Conclusion</title<hr> <b>Conclusion</b><p> The characteristics found in these three proto-hypertexts -- nontraditional narrative flow, authorial presence within the document, and the problem of reader and character choice -- are <a href="http://www.duke.edu/~eagle/project/comments/25.html">defining characteristics of the important problems facing hypertexts today.</a> Without a solid confrontation of these problems, a hypertext document is little more than a traditional text with fancy footnotes. With a firm focus on these characteristics, however, <a href="http://www.duke.edu/~eagle/project/comments/22.html">a hypertext can truly break out of the narrow textual paradigm that so many live in.</a> One can only wonder how these authors would have written had they had access to true hypertext. Perhaps in the absence of so many obstacles they would not have been challenged to greatness, or perhaps their works would have contained additional inesteemable richness. <a href="comments/ds0c.html">We will never know; we can only leave it up to the Vonneguts, Pynchons, and Cortazars of our generation to achieve greatness with the tools they are fortunate enough to own.</a> <p> <p> <HR> <a href="choices.html"> <IMG ALIGN=CENTER SRC=images/prev.gif ALT="| Prev "></a> <a href="biblio.html"> <IMG ALIGN=CENTER SRC=images/next.gif ALT="| Next "></a> <A HREF="http://www.duke.edu/~dnorris/dnfront.html"> <IMG ALIGN=CENTER SRC=images/home.gif ALT="| Home "></A> <a href="contents.html"> <IMG ALIGN=CENTER SRC=images/index.gif ALT="| Index "></a> <A HREF="interface.html"><IMG ALIGN=CENTER SRC=images/search.gif ALT="| Search |"></a>