pyre, your 2 points are good. i agree that those are bad things. i agree that the patent system is being abused, and I agree that it's shady for corporations to

pyre, your 2 points are good. i agree that those are bad things. i agree that the patent system is being abused, and I agree that it's shady for corporations to push to keep extending copyright well past the point where the original creator is benefiting from it. very good points. however, I don't think the validity of those points somehow overwhelms or justifies what Eleanor and those other people were doing. i don't think it nullifies the thought process I outlined above. One is not justified in doing some unethical act just because other groups of people elsewhere are engaging in what you consider unethical acts. If someone shoots a gun at you it is probably reasonable to think you are justified in shooting back -- both parties are interacting directly, and you're shooting back at the exact person who wronged you. That's not what's happening in the OA, I think.