> not that it matters, because I think it's ridiculous they're busting this
> guy, but he broke into the server room physically. He didn't just illegally
> access a web site and download article as the bit below suggests. Still
> think the whole thing's ridiculous. Why didn't this guy just subscribe to
> jstor or use his alum privs? And why the hell go after someone so hard just
> for reading academic journal articles?
Speculation has it that he was planning to Robin Hood the whole database, as he did with the federal court system records database a couple of years ago. He already had legitimate personal access. He allegedly had a laptop hidden in a closet at MIT for several months downloading stuff.
There's more at Wired:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/07/swartz-arrest/
Apparently Jstor itself did not want to press charges, and has been subpoena'd by the attorney's office. Possibly they are worried about the potential for a major eruption of the controversy about whether more than a century of the world's scientific heritage ought to be open access anyway, given how articulate a martyr Swartz could be.
Mike