What you will read about in this book are some of the evolving conventions of writing for the WWW. Yes, though the WWW is a fairly new medium, it is possible at this point in time to begin thinking about conventions. This does not mean, however, that they will be set and will not change. What the Web is all about is change. And yet, there are some basic principles of communication, even in electronic discourse, that are not going to change that rapidly, if change at all. You have heard the adage that the more that things change, the more that they stay the same? There is reason to believe this statement to be the case. There are constants in human communication. But at the same time, there are equally good reasons to believe that the electronic environment of cyberspace itself is causing us to rethink and restructure what will count as successful communication there. The technology and its constraints are demanding the evolution of newer, appropriate conventions, with which we will have to be familiar, if we are to live successfully in virtual communities. Already, for some of you, whether you know it or not, the WWW is the medium for your future livelihood. It will be the other place where you will also be a citizen ('netizen'). In general, it is the place for your personal and professional identity in cyberspace; in particular, it is the medium for presenting yourself to prospective employers and to others on the Web who might want to conduct business or associate themselves (link up) with you. You might at present be proficient with electronic mail, but building a virtual home or business on the Web is a great deal more complicated.

     Let's recoup and slightly reformulate and elaborate. What I have suggested thus far in passing is that there are constraints on and conventions for

• speech (oral discourse on sound waves), for
• writing (printed discourse on paper), and for
• electronic discourse/WWW (magnetized pixels on black and white or colored monitors).

     We know from experience and study that if someone writes a speech that has very complicated sentences, that are not necessarily broken up into parallel repetitive structures, but that are labyrinthine in structure, twisting and turning while exploring different avenues of thought, the audience will most likely be at a loss to follow what is being saidYou have to know what will and will not count as an argument and what will be compelling enough to influence your audience to grant what action you want them to take. There are numerous conventions for all kinds of writing to be orally delivered or put in print. And there are, of course, even conventions for being unconventional.

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