That's a really good way of putting it, I agree completely. Just wanted to let you know, since I have no mod points :)

But then what's the point of being rich if it doesn't mean that you're above the law?

Actually, yeah, we do. We need to quit trying to make research provide immediate monetary value and let research just be research.

No, as YOU keep saying, it will never be eradicated. You're the only poster who keeps noting that. A lot of other people have replied to your various posts, pointing out that while it's partly true on a technical level, it's actually wrong.

You're not evil, I just hope your kids end up smarter than you.

That's because big-L Libertarians are just Republicans in disguise. They don't want smaller government, they just want government spending shifted from social programs to police and military programs, while rolling back civil rights as much as they can in the meantime.

To me this only seems a step or two beyond running a book through a thesaurus and passing it off as your own. I think this is the first pro-copyright story I've ever agreed with. From wikipedia, on derivative works: "For copyright protection to attach to a later, allegedly derivative work, it must display some originality of its own. It cannot be a rote, uncreative variation on the earlier, underlying work. The latter work must contain sufficient new expression, over and above that embodied in the earlier work for the latter work to satisfy copyright law’s requirement of originality." That sounds like a reasonable rule to me.

This thing actually uses the original textbook as an input, and then produces an output that is as close as possible without being the same. How is that in any way original or adding new expression? "The Wind Done Gone" was banned (which I think was wrong), and it was far more creative than this process.

Porn has not damaged my marriage. But I guess it's just one of those transient unstable 12-year relationships in which we have a child.

Maybe you should look at how you wrote "addicted" and realize that the problem could have been literally anything. He could have been addicted to WoW, Harry Potter, whatever, and it would have still destroyed his family.

Having been married for plenty of years, I've concluded pretty much the opposite as you.

I'm sorry you aren't able to handle porn, but even suggesting it might be harmful to "most marriages" is ridiculous.

If I think I see a drug deal going down, I don't arm myself, go ask them what they're doing, and then get off the hook when I have to shoot and kill three people. That would be ridiculous, and pave the way for all sorts of vigilante murders.

If Zimmerman believed this kid was going to cause problems, he shouldn't have left his car or approached at all. He called the police already and they recommended he stay away.

It's hard to believe he's not at least charged with manslaughter. If he was actually out looking for a fight, I would easily call it murder.