Trying to access information through CompuServe or the Internet can often be an exercise in futility. Even if you get to the right location, you still have to struggle to find the specific information you need.
Most textual databases use a keyword search process.
Sounds easy until you try to do it. That requires knowledge of the subject vocabulary, including synonyms. Even if you find something, it still needs to be sorted and organized. Hypertext, unlike textual databases, does not require a working knowledge of the vocabulary of a given subject. Instead, the information is organized into a logical network of hundreds and thousands of small files.