I’m a sequential thinker so I just don’t click on hyperlinks as I read. I’m left with a nagging sense of incompletion afterwards, and if that nagging sense is strong enough I go back and check the links. Too many hyperlinks can be slightly irritating, because I have to make a mental note to go check a lot of things, as I’m reading, which feels like having to carry a very long to-do list in my head.
I think links probably make communication better on the whole. If you quote part of an article, mention an obscure concept, or cite a source, I’d rather have a link to the original than not. The ethic of linking freely prevents people from making as many unsupported claims or presenting other people’s ideas as their own. In that sense, linking changes our thinking for the better. My very first internet forum had a catchphrase “No linky, no believey.” I think that’s a good thing.
My two pet peeves about links:
Don’t use too many links to the Sequences. The “relevant” Sequences post is usually only a little relevant to the post that links to it, and linking to the Sequences becomes a complete digression.
Use “open in new tab” or “open in new window” instead of “go to.” You want your readers to remember they want to finish reading your post. You raise your chances of keeping their attention if you keep open the page the post is on.
I’m a sequential thinker so I just don’t click on hyperlinks as I read. I’m left with a nagging sense of incompletion afterwards, and if that nagging sense is strong enough I go back and check the links. Too many hyperlinks can be slightly irritating, because I have to make a mental note to go check a lot of things, as I’m reading, which feels like having to carry a very long to-do list in my head.
I think links probably make communication better on the whole. If you quote part of an article, mention an obscure concept, or cite a source, I’d rather have a link to the original than not. The ethic of linking freely prevents people from making as many unsupported claims or presenting other people’s ideas as their own. In that sense, linking changes our thinking for the better. My very first internet forum had a catchphrase “No linky, no believey.” I think that’s a good thing.
My two pet peeves about links:
Don’t use too many links to the Sequences. The “relevant” Sequences post is usually only a little relevant to the post that links to it, and linking to the Sequences becomes a complete digression.
Use “open in new tab” or “open in new window” instead of “go to.” You want your readers to remember they want to finish reading your post. You raise your chances of keeping their attention if you keep open the page the post is on.