Great attitude. That's like saying people that program in ASM on graphical displays aren't real programmers due to not using the old punchcard system. Get over yourself.
I appreciate Edward Snowden for having the courage to do what he did and what he did, but I feel like there is a disproportionate amount of coverage about him versus what he blew the whistle on.
Given recent events, what this kid said was foolish - but did it really merit imprisonment? The government would have a field day with users on services such as Xbox Live and just about any online community that reaches a wide demographic.
The mainstream media basically left this kid to rot, save for a few blurbs on the 'fourth page' news. Had it not been for user-generated coverage on the net and the generous person who bailed him out, he would have probably rotted in jail for who knows how long. No, instead we're more interested in hearing about celebrity babies being born or some has-been mobster in his twilight years.
The system is broken - well, at least it's broken for anyone who respects human rights and civil liberties. To put my hand over my heart and pledge my loyalty to the 'land of the free, and the home of the brave'. What a joke! Thinking that we have any say in the supposed 'democratic process' is laughable. What does voting even do now other than make the slicksters in Washington play musical chairs? What is it going to take to actually create reform and install a government that cares about its people - a government that is the common people?
Careful - if you even attempt to log in during the two week window, they will reset the timer for deletion (it can be easy to almost unconsciously log in if you're a heavy user). They even do it before you confirm or deny that you're reactivating your account. Seems like one of those psychological games: "come on, do you really want to leave? Now you have to wait even longer for your account to be deleted! Just come back to the fold!"