In response to what is between the first Response! and the second: As a teacher who is pioneering the type of writing course you are describing, I would say that to this point in your argument, I am with you all the way. Nevertheless, your redefinition of the essay as something that demonstrates one way to arrange information that makes it more significant does not include how much this increases the exploratory power of writing for the author him/herself. Writing's purposes are in question when you discuss writing with students in a writing course. The value of on-line authorship in terms of web essays and information-based projects on M**s of all sorts is that it involves almost immediate interaction with one's specific audience. At the same time, as you point out, it adds the Internet community's vague entirety to the audience--with little or no chance of immediate or timely interaction. Both of those influence how the exploration of a topic proceeds, and, more importantly perhaps, how the students learn about rhetorical tasks, including writing. More in my next response, I want to get back to reading this answer. Brice