses a device in user-testing labs that tracks the
movement of the human eye watching the computer screen. Suppose
that this device was made available to the typical Internet user.
As the human eye moves, the computer has data about the region of
the screen to which the user's eye is drawn. The screen changes
in reaction to this data. In this hypothetical situation, a different
input device and correlating software change the way that humans
interact with the information on the Web, and consequently change
the way designers design.
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