Software
Encyclopedias
Start
A Timeline
& what changed for users
- Bulk → disc: home access; shelf space saved (Smith, 2017).
- Full-text search: dozens of references in seconds (Smith, 2017).
- Fresher content: quarterly updates; near-real-time science news (Norman, n.d.; Ferris, 1996).
- Skills d elegated to software: kid-friendly UI; natural-language search (no Boolean) (Bowe, 2022).
- New components: hyperlinks, timelines, games/project tools, online updates (Ferris, 1996).
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
2003-2009
Encarta '93
1985
Pre-1985
Title
1989
The age of encyclopedic software ends; the last Encarta is published on DVD in 2009
Microsoft's multimedia encylopedia hits the market for the first time
Grolier publishes the first Knowledge Disc in both laser and CD-ROM formats - text only
A blast from the past
The Physical Encyclopedia Reigns Supreme
Write a brief description here
Compton's releases the first truly multimedia CD-ROM Encyclopedia
A McLuhan Analysis
Reading the software encyclopedia (CD-ROM) through McLuhan’s tetrad
A transitional form that reconfigures research: faster access, curated frames, less library labor—and, at extremes, shallow skimming and stale media.
Enhances
Retrieves
Obsolesces
Reverses Into
Actor-Network Theory
The Software Encyclopedia can be viewed as a non-human delegate, in that it stands in for prior human labour and material setups.
Delegation/Translation
Lieutenant
compact, cheap, searchable CD-ROM ~$89.95 or bundled with PCs
bulky, costly print sets; $1,400; shelf space and manual search
How did a software encyclopedia inscribe habits that shape not just research, but how we see and act in the world?
Inscription: what’s encoded becomes what counts
Script: search-first, speed-over-depth habits
Enunciator: whose goals are embedded?
Pre-Inscription: users arrive with expectations
Subscription: we accept the script
Chreod: the path we slide down
Bringing it Together
Latour's ANT
McLuhan's Tetrad
Shifts storage, search, cross-refs, and updates from humans to software.
Delegation
Connections
Extends access/search; compresses bulky reference into quick lookup.
Enhancement
Obsolesces shelf space & yearbooks; retrieves the reference-desk ideal (guided lookup).
Obsolesence/ Retrieval
Deskilling/ Upgrading
Human indexing diminishes; machines upgraded (hyperlinks, NLP, multimedia).
Local networks & moral scripts; nonhumans prescribe behaviour.
Dingpolitik/ Prescription
Disconnections
Media Effects
Epochal, environmental pattern of the medium.
When alignments fail, the delegate “goes on strike”; human work returns.
Strike/ Irreversibility
Reversal
Pushed to its limit → flips (e.g., CD-ROM authority → obsolescence).
A bridge medium: it enhanced access and obsolesced the shelf (McLuhan), while delegates and defaults prescribed the path (ANT). The groove of use became the ruts of enshittification.
References
Bowe, W. J. (2022, June 18). Encyclopaedia Britannica et l’interface homme/machine. William J. Bowe. https://wbowe.com/fr/2022/06/18/inventer-le-futur-le-role-de-lencyclopaedia-britannica-dans-lavancee-de-linterface-homme-machine/ Ferris, T. (1996). The world on a platter. Scientific American, 275(5), 119–121. JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.2307/24993457 Latour, B. (1988). Mixing humans and nonhumans together: The sociology of a door-closer. Social Problems, 35(3), 298–310. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.1988.35.3.03a00070 Latour, B. (2005). Parliament of Things. http://www.bruno-latour.fr/sites/default/files/downloads/96-MTP-DING.pdf McLuhan, M., & McLuhan, E. (1988). Laws of media : The new science. University Of Toronto Press. Norman, J. (n.d.). “The knowledge disc,” and the “New Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia or CD-ROM.” History of Information. Retrieved September 28, 2025, from https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=3800 Smith, E. (2017). Encyclopedia CD-ROM history: How they killed books. Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet. https://tedium.co/2017/07/13/who-killed-the-encyclopedia/
Scripted Research
How student encyclopedias prescribe behaviour—and what users actually do.
- search-first sequence: type → skim → click → bounce (script) (Latour 1988, p.301, p.303)
- delegation: cross-referencing shifts to software; breadth over depth (Latour 1988, p.299)
- inscription: hyperlinks/non-linear UI encode exploration over sequential reading (Latour 1988, p.305; Ferris 1996, p.119)
- design aim: intuitive, easy searching of mixed media (Bowe, 2022)
- prescribed vs actual users: ideal flow vs situated shortcuts (Latour 1988, p.307)
- spillover: habits migrate to school/work/civic talk (fast comparisons, shallow triangulation)
You can lead a horse to water
Subscription: What users actually do
Behaviours & Variations
Causes & History
- Signature behaviours: search first → skim tiles → open overview or key facts → copy citation or synopsis → exit (Latour, 1988, p. 307; Ferris, 1996, p. 119; Bowe, 2022, p. 164)
- Variations: des-inscription = manual browse/index, primary sources, slow read; drift = partial uptake (e.g., toggle reading level, then leave) (Latour, 1988, p. 307)
- Historical channeling: CD-ROM bundling and search-centric UIs normalized quick-hit habits; modern student encyclopedias inherit this pattern (Latour, 1988, pp. 299, 308; Smith, 2017)
- Consequences: breadth over depth; first-surfaced frames stick; premature closure; trust shifts to interface cues over source criticism (Latour, 1988, pp. 301, 303; Ferris, 1996, p. 119)
Deciding What Can Be Found
What users bring before the click
user pre-inscriptions
- prior beliefs & issue frames → query choice, Pro/Con hunting (Latour, 1988, p. 307)
- literacies & limits → search fluency, reading level, time pressure, device access (Smith, 2017; Bowe, 2022)
system/market pre-inscriptions
- brand expectations: Britannica = quality; Encarta/bundles = convenience (Smith, 2017; Bowe, 2022)
- interface conventions: search-first box, “top results,” related links (Ferris, 1996, p. 119; Bowe, 2022)
- age/policy filters → what’s showable, at what reading level (Bowe, 2022)
so what
- pre-inscriptions channel users into the easiest path (chreod) and explain drift/workarounds vs the prescribed flow (Latour, 1988, p. 306, p. 308)
The Path of Least Resistance
How ANT Alignments Keep us on a Path
Subscription → heavy traffic that makes ruts
Enunciator goals → blueprints
Inscription → grading and paving
Pre-inscription → slope and load
Script → lane markers and signage
Deciding What Can Be Found
Articles, lists and rankings - oh my
What gets encoded:
- Article boundaries: Grolier moved ~30,000 entries/9M words onto disc (Norman, n.d.; Smith, 2017).
- Cross-linking: hypertext defines adjacency and paths (Ferris, 1996, p. 119; Bowe, 2022).
- Categories and media types: graphics, maps, video, audio; required new HCI choices (Ferris, 1996, p.119; Bowe, 2022).
- Ranking/search rules: e.g., Britannica’s SmarTriev natural-language search; scripts what “counts” as a good hit (Bowe, 2022; Latour, 1988, p. 306).
So what:
- Encoded = findable; what appears together becomes “related” in practice (Latour, 1988 p. 305).
- Prescribes user behaviour: search-first, link-following, quick hops (Latour, 1988, p. 301).
- Downstream effects: shapes classroom topics, workplace briefs, and public debate.
Inscribed Priorities
Publishers and product teams inscribe goals into the interface
In our example this includes publishers, editors, business interests and product teams.
Enunciator → scripts (Latour, 1988, p. 305)Users absorb those defaults and carry them outward. Examples:
- Grolier delegates to CD-ROM
- Microsoft’s bundling creates a chreod
- Britannica/World Book stick to the “Cadillac” model and miss the turn (Smith, 2017).
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Transcript
Software
Encyclopedias
Start
A Timeline
& what changed for users
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
2003-2009
Encarta '93
1985
Pre-1985
Title
1989
The age of encyclopedic software ends; the last Encarta is published on DVD in 2009
Microsoft's multimedia encylopedia hits the market for the first time
Grolier publishes the first Knowledge Disc in both laser and CD-ROM formats - text only
A blast from the past
The Physical Encyclopedia Reigns Supreme
Write a brief description here
Compton's releases the first truly multimedia CD-ROM Encyclopedia
A McLuhan Analysis
Reading the software encyclopedia (CD-ROM) through McLuhan’s tetrad
A transitional form that reconfigures research: faster access, curated frames, less library labor—and, at extremes, shallow skimming and stale media.
Enhances
Retrieves
Obsolesces
Reverses Into
Actor-Network Theory
The Software Encyclopedia can be viewed as a non-human delegate, in that it stands in for prior human labour and material setups.
Delegation/Translation
Lieutenant
compact, cheap, searchable CD-ROM ~$89.95 or bundled with PCs
bulky, costly print sets; $1,400; shelf space and manual search
How did a software encyclopedia inscribe habits that shape not just research, but how we see and act in the world?
Inscription: what’s encoded becomes what counts
Script: search-first, speed-over-depth habits
Enunciator: whose goals are embedded?
Pre-Inscription: users arrive with expectations
Subscription: we accept the script
Chreod: the path we slide down
Bringing it Together
Latour's ANT
McLuhan's Tetrad
Shifts storage, search, cross-refs, and updates from humans to software.
Delegation
Connections
Extends access/search; compresses bulky reference into quick lookup.
Enhancement
Obsolesces shelf space & yearbooks; retrieves the reference-desk ideal (guided lookup).
Obsolesence/ Retrieval
Deskilling/ Upgrading
Human indexing diminishes; machines upgraded (hyperlinks, NLP, multimedia).
Local networks & moral scripts; nonhumans prescribe behaviour.
Dingpolitik/ Prescription
Disconnections
Media Effects
Epochal, environmental pattern of the medium.
When alignments fail, the delegate “goes on strike”; human work returns.
Strike/ Irreversibility
Reversal
Pushed to its limit → flips (e.g., CD-ROM authority → obsolescence).
A bridge medium: it enhanced access and obsolesced the shelf (McLuhan), while delegates and defaults prescribed the path (ANT). The groove of use became the ruts of enshittification.
References
Bowe, W. J. (2022, June 18). Encyclopaedia Britannica et l’interface homme/machine. William J. Bowe. https://wbowe.com/fr/2022/06/18/inventer-le-futur-le-role-de-lencyclopaedia-britannica-dans-lavancee-de-linterface-homme-machine/ Ferris, T. (1996). The world on a platter. Scientific American, 275(5), 119–121. JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.2307/24993457 Latour, B. (1988). Mixing humans and nonhumans together: The sociology of a door-closer. Social Problems, 35(3), 298–310. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.1988.35.3.03a00070 Latour, B. (2005). Parliament of Things. http://www.bruno-latour.fr/sites/default/files/downloads/96-MTP-DING.pdf McLuhan, M., & McLuhan, E. (1988). Laws of media : The new science. University Of Toronto Press. Norman, J. (n.d.). “The knowledge disc,” and the “New Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia or CD-ROM.” History of Information. Retrieved September 28, 2025, from https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=3800 Smith, E. (2017). Encyclopedia CD-ROM history: How they killed books. Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet. https://tedium.co/2017/07/13/who-killed-the-encyclopedia/
Scripted Research
How student encyclopedias prescribe behaviour—and what users actually do.
You can lead a horse to water
Subscription: What users actually do
Behaviours & Variations
Causes & History
Deciding What Can Be Found
What users bring before the click
user pre-inscriptions
system/market pre-inscriptions
so what
The Path of Least Resistance
How ANT Alignments Keep us on a Path
Subscription → heavy traffic that makes ruts
Enunciator goals → blueprints
Inscription → grading and paving
Pre-inscription → slope and load
Script → lane markers and signage
Deciding What Can Be Found
Articles, lists and rankings - oh my
What gets encoded:
So what:
Inscribed Priorities
Publishers and product teams inscribe goals into the interface
In our example this includes publishers, editors, business interests and product teams.
Enunciator → scripts (Latour, 1988, p. 305)Users absorb those defaults and carry them outward. Examples: