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Xanadu Basics 1a - VISIBLE CONNECTION

9 videos recommended on HN
YouTube
3 HN users recommended this explainer4 months2018–2021 score 4
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

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 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.

“Ted Nelson recently did a series of videos on the important ideas in Xanadu. Start here” (HN, 2019)

4 recommendations · 2 citations · Explainers · intermediate

6 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@shalabhc Apr 2019 Recommends
on HN thread Project Xanadu
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]
Starting point for Nelson's Xanadu video series
@pratio Nov 2019 Recommends
on HN thread Roam – Tool for Thinking
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]
Nelson's explanation of the linking concept
@dang Jun 2020 Recommends
on HN thread Xanaflight: Three Pages
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.
Beautiful examples of visible connection in text

Citations, criticism and jokes

@robertkrahn01 Aug 2018 Cites it
on HN thread Freeing the Web from the Browser
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]
Ted Nelson's link representation ideas
@DonHopkins Nov 2021 Cites it
on HN thread Forth vs Lisp
Read more
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

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