The primary function of a database (at least as I have come to understand them) is to hold, and in some cases, catalog a large amount of data for storage or easy indexing. The internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) is one of my favorite sites on the net, but it does represent something of a time-suck through the use of an endless switchyard of hyperlinks.
In general I believe that hyperlinks are destructive to the reading process. If a piece of information is important to the understanding of a text then it should be included in the text. Sending me searching to another place merely hijacks my attention span and derails narrative flow.
No where am I more likely to fall into the morass of hyperlinks than on IMDB. Hours peel away and there have been times that I have forgotten what I actually came to the page for in the first place.
One of the major problems with an interactive (3D) presentation of information is that the reader is often inundated with unecessary information. Looking for information on the internet would be like opening a book and finding another book inside...then another and so on. Not to mention the fact that while looking through the digital "library" there will be colorful noises, advertisements, a neverending network of "rabbit holes" to fall down.
It is a wonder that any work or learning ever gets done under these conditions.
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