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The MIT network isn't "public." They let guests use it with proper registration. You ignore MIT's repeated attempts to lock him out and his working around the
by danielweber 13y ago
The MIT network isn't "public." They let guests use it with proper registration. You ignore MIT's repeated attempts to lock him out and his working around their countermeasures each time, leading to more and more escalation. If he had just run his scraper exactly once and then stopped the first time he was kicked off, no one would have cared.
He also wasn't facing "multiple decades in prison." This has been debunked so many times it's getting exhausting, but once again I'll point out that his lawyer was not a complete hayseed and understood that, even if Aaron went to trial and was found guilty on every single count, he would face at most a few years in jail, and quite possibly no jail time at all.
- fossuser 13y agoWhat is the distinction between public and allows public guest use without registration? Yes it's MIT's network, but they were basically allowing public access. Being pressured with multiple years in prison, 13 felonies and a 7 figure defense cost is a difficult problem to face. Even if your lawyer tells you 30 years in prison is not going to happen and worst case you'll be in prison for a year -- Even if he wasn't actually facing it - he was still being pressured with it (that's essentially the purpose of stringing together multiple charges for a plea).
- danielweber 13y agoIt's not "basically allowing public access." MIT was actively and repeatedly kicking him off their network, and it got to the point where Aaron gave up and resorted to physically trespassing to regain access. Facing criminal charges is indeed difficult. You don't need to make up stuff to make the problem sound worse than it is.
- GHFigs 13y agoEven if he wasn't actually facing it - he was still being pressured with it