Shrugs, Mourning and Nervousness: Reactions to the Oink Raid

One of the future scenarios that Larry Lessig explored in The Future of Ideas (I think) was a world in which some digital citizens obey the laws while other more tech-savvy (and more morally flexible, some would say) live underground, hacking their iPhones and freely sharing copyrighted material over P2P networks. The diverse reactions to the Oink shutdown yesterday validates this prediction.  “RIP Oink” messages popped up on some friends’ Facebook profiles and twitters– one even spent the day nervously awaiting a knock on the door from Interpol. Other friends, including some pretty hip techy folks, asked “What’s Oink?” when I asked for their reactions.

My favorite Oink story comes from a friend who once faced expulsion from the site for not sharing enough. A student at an Ivy law school, he said he’d rather be expelled from law school than from the Oink community.

One report I hear, conspiracy theory or no, is that the raid was Apple-driven, as the Leopard release is right around the corner.

Among the best coverage of the raid is this Dutch TV interview with Pieter Taks, Oink’s hosting provider.