Why make new media look like old media?

I was trying to read some party manifestos online at the weekend and was really struck by what seemed to me to be an over-reliance on PDFs and document readers.

Yes, a flashy document reader can make it look as though you're flicking through the pages of a book.

But, once the novelty has worn off, what on earth is the point?

It makes perfect sense if you're looking at a scan of a 1,000-year-old manuscript, in which the look of the document in its original form is of central importance. But when it comes to manifestos – or catalogues or brochures for that matter – what you need is the content delivered in an accessible and easy to navigate format.

And when that content is delivered online via a web browser, the best way to achieve this is, for me, to use HTML web pages. We all know how they work. We all know what hyperlinks and navigation menus look like, and what they do.

Instead, I was faced with a document reader in which, when it first loaded, the text was too small. I discovered that clicking on it would enlarge it, but now it wouldn't fit on the screen. What's more, I found that clicking on items on the contents page would just enlarge the contents page, rather than take me to the relevant page via a hyperlink.

After a little while I got used to it, but I gained nothing from viewing the content in this way. You would never design a website like this.

Maybe the less computer-literate are reassured by seeing something that reminds them of a printed document.

But, personally, I don't think that making new media look like old media is a great leap forward.