Image via WikipediaWhat does that mean for the rest of us, given that few of us read let alone understand EULA’s or Terms of Service (TOS) for many of the web sites that we interact with on a daily basis.

I am ambivalent on this one, while she dodged the legal felony; it is good and bad for all of us who interact with web 2.0 in one form or another. I cannot help but think back to the controversy about the Google Chrome EULA that basically allowed Google to own everything you did through the browser if you read it in a certain way. I can’t help but think of Chinese bloggers who use an assumed name and make accounts under those assumed names to bring us news when their own life is at risk. I can’t help but think of those times when breaking the TOS or EULA provides valuable information, or parody like the Fake Steve Jobs site or the Fake Steve Ballmer site.

But these are good examples of people using the internet that violate a TOS or EULA. Even I don’t use my real name on MySpace, there is no reason to, and employers are all over MySpace and Facebook looking for what their employees are up to. When used correctly, sometimes faking a bit of information can be a good thing. There are reasons good reasons to use a fake name at times.

None of the above examples though is meant to hurt people, and I think that that is the key to this whole thing.

On Wednesday, jurors found 49-year-old Lori Drew guilty of three misdemeanor counts of gaining unauthorized access to MySpace for the purpose of obtaining information on Megan Meier. Misdemeanors potentially carry up to a year in prison each, but more commonly result in little or no time in custody for a first offense. The jury unanimously rejected the three felony computer hacking charges that alleged the unauthorized access was part of a scheme to intentionally inflict emotional distress on Megan. Source: Wired.

There is at least a positive aspect in this, the odds that these will be appealed is high. The appeals will probably clear the three misdemeanor charges. That seems to be the real key to this whole thing, what were the reasons why you decided to create a fake profile? If you were doing it for many of the reasons that many of us use, to otherwise carry on smartly not meaning to hurt anyone, or if there is an intentional misuse of the system.

Intent seems to be the main issue, not necessarily that someone did something, but under what circumstances. Further cases like this will clarify if the idea here is right or wrong. This has been a landmark case in many ways, now the nuances need to be built out so that we can start setting what is and what is not a societal norm when it comes to Terms of Service and EULA’s.

Tags; lori drew, case closed, felony, court, trial, tos, eula, MySpace, social networking, wired, mashable

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