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In a message dated 11/22/2004 2:08:52 PM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: Well, it's just my personal opinion, but I think sending someone to federal prison for videotaping a movie in a theater is a little harsh. Matt ********* It should depend entirely on what they do with it. We are reaching the point where a recording device can be concealed in almost anything and many people, especially the young, feel compelled to keep a log of everything they do. I remember that made extensive use of cameras and tape recorders fifty years ago, in many places where they are banned now. They were never used to take income away from anyone; they made money for the people who made the equipment and media I used. Much of that material still exists and could be used to document part of the way we were, a half century ago. I doubt that much of it would be of commercial value, but I also don't see how making it available would hurt any of the people who were involved in creating it two generations ago. Of course to the extent that there are genuine ownership issues with the commercial content of the original material, distribution should be controlled. However the outright banning of the making such recordings in the first place seems to me unnecessary, impractical, and an undesirable restriction on documentation of our culture. Mike Csontos