What is it that tutors do, or should do, in support of the online learner? Some have sought to explore and clarify this by the adoption of particular metaphors, such as moderator, mentor or facilitator, to describe the tutor's role.

These terms have their value in guiding our behaviour as online tutors, but their force is primarily to warn us to stand aside. The evidence is that too much or inappropriate contribution to tutorial discussion by the tutor can inhibit contributions by the students. The rhetoric of facilitator and moderator speaks of a duty to liberate the students and empower them to participate in their own learning.

This has the ring of critical pedagogy about it, which would seek to remove the authority of the teacher, casting teacher and learner as equal participants in the educational endeavour. Such protestations of equality will ultimately show themselves to be disingenuous, however, when the imperative of assessment rears its ugly head. Worse, though, is the fact that these formulations guide us about what we should not do but remain rather silent about what we should be doing.

If the online tutor is going to move from centre stage and sacrifice some idea of his or her sagacity, what sorts of roles might be taken up to contribute to the guidance of the online learner? There are paradoxes here.