Becoming tedious is incredibly easy.

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I'll readily admit that it's not difficult to get carried away. I enjoy finding a fitting item to link to, but I also know that for each "fitting" item, there are numerous others that are stretching things. The trick is to get a healthy balance between items that seem to make sense and those that get thrown in because ... well, simply because they're fun. And what makes a healthy balance? I'd like to write something like four to one, or at least 80% that don't seem totally uncalled for. And there really is a fine line here - for two reasons. First, if this is fun, why should I limit myself? With such a limited readership even eight loud "ughs" aren't going to be heard around the world. If something seems to me to be connected, or connectable, why not simply go for it? And second, the items I tie into are subjectively determined - they seem right to me.

And yet, I'm very aware of the fact that it's precisely when I find it hard to find items truly worth being linked to that the subjective aspects take center stage. A successful column, hypertext or not, knows when (or where) to stop.

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Go to: How to write a Boidem column.