Unlinking the link

The aim of this review paper is to provide a "big picture snapshot" of the multiple facets of hypermedia linking. In providing this snapshot, the pape r overviews key issues in both categorizing these facets and exploiting the m to design effective implementations of links. The presentation is structured around the process of untying the perception of the link and its capabilities from the limitations of defining it in te rms of the currently most pervasive implementation of the link, namely link s in HTML. In the process, the paper draws on the work of Paul Thistlewaite on the linking issues for large volatile hyperbases.