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by RKearney 2998 days ago
Aaron Swartz faced 35 years in prison for breaking and entering and unauthorized access of a computer network / hacking amongst other things.

It's a shame it ended the way it did, but please don't downplay what he did and use his name to push an agenda.
2 comments
Buge 2998 days ago
> breaking and entering

Is that true? It was an unlocked closet. The walls were covered in graffiti.

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coldtea 2998 days ago
>Is that true? It was an unlocked closet. The walls were covered in graffiti.

So, if your house has the door ajar, and the walls are "covered in graffiti" it's open for all?

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Buge 2998 days ago
It wouldn't be breaking and entering.

And a house is different than a school. MIT has an open campus. MIT has a long history of celebrating students who transgress boundaries and go where it is unexpected[1]. I don't have a history of celebrating people who enter my house uninvited.

> Swartz had connections to [MIT]: "He was a regular visitor to the MIT campus and interacted with MIT people and groups both on campus and off. … He was a member of MIT's Free Culture Group, a regular visitor at MIT's Student Information Processing Board (SIPB), and an active participant in the annual MIT International Puzzle Mystery Hunt Competition. Aaron Swartz's father, Robert Swartz, was (and is) a consultant at the MIT Media Lab. Aaron frequently visited his father there, and his two younger brothers had been Media Lab interns." [2]

If a good friend of mine sees my house has the door ajar, and the walls are "covered in graffiti" it would be perfectly reasonable for him to check inside.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacks_at_the_Massachusetts_Ins...

[2] http://swartz-report.mit.edu/faq.html

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coldtea 2998 days ago
>MIT has a long history of celebrating students who transgress boundaries and go where it is unexpected[1]

Only when it's conservative enough and doesn't break the law too much. And not officially. In fact the very wikipedia link says:

"Although the practice is unsanctioned by the university, and students have sometimes been arraigned on trespassing charges for hacking, hacks have substantial significance to MIT's history and student culture".

>If a good friend of mine sees my house has the door ajar, and the walls are "covered in graffiti" it would be perfectly reasonable for him to check inside.

Not really. Especially if they know they're not welcomed if found inside, and they have no business there.

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Buge 2997 days ago
MIT's official campus guide brags about the hacks as a way to try to attract students[1]. They are advertising the police car on the dome as a positive thing.

I don't see any reason to think they would be upset about him going in an unlocked closet. The previous quote mentions he was part of a puzzle hunt. If he was creating a part of that hunt and used that closet as a part of a puzzle I would think they would have been ok with it. The walls were covered with graffiti. How many years of prison were the students who drew the graffiti threatened with?

[1] https://institute-events.mit.edu/sites/default/files/documen...

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zimpenfish 2998 days ago
> It wouldn't be breaking and entering.

I think it would qualify for the UK equivalent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burglary_in_English_law#Elemen...

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Symbiote 2998 days ago
35 years for any victimless crime is ridiculous.
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