Dear Editor:

I found Vir Phoha's _Viewpoint_ article, "Can a Course Be Taught
Entirely Via Email?" [Commun. ACM 42 (1999), 29-30] an astoundingly
shallow analysis of the question.

First, Phoha did not adequately examine the large number of
correspondence courses taught by major universities entirely by
(regular postal) mail for decades.  For example, my own university, the
University of Waterloo, currently offers 250 courses in 48 subject
areas.  Phoha did not provide any valid reason to believe that some of
these materials could not currently be delivered electronically.

Second, instead of attempting to deliver such a course himself and
report on the results, Phoha's research methodology consisted of asking
students their opinions!  I congratulate him on this novel cost- and
labor-saving approach, and can only wonder why no one thought of
applying it to other questions, such as whether airplanes can fly or
whether man can visit the moon.  Perhaps the Wright Brothers and NASA
should simply have taken a poll.

Jeffrey Shallit