The Reader in the Text

Depending on the text in question, the reader can take on a variety of roles. The reader doesn't necessarily own the text in any way, as the ideas written down are those of someone else. Most times, the text asks some sort of question (Whether explicitly or implicitly) which the reader is to "answer" in some general sense of the word.
This can range from raising an intellectual question, for the reader to think upon, to questions which call for a solution that the reader is to provide. In some texts, the reader may be just someone who is to be informed of some facts or information. The reader can even be a core component of the text as the text may wish to convince the reader of some position, as in the case of a rhetorical piece of text.

There is no one single role for the reader of any text. He may be a passive bystander for some texts, whereas in others he can be an active participant in some forum of discussion or the catalyst which brings about a change. Whether the reader belongs or not depends on the text in question. In some cases there should be only one reader as in the case of a diary or journal, and any other reader does not belong there. In every sense of the word, the reader would be an intruder in the case of a private text.