Shrugs . . . covered that in the original post.
If I want to learn about heroes and the legal system, I'll read Victor Hugo.
Do I like the thought of hiding while file sharing? No. Granted, I have totally stopped using Kazaa altogether.
It would be wise for file sharers to lay low while all this happens. Eventually, the RIAA will either fill its quota, or exhaust itself from the sheer difficulty of what it has tried. Then, everyone will come out of the woodwork. Happened when they crushed Napster, it will happen again.
But, I think it would a bit pretentious to think getting into legal trouble over file sharing is "heroic".
The underpinning issue is that people believe they get something when they plop down their dollars, pounds, francs, etc. for their ISP. That something is a TON of free stuff.
Ultimately, the ISPs are going to force the issue. Here's how it will play out:
1. ISPs file suit against RIAA.
2. RIAA countersues.
3. RIAA files criminal charges against ISPs
3.A. Logs of users' IP addresses are now under 5th Amendment protections, because the ISPs can claim self-incrimination.
The RIAA has tried very, very hard to avoid suing the ISPs themselves. Instead, they have tried to coax (with various filings of motions, injunctions, etc.) the ISPs to ante up.
This cannot and will not work, unless a large number of the ISPs suddenly get dumb.
They're not. They're already moving againsst the RIAA.
Once the RIAA files a single charge against a single large ISP, this game is over. 5th Amendment protections kick in, and the RIAA will have a very long fight where it can only hope for a few judges to really be quirky, so they can garner a few headlines smacking down the ISPs.
Eventually, on appeal, the bottom would fall out.
The smart game now is to lay low, and let the bigger dogs chew each other to pieces.
We can't stop here! This is bat country!