[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Okay, I must have missed a posting, because I don't know what you're talking about. If you're referring to HarryT, I haven't seen anything in this thread that would suggest he has a dislike of teenagers. And Thomas is a single mother of 30. There is no doubt regarding her guilt in this case, a mark of her own bad judgement, at best.

The fact that Harry has no sympathy for people who steal from other people doesn't indicate a dislike for teenagers, only a dislike of dishonest people, whatever their age.

Granted, the music industry has serious issues that they need to deal with, many of which surely encourage people to share songs against their wishes. Yes, the public and the legal system has allowed them to get away with a lot. But there's no reason to talk as if the music industry is destroying this country, and all the file sharers are young Robin Hoods defending the weak and feeding the poor.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Music is entertainment. It's not a requirement, it's not a nourishment, and it's not a God-given right. It's just entertainment. File-sharers aren't saving the world, they're just swapping bits of entertainment that some entertainer isn't getting paid for.

If you don't like the way music companies do business, don't buy from them... it won't kill you. There are other sources of music available, including directly from the bands. And the lack of sales will clue the industry into the fact that they need to change with the times, a lot faster than stealing from them will. (Remember: They can continue to make money off you if you steal their music, and they sue you. If you don't buy it OR steal it, they're screwed.)

And remember, it's the job of taxpayers to force the government to change its laws. We as taxpayers have allowed the government to listen to lobbyists and vote according to their bribes, while we've spent our time worrying about whether our TVs are listening to us. Don't like the laws? Convince your congressperson that they will be out of office if we catch them making bad ones.

Too many people are cursing the music (and publishing) industries, then doing nothing constructive to change things. In fact, stealing, file sharing and DRM-cracking aren't doing anything to change things for the better, they're just allowing the industries to legally tighten DRM and sue customers. That's not helping. Boycotting. Writing your government leaders. Petitions. Voting. That's helping.

Let's face it: Thomas was foolish, and now she's screwed. But there's no good reason to create more Thomases out there. Nor to beat up on forum members because they don't sympathize with criminals.