Once you are on-line, visiting most of the sites is free. This liberates the author who posts because she does not have to worry about whether her work will sell. If the author had decided to publish physically instead, she would have had to make sure it was what the buyers wanted to hear. In that way, the web literature is perhaps the most original and reflects the writer's thoughts more accurately.
In addition, the reader is able to talk more directly with the writer by following those handy comment links, in order to critique, suggest, question or comment. One important question to keep in mind though, is, if anyone can publish, is there any guarantee of quality work?