In the field of composition theory, and in related fields such as communications, management, distance education and linguistics, there has been a great deal of excitement about the emergence of computer-mediated communication (CMC) as a new space for writing. Because this is a new space, many have argued, it contains new possibilities: a place where gender roles can be redefined and hierarchies flattened, and where voices previously marginalised can be made to be heard. We share in this excitement, believing that CMC and its subset, electronic mail, are new, but we want to be clear about what we mean by new. In this chapter we argue that e-mail is new in the sense that one might say a child is new. The child, in some lights and at some moments, looks very much like her mother; in other lights and at other moments, she resembles her father; and sometimes she even reminds you of a grandparent.