The Recording Industry Association of America, which has charged Napster with music piracy and copyright infringement, sought the preliminary injunction. An appeals court stayed the order Friday afternoon, pending a final ruling. A summer student intern at the State Department in Washington, D.C. said networked colleges and universities have been incubators for this movement, nurturing resourceful students like Napster's founder, then-college freshman Shawn Fanning. Students have just taken what they do offline, sharing with a group what they like, and taken it to the Internet, she said. They're much more cynical than we were.
People become the producers rather than just consumers.
It's run by the people and for the people. It gives users world economies of scale. It's closer to the original notion of the Internet, she said. It's ironic that communists once talked about putting the tools of production in the hands of the people. It will be a different world for businesses.