by Joshua Henry
Webmaster

Most of us would be lying if we said we didn't download files off Internet using some sort of peer-to-peer network.

The days of the original Napster are long gone and other Gnutella Network based clients like LimeWire are nearing their ends. However, most of us have moved on to bigger and better things. Or rather, the one bigger and better thing: BitTorrent.

BitTorrent is now the most popular peer-to-peer file-sharing network ever created. To some folks, like the RIAA and MPAA, BitTorrent is the true source of all evil.

I personally have used it to download countless music albums, movies, and television shows that are not available or are extremely hard to find on CD or DVD.

Many would say this is unequivocally wrong, as I did not pay for the media. Others would say that if, for example, I owned an old vinyl record version it is okay to download a high quality CD-rip. Another reasonable instance: I own a VHS movie but instead of converting it to DVD myself, I just can download it already in DVD format.

BitTorrent can, and should be used as a tool. There really are some items that just cannot be found in retail anymore, and are readily available on the BitTorrent network.

For example, try walking in to a major record store today and asking for a new shiny copy of a special EP by so-and-so from the early 1960's that you need to replace your ever deteriorating vinyl copy. Chances are it's not going to happen.

A second scenario could be in the case of the ever-aging VHS collection. There's no feasible way for one to convert all of them to DVD when some are so deteriorated that any modern VCR cannot properly play them back. What then?

You've already paid for the movie. The movie producers, actors, and studios already got their dues. Why pay for the movie again just because your VHS copy is dead from watching your absolute favorite movie so many times?

I can't answer for you, but I know what I would do.

We BitTorrent users are walking the fine line between fairness and copyright infringement. This is a topic that is still in a gray area, and it's often difficult to get a straight answer from anyone, even the lawyers, about its potential legal ramifications.

The majority of BitTorrent users on the Internet are the ones who have no moral issues downloading whatever they want, whenever they want. These are the people who are driving up music and movie costs, and the general consumer literally has to pay for it, not the people who use BitTorrent as a tool.