cybertext
Text requiring traversal
Cybertext is a text that requires nontrivial effort from the reader to traverse—where the physical organization of the text itself affects how meaning emerges.
The term encompasses hypertext fiction, interactive narratives, and text-based games where readers make choices that determine what they read next.
Unlike traditional texts where you simply turn pages, cybertexts demand active participation: The cybertext forced readers to solve puzzles to unlock new chapters.
The concept comes from literary theory about ergodic literature—texts you must work through rather than passively consume.
Clickable reference to another page
- webpageSingle online document
- HTMLWeb page code
- anchorSecures ships to seabed
- URLWeb location identifier
browser · navigation · hypermedia · linkage · bookmark · HTTP · domain · cross-reference
Downloadable text file
- downloadRemote-to-local data transfer
- PDFFixed-layout document format
- onlineNetwork-connected state
- streamingReal-time digital delivery
platform · software · database · cloud · server · encryption · algorithm · coding
Not in sequence
- branchingSplitting into separate directions
- labyrinthineExtremely complex and winding
- fragmentedBroken into pieces
- modularMade of separable units
traversal · nontrivial · effort · maze · pathway · configuration · variable · sequence
Study of signs, symbols
- intertextualityConnections between written works
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
- metafictionLiterature aware of itself
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
structuralism · poststructuralism · narrative · experimental · avant-garde · Twine · MUD
Act of selecting
- participationAct of taking part
- feedbackReturned response data
- gamingInteractive electronic entertainment
- interactivityTwo-way user-system engagement
interface · responsive · dynamic · adaptive · branching · exploration · manipulation · player
hyperlink
Clickable reference to another page
URL · browser · navigation · hypermedia · linkage · bookmark · HTTP · domain · cross-reference · protocol
ebook
Downloadable text file
streaming · platform · software · database · cloud · server · encryption · algorithm · coding · data
nonlinear
Not in sequence
- branchingSplitting into separate directions
- labyrinthineExtremely complex and winding
- fragmentedBroken into pieces
modular · traversal · nontrivial · effort · maze · pathway · configuration · variable · sequence · permutation
semiotics
Study of signs, symbols
- intertextualityConnections between written works
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
- metafictionLiterature aware of itself
deconstruction · structuralism · poststructuralism · narrative · experimental · avant-garde · Twine · MUD
choice
Act of selecting
- participationAct of taking part
- feedbackReturned response data
- gamingInteractive electronic entertainment
interactivity · interface · responsive · dynamic · adaptive · branching · exploration · manipulation · player · agency
cybertextcodex
Ancient bound manuscript
manuscript · printed page · clay tablet · scroll · paperback
text, context, cyber, pretext, cyberspace, subtext, textual, cybernetics, cybersecurity