According to an instructor of basic writing in the Writing Lab at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, he can teach differently in a computer-networked writing lab than he did in a conventional classroom. Because the room is designed to teach writing and nothing else, it offers a congenial workspace where the teacher can interact with students. Aspects of the computer classroom encourage student independence and define the teacher's role more clearly as an accomplice in their efforts. Students experience a communal ownership of the classroom because the network allows them ready access to all of the texts, theirs and the teacher's, that comprise the course. The computer classroom environment allows the teacher to respond to individual student needs with more flexibility, empathy, and respect. The networked classroom can provide students with a congenial setting where they might learn not only to endure writing but even, on occasion, enjoy it. (RS)