Well, Slashdot is not a collective hive-mind on any subject, but with regards to the copyright infringement of music, the infringing party is normally not doing the infringing for commercial benefit, and the rewards are monstrous. For example, after 2 appeals, Jammie Thomas now owes the RIAA $1.5 million for 24 songs. This, on the other hand, is a case of commercial infringement, and the infringing party was asked to donate a small amount of money to the Columbia School of Journalism as compensation. The infringing party then responded rudely to the request and made some pretty bold statements. Sure, she probably should not have received that level of harassment, but if that is enough to fail the business, it was doomed from the start. If you want to start a small business doing anything, it is your responsibility to understand your legal obligations. Would you say it is a tragedy for a small food stand run by a couple neighbors to be shut down for not following proper health and sanitation procedures? Should we feel sorry for them because they were ignorant to their obligations?
Now, she comes out with a boat-load of excuses and a half-assed "apology". And she wants everyone to feel sorry for her? I think I will just sit back and enjoy watching her "tragedy".