The closet was unlocked and he used a regular guest access to the MIT network. Also he was downloading documents that were created by using public funds.

> There are a lot of much more legal ways to make the Internet freer. He was a smart guy and knew what he was doing was highly illegal.

There are always other and more effective ways to everything. With this kind of argumentation one always must come to the conclusion that it is best to do nothing. Also let's not forget that he did much more than downloading documents at MIT.

> think that this is the major issue with martyrdom. Aaron is remembered for "fighting the man" but the real story is a significantly muddier than that. A martyr's death makes it seem like the martyr did nothing wrong even if they did.

That's a definition for martyrdom I have not heard before. Usually a martyr is simply defined as a person who is willing to suffer or even die for a cause, belief, or principle that they consider to be of great importance.

> Sorry, I know this is kind of a dumb and not so productive soap box. Oh well.

I will simply never understand why people will argument so strongly against their self interests.