But proponents of hypertext would insist that this dilemma is only temporary. They are well aware of limitations in the existing technology and future designs are based on ways to make the text respond to reader intentions. When users are able to manipulate files more fully, then hypertextual documents will be able to mimic verbal conversation which allows a more immediate hermeneutic guessing. There is little doubt that significant changes will be realized regarding the capabilities of HTML and the Web. The accompanying chart shows the explosion of Web hosts over the last 13 years.
Hosts are the sites which link Web communications.
In 1984, there were 1000 hosts. By 1996, there were ten million hosts. For more in-depth information on the history of the internet and web, visit the PBS website .