Stricter definition of hypertext

Several authors of hypertext systems and literature state that a system that displays the information in the nodes and lets you follow links does not necessarily merit the label "hypertext". The main reason is that there is a great risk that the reader gets lost in the information network. Every hypertext system should provide some tools to find your way through the hyperdocument, other than by simply following links.

Different tools exist to aid the user in finding his way through a hyperdocument without getting lost:

Nielsen [Nielsen-90] has a less precise but more intuitively clear criterion to judge whether a system is hypertext or not: it should "look and feel" like hypertext.