OiNK: The Best Kept (Open) Secret on the Internet

Everywhere I turn, there's a new post lamenting the fall of the mighty OiNK music torrent tracker. Yes, it's a pity, but what's surprising to me was the number of people who actually used it (and blogged about losing it after the takedown). It's like these people want to say, "Yes, I was a part of the secret organization before it disbanded!" It's an odd sort of sensation reading those posts; those of us who were also contributors to "the cause" say to ourselves, "Right on, brother! Fight the power! I, too, miss what has been wrongfully taken away from us!"

As I think about it, it gets more and more surreal. Why are we sad about something that is plainly an illegal means of retrieving goods? Is it because of the slightly better feeling in our conscience that says, "it's OK, I'm helping others who can't necessarily find this music any other way through seeding", rationalizing it as a sense of community and giving back? I am boggled.