The fact that students must write their thoughts down, and the realization that those thoughts will be exposed semi-permanently to others in the class seem to result in a deeper level of discourse. The students are more willing to engage both their peers and the professor more actively. Each student is more completely exposed and can not simply sit quietly throughout the semester. Just as the participating students are noticeable by their presence, the non-participating students are noticeable by their absence. The quality of students' contributions can be more refined as they have time to mull concepts over as they write, prior to posting.
Every student can and, for the most part, does participate in the threaded discussions.
Therefore it is possible and quite typical for all the students to participate in the threaded discussions common to Web-based classes. This same feeling of anonymity creates some political differences, such as more equality between the students and professor in an online class. Students feel free to debate intellectual ideas and even challenge the instructor. In online instruction the student initiates the action by going to the Web site, posting a message, or doing something. With the apparent anonymity of the Internet, students feel much freer to talk.