[rayiner]

Tech people think the problem is analogizing to the real world, because they see computer crimes as less serious than meat-space ones. But ordinary people see computer crimes as worse than analogous meat-space ones. The analogizing helps, not hurts. If you walked into someone's office (and a server can easily be as sensitive as someone's office or someone's desk), and just defaced their calendar, you'd be hit with a misdemeanor, under the corresponding Georgia law.