The way these sites gather the notes is to pay students to take notes during the class, then to post the lecture notes after class on their respective web sites. Note-taking companies have been around for years offline, quietly providing an out for students that cannot go to class or lack the ability to take quality, understandable, and usable notes. Today's technology has now brought the note-taking companies' business onto the web, providing millions of students with a clearinghouse of lecture notes. The way in which students can view these notes and lectures varies on each site. A student can view just plain notes on all sites, or they can also choose to join chat and discussion forums for each subject, putting them into contact with many other students in the same classes they are taking.
Students can also host a forum for their respective classes on the sites.
The pay for submitting lecture notes can range from nothing to thousands of dollars. This may be a blessing for those instructors who do not want their lecture notes posted on the web, but a bane for students who may need or want the notes for their classes. At best, these sites offer students a chance to enhance their own study notes by sharing their ideas with other students. At worst, it offers them an opportunity to never to attend class and still possibly receive a high grade. Some instructors don't like the idea of having their lecture notes posted on the web.