I'm not a kid any more. I rarely even listen to music, let alone share
files. (it bores me) But I wish to argue in defense of file sharing,
echoing what the teens have been saying all along. File sharing is not
piracy. In fact, in spite of how many times the record industry says so,
it may not even be illegal in any sense at all, but may eventually
be found to be within the definition of fair use.

Think of this analogy. Back when I was a teen (circa 1970), a buddy
might call me up and say, "I just got the new led zeppelin album, why
don't you come over and listen?" I go over and he plays the record and
I listen. Guess what? I'm listening to the music without paying. Isn't
that against the law, or at least unethical?

No, it isn't, obviously. So, we've established that listening without
paying isn't necessarily illegal. So today, your buddy IM's you and
shoots the file to your PC, so you can do the same thing I did in 1970,
listen without paying. In fact this is what people have been doing since
the invention of radio. They turn on the radio and listen for free,
and it is perfectly legal.

So what is so different with P2P file sharing that makes it any different
legally or ethically from those earlier methods of listening?