Quote:
How would you feel if someone parked on your drive while you were out at work without asking? I mean you weren't using it, but does it make it right for me to? I don't think so.

I'm fine with that. It might not be "right", but that doesn't make it "wrong", either. That's the problem with "victimless crimes". I'm not using my spot, so if you need it, go ahead -- no skin off my back. Just be aware that if I come home from work early, and you're not around to move it real quick like, it'll get towed.

In Tony's example, the service he's talking about is literally like a parking meter by the curb-side. You put money in the meter when you park beside it, and the meter starts ticking down time. You can park there as long as the meter has time left on it. If you leave before your time is up, you don't get a refund from the parking meter. The person who takes that spot after you is under no obligation to give you the money for the time left on the meter. The person also has no obligation to put the full amount of money they "should" have owed into the meter, either. Is it "right" that you had to pay for service you didn't use, or that the person after you got to park for free (or for a discount), thanks to you? Is that "wrong"?

How is what Tony did any different than driving around the block, waiting 'til someone leaves, and taking the spot to see if there's any time left on the meter? The only difference that I can see is that there's no physical object to signify that the space is taken, and so Tony might end up parking on top of someone else. That's not good, since the other person doesn't get the service they payed for, but if there were a reliable way of detecting that a specific MAC address has gone away for good, then what's the issue?

On a semi-side note, what happens if I were to pay the connection fee, and then use my laptop as a wireless router with NAT and DHCP, giving everyone in the terminal free access? Is that "wrong", too? It may not be what the service provider intended, but tough noogies, eh?