Not everyone agrees that intellectual material is property that should be protected. The slogan “information wants to be free” has been showing up in popular magazines and on the Internet, often with...

Not everyone agrees that intellectual material is property that should be protected. The slogan “information wants to be free” has been showing up in popular magazines and on the Internet, often with a call to readers to take action against protection such as data encryption and further extension of copyright. Using a Web search engine, look for pages where the phrase “free information” appears. Find several sites that make arguments in favor of free information, and analyze them in terms of their rhetorical appeals. What claims do the authors make? How do they appeal to their audience? What’s the site’s ethos, and how is it created? After you’ve read some arguments in favor of free information, return to this chapter’s arguments about intellectual property. Which arguments do you find most persuasive? Why?