In Brent's hypertext essay "Rhetorics Of the Web: Implications For Teachers Of Literacy," he not only explains some of the logistics of writing in hypertext, but he also presents many of his own opinions about writing in this medium. Although I did not agree with all of his views I did find the essay thought provoking. Brent's view that this hypertextual format will revolutionize reading and writing in positive ways seems to be jumping the gun. It is good to have a positive outlook about this new form of writing but I think something that has the potential to so drastically change the way we read and write should be approached with a little more caution. In support of the hypertext medium, Brent denies David Kolb's opinion that it "dissolves into a cloud of free associations." However I agree with this "free associations theory." It has been my experience that the hypertextual material often times goe s in too many different directions making it difficult to discern a discussion or plot. One can be lead on a seemingly never ending goose chase through dense "pages" of information. Oft en times one is left with a feeling of a failure to have come up with the message or thought that the author had intended. Because this is not linear writing an author does not have to pick out short quotations or paragraphs from other sources that support his or her argument, they only have to refer the reader to the other work. So instead of having a small piece of anoth ers' work that pertains to the author's argument, you are left with the entire work leaving the reader to sort through the entire piece in search of the fraction of it pertaining to the authors original argument. The remainder of the information often t imes has little to do with the author's meaning or topic of discussion. I have found this becomes very time consuming and often causes great frustration for the reader. Brent's comparison of electronic forms of knowledge and the past oral societies is an intriguing one. I found myself in agreement with the his assumptions about copyrights and endangering knowledge by endangering the ability to profit from it. These da ys when someone wants to write something they must constantly be looking over their shoulder, making sure they are not writing anything that could be misconstrued as someone elses. (link to copeyright) It is not hard to see how this private ownership of knowledge has become detremental to freedom and creativity of communication through writing. I think the hypertextual format can be beneficial, allowing for the break down the copyright barrier. The electronic forms of knowledge allows for a tremendous amount of freedom to mix ideas. Using this medium it is possible for a writer to incorporate other people's thoughts into his or her own writing making their argument or message much more dynamic.