I'm not really a huge proponent of e-learning since I'm very much a fan of sitting in a classroom and actually listening to a professor or teaching assistant gi

I'm not really a huge proponent of e-learning since I'm very much a fan of sitting in a classroom and actually listening to a professor or teaching assistant give a lecture or lesson, but sometimes, I'm forced to interact with my university's Blackboard installation. It's mediocre at best and a waste of time at worst; it really does nothing to help the whole learning process aside from acting like a clumsy file locker that is best provided by something else like, maybe, a directory listing. That said, given that Blackboard has also had control of WebCT for some time now, they run pretty much a straight-up monopoly in this market, and it's actually nice to see them get yanked of at least one of their toys even if they were allowed to cause severe damage to another company in the process. It's a shame, but this company really needs to get with the program and understand that this abuse of intellectual property law won't be tolerated. Nevertheless, yes, why was this patent awarded in the first place? I'm curious since my tax payment somehow went into making this whole mess happen, and that fact alone is making me somewhat angry.