The Author's Authority
Hypertext diminishes the authority of the author in two ways: (1) because readers have more control in text creation than they do in print and (2) because readers may encounter multiple authors throughout the process of text creation. Authors on the Web can no longer see themselves as creating an argument from start to finish. Because readers create their own temporary texts on the Web (and thus become authors), any one session will likely be comprised of several documents created by several different people. The author in relation to the text and reader literally melts away. As Landow points out, "the self takes the form of a de-centered (or centerless) network of codes that, on another level, also serves as a node within another centerless network" (Hypertext, 73). The author changes as each node is reached. The texts readers create can have multiple authors and therefore the information experience includes many individuals in associations the reader creates.
The Author's Role 
Reader Control
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