Project Xanadu: A Retrospective

Gwern Branwen provides an extensive retrospective on Project Xanadu, Ted Nelson’s legendary vision for a global hypertext system. Originally conceived in the 1960s, Xanadu aimed to create a universal library of interconnected documents with features like transclusion, versioning, and bidirectional links. The article explores the project's long, turbulent history, analyzing why its ambitious goals struggled to materialize in the face of the rapidly evolving World Wide Web. By examining the technical and organizational hurdles faced by Nelson and his team, the piece offers a critical look at how Xanadu’s design philosophy contrasts with modern web architecture. It serves as a deep dive into the 'what-ifs' of computing history, highlighting the persistent relevance of Xanadu’s core ideas in contemporary discussions about digital information management, intellectual property, and the structure of the internet.