Sample excerpts from e-mail discussion used in place of the traditional journal in freshman composition illustrate the fascinating issues raised in this new forum. E-mail allows confrontational statements that would not have been made face-to-face and puts in written form a dialogue for analysis by the entire class. A study concentrated on three women and their responses to an e-mail discussion on affirmative action. When a White male student entered the conversation criticizing Blacks for their abuse of food stamps, a female student called him on his stereotypical generalizations. Her response could be characterized as "subjective knowledge," as defined in "Women's Ways of Knowing." She used empathy to "share the experience that has led a person to an idea." A second female student entered the conversation but did not make use of narrative the way the first female student did. Rather than distrusting logical analysis, "Michelle" seemed to be saying that if people reason logically (and do not use faulty generalization), racism can be put to an end. Her response is characteristic of the procedural knowledge from "Women's Ways of Knowing." A third female student is more difficult to classify but intriguing to listen to. Her approach is Utopian: she compares the status quo to an ideal vision of what it could be. Sample evaluations show that the students regarded the listserv assignment positively; excerpts from the e-mail conversations are included, as is a course assignment. (TB)