Linking and Liability for Creators [Part III]

Before we go to the second type of link in HTML, let me briefly discuss the difference of the HREF, form-wise. Although HREF links perform the same basic function, they may appear to the user in many different forms depending upon how they are "embedded" within a web-page. Links also commonly appear as highlighted, underlined or otherwise prominent text. Text with embedded links is called "hypertext."
The second type of link in HTML is an IMG ("IMaGe") link. An IMG link instructs a visiting browser to supplement the text on the page with an image contained in a separate image file. However, like the HREF link, an IMG link can also reference a file from a completely different web site. An example would be a web page on art that contains images stored around the world. The web page could contain the following text: "Here it is, my favorite painting, 'Girl With a Pearl Earring' by Vermeer." Using an IMG link, the web page could then direct the visiting browser to retrieve an image of the painting from one of the National Gallery's web-pages, and place it immediately below the text. To the end-user, the integration of the two pieces of content (text and graphic) is seamless, despite the fact that they were taken from two very different sources. The user would never know (though she might suspect) that the image was not created or stored locally. In this respect, an IMG link is different from an HREF link; a user following an HREF link is usually aware that he has "changed pages," either from the different appearance of the newly accessed page, or from the change in the URL address display in the web browser. (Brad Bolin of www.bitlaw.com)

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