I have read most of this thread. I am a P2P user...
probably not the conventional kind that that's looking
for the latest hits of Avril Levigne though. I am
an archivist.

The link below is to a speech given by Lawrence Lessig
who writes for Wired magazine. His current book is called
Free Culture. Most of it is about Open Source software. But
he also discusses P2P file sharing and the 'terrorist war'
that record companies are waging on the public in the
form of malicious software.

Lessig says that free culture is the only way that
creativity of all kinds advances. His criticism of the
copyright laws is extensive and shows that never before in
history has intellectual property been controlled in these
ways.

It is the right of the copyright holder to withhold
intellectual property... in this example, discontinued music,
which is out of print and will not return to print because
of royalty issues that are held by the heirs sometimes 3
generations removed from the actual artist or performer.

So as an archivist, the material I share on the net and
receive in return (on a _good_ day) is a way of keeping
art in the culture to be shared by the current generation
rather than hoarded away by a generation thrice removed
from the original period of availabilty.

The Lessig speech points out that the MCAA (whatevs)
has gotten away with their terrorist behavior with the
consent and in some instances from the courts because we
have not stopped them.

And that's that.

• Lawrence Lessig on Free Culture