Becker, Morgwen

No offense taken. I read both your posts again and I jumped to an incorrect conclusion. These things can happen when you think your integrity is being questioned. Sorry for that. I appreciate both your replies.

Morgwen, I've thought about your question "why should anyone share if no one is going to". I guess I have faith that most people will do the right thing if they know what the right thing is.

I realize there are 'freeloaders' who take the attitude that they are going to download only and contribute nothing back. I've had arguments with friends because they don't share and don't get it. When I've asked them about why they aren't sharing, I find that for the most part, they just don't understand the implications and are generally misinformed. Some of them think its a terrible risk to share out their files or that they will make their PC vulnerable to viruses and attack. Others just want the conveinience of finding what they need and logging out (they don't want to wait for that person who is uploading a 20 meg file over the phone). The last group are the folks who don't want to share.

I tend to think that the people in the first two groups are more than willing to do their part if they learn some facts and take more then a casual interest in file sharing. If I apply the logic that the program will now force sharing to each of these groups, here is what I see: For those that have an undo fear of sharing, they may leave and never come back. For those who want quick access, they will login, get what they want, and log out as they have always done. And the last group of people who don't want to share are generally motivated enough to find ways to circumvent software sharing schemes.

To me this sounds like, because of some bad apples, you are all not to be trusted, so love it or leave it. I think, in the long term, people will leave it. Something better will come along which in thier eyes, trusts them to do the right thing, rather then imply that they won't. Perhaps I am an idealist.

Might I ask your question a bit differently? Why should I be forced to share files with my program when there are other people that don't have to with their program? If everyone took this attitude, no one would share. And yet sharing does exist.

Thanks