Comments on: Michigan Man Fined $400 for Using Coffee Shop’s Wi-Fi Network

By: lyz

lyz — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:46:29 +0000

Now we can say that really.. nothing’s free at all in this world.

By: James aka The Real NeO

James aka The Real NeO — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:31:44 +0000

I feel this is all crap as it is an open network especially for public access is crazy poor guy
by my understanding there is no user agreement in the coffee shop so i am just angry they rap** someone for this

By: Nobody_Holme

Nobody_Holme — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:54:13 +0000

Damn right thats pre-programmed… its what the damn thing is meant for… but there we go, the law is, always has been, and always will be, an ass.

By: sfumato

sfumato — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:18:00 +0000

Must’ve been slow at the police station…

So, is a wireless connection automatically considered part of a computer network? I use a wireless router connected directly to the cable modem, so at times there is no computer, but still open wifi access… or is the router considered a computer in this case.

Seems like: “(c ) Access was achieved without the use of a set of instructions, code, or computer program that bypasses, defrauds, or otherwise circumvents the pre-programmed access procedure” Describes accessing an unprotected wireless connection to me… An intentional lack of security would qualify as a preprogrammed access procedure in my book.

By: Sam

Sam — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:51:41 +0000

This shouldn’t be a criminal case. If anything, it’s a civil matter. The state shouldn’t care or be wasting their time with a person using someone else’s open wireless connection. The only person or company that has a right to press charges is that coffee shop and I’m sure they wouldn’t press charges if he agreed to stop being cheap and buy a cup of coffee.

By: Ed Kohler

Ed Kohler — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 19:42:54 +0000

How can you steal something that people are giving away? If they didn’t want people to use their network, they could easily protect it. I blame the coffee shop more than the guy in this situation.

By: Dominic the wolf of the four winds

Dominic the wolf of the four winds — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 03:04:45 +0000

this guy was a victim. and i don’t care about the law i have a wireless card that is mod so it has killer range and covers tracks(most of the time anyway)(grrrrr still needs a lil work)

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:14:59 +0000

@ bogwitch

a felony is a crime in which the police do not need a prosecutor.
murder is one such crime, kidnapping is another. For example, if i kidnap you and you want to drop the charges, the state will take over and continue prosecuting me.

By: Torvaun

Torvaun — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:08:21 +0000

Bogwitch: Now there’s a possibility I hadn’t considered. This is very possible, and makes it much more likely that they would have started looking for something, anything, that they could pin on him. Still a bad law, but he chose to pay a fine instead of fight it, so there’s really nothing higher courts can do right now.

By: Bogwitch

Bogwitch — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 21:45:19 +0000

Torvaun: Let me start by stating IANAL (or American)
From what I have read, the nature of the crime (felony?) means that the police do not need a victim to testify.
We all know it’s bllox but I’m sure there’s more to this story than we are being told.
If I were to speculate, I would guess that the bloke in the car got VERY defensive when questioned by the police as he felt he had done nothing wrong, and the police got all uppity in response.
It’s like when you get pulled over - do you say ‘I’m really sorry, I know I was going a bit fast, I won’t do it again.” or do you say “What the **** are you pulling me over for!!!! Haven’t you got better things to do, like catching terrorists or rapists??….”
Who’s more likely to get a caution?