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That's not a leap at all. Many people don't have things like that, either for moral reasons, or there just don't care. Of the four computers I maintain for others, none of them has anything on your list.

You can despise the MPAA without downloading movies. Just as you can desire privacy without committing any crimes.



Ever right-click, Save As on an image you didn't have the rights to?

Ever copied and pasted an article published by someone else, and saved it to a file?

During your online conversations, have you ever written something negative about another person?

Do you have any data that you are contractually obligated to keep a secret, possibly relating to agreements signed with employers or clients?

Note that even data in your browser cache can be used against you[1].

Under a microscope, everyone is a criminal.

[1] http://news.cnet.com/Police-blotter-Child-porn-in-Web-cache-...


In support of the notion that Under a microscope, everyone is a criminal I'll add this data point.

The police raided the house of a veteran here in town a few months back for possession of small amounts of marijuana. The veteran opened fire and during the ensuing shoot out one officer died and five more were sent to the hospital. The news continuously talked about this veterans limited criminal history.

Ultimately he had a speeding ticket and had been charged with something like jay walking which was dismissed. That was his limited criminal history.

I completely agree that if you look at someone close enough, almost all will have limited criminal histories.


None of the things you mentioned are, in themselves, illegal.

Saving an image or an article to your hard drive is not illegal, but redistributing it can be. Writing negative stories about other people is (in practically all cases) not illegal, either. Nor is having secret information.

Unless the majority secretly has an ungodly amount of child porn in their web cache I don't know about, I am not very inclined to believe that everyone is a criminal under a microscope.


Many? Yes, I agree. Most? I personally highly doubt it. I don't think I've known a single person since the late 90s who doesn't on at least rare occasion download or otherwise acquire unlicensed music.

Sure there are some, and when you consider the population of the world is several billion that "some" can become "many" without really saying anything about the majority.


> I don't think I've known a single person since the late 90s who doesn't on at least rare occasion download or otherwise acquire unlicensed music.

That may be a matter of definitions. While I wouldn't say I have any unlicensed music, I might if you count my YouTube cache file.


Not having even one pirated anything (song, movie, show, book or software) on any of your machines is not the norm at all.




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