It's unfortunate that people consider this a right or wrong issue--As if it were a question of ethics--but it's not, it's a legal matter.

For example, if I'm late for work and the speed limit is 55 mph and I drive 70 mph. (In my mind what I'm doing is not wrong because I am trying to make it to work on time.) However, I am violating a law by driving 15 miles over the posted speed limit.

Back to our discussion on the legal aspects of file sharing. If you think CDs cost to much and you can't take the idea of paying for a subscription service then you have already decided that for you, downloading content (that you know you could have paid for)-is the right choice for you.

But is it legal?

People we know this story:

You double park your car in a no stopping, no standing zone, Violators will be towed!

You think to yourself (I'll just be a minute.) 15 seconds after you walk away the tow truck is there hooking up your car, 10 seconds later you turn around in shock! You spend the next 10 minutes debating with the tow truck driver over how unfair or wrong it is for him to tow away your car--all the while you are completely ignoring the action that got you in this mess in the first place.


So again -- All the hype and crying from the Entertainment Industry wouldn't exist if people were not sharing content these companies have legal rights over.

All the hype and crying from users over the industries effort to curtail such activies wouldn't be an issue if People didn't share content that do not have the rights to share.

These two items are intimately related.

Now, there is a simple solution to the whole issue and guess who has the most power to influence change?

The users! Why? Because users/consumers have the things these industries want and need access to in order to survive your money!

I'll start a new thread to talk about how to effectively change the climate of the digital commons.





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