The Labyrinth as a Model of Complexity: the Semiotics of Hypermedia

In this paper, we intend to approach two specific hypermedia aspects; the structure that organizes the hypertextual information, as well as the route of reading that the user creates when advancing the links of a net. Our hypothesis is that the labyrinth is present in hypermedia systems in two ways: the first, more evident, is in the own organization at the moment of the project development. The second, subtler, but not less profound, is the labyrinth that the reader is to construct when operating his choices in between the hypermedia chains. In this sense, our research will be oriented as of two principles, or two labyrinths: the potential labyrinth, present as a modular document with access "doors", "hyperlinks" to other documents; and the lived labyrinth, that which is experimented by the user at the moment of his navigation by "hyperspace". We will start our research from a revision of the theory of hypertext, to later outline parallels with the labyrinth. General Terms Hypermedia, Metaphor, Intertextuality