> if MAC spoofing is sufficient to prove "unauthorized"...
i agree. but its not. MAC is one piece of evidence. without the other evidence, the charges would probably be worthless.
> If one of the elements of the crime is that what the defendant did was unauthorized (as was the case here) then if every victim authorized the behavior that element of the crime wouldn't be satisfied, no?
In theory, I suppose. However, JSTOR not pushing for charges is not the same as JSTOR "authorizing" Aaron to access those files.
>MAC is one piece of evidence. without the other evidence, the charges would probably be worthless.
The trouble is that the other evidence can be just as spurious and circumstantial. It's the selection bias problem: You do a hundred thousand things in the process of downloading a journal article and fifteen of them are "suspicious" but those are the fifteen they present to a jury when trying to convict you.
i agree. but its not. MAC is one piece of evidence. without the other evidence, the charges would probably be worthless.
> If one of the elements of the crime is that what the defendant did was unauthorized (as was the case here) then if every victim authorized the behavior that element of the crime wouldn't be satisfied, no?
In theory, I suppose. However, JSTOR not pushing for charges is not the same as JSTOR "authorizing" Aaron to access those files.