On Mon, 1 Oct 2001, Derek D. Martin wrote:
> Yes, and I've glanced over the text of the bills too.

  Where can I find this?  I've seen *lots* of rhetoric, all around, but
facts seem rather scarce...

>> While I agree website defacement should be punished harsh
>
> Why?  Web site defacement is a crim akin in severity to spray-painting
> graffiti on a store front ...

  Spray-painting a store front has limited impact.  If I spray paint my
local Osco Drug's windows, only a very small fraction of this customers are
impacted.  Furthermore, I presumably have not broken into the store itself.
All I have done is deface the exterior of a single building.  Their services
are not directly affected.

  On the other hand, if I deface Osco Drug's *website*, it is conceivable
that all of their customers could see it, or at least hear of it (in the
news).  Furthermore, in order to do this, I will have to severely compromise
the security of their web server.  Presumably, I could view or tamper with
other things while I am in there -- credit card numbers, prescription
records, and so on.

  Other than the accident that both happen to use the word "deface" in their
description, how are these two crimes alike?

> And, in the vast majority of cases, it's a very PREVENTABLE one.

  The fact that a crime is preventable in no way influences the fact that is
is *still a crime*.

> It also criminalizes probably a large percentage of the people on this
> list, who've ever been curious about what's going on with someone else's
> system.  RETROACTIVELY.

  Odd.  One would think the Attorney General would have read Section IX of
the US Constitution.

-- 
Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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