A reason I think this is fair is that it cuts both ways. It also means that nobody can walk off with your weblog and proceed to make big bucks with it. It doesn't just protect eBay, it levels the field for everybody. The alternative, that you can walk off with content and profit off of it, results in big money always winning.

I think that the only consistent answer is that no, you CAN'T just abscond with another sites data and use it for commercial purposes... and yes, search engines are 'commercial purposes'. However, with search engines, a good case can and should be made that they are already common practice, and that it is well known how to stop polite search engines from searching your site by using a standardized file called robots.

I think in this case, "commercial purposes" on the part of Bidder's Edge is pretty clear. But how about search engines? Is that commercial use of site data... or just use of the site data that happens to have advertisements on it, independent of the search results?

"Daniel Bergeson, a partner at Bergeson & Eliopoulos LLP in San Jose, said eBay's argument is simple. 'When you visit a site, you can't take that information and use it for your own purposes, especially for commercial purposes,' he said."

This has been a long time coming and opens the door to more debates then you can shake a stick at.

ZDNet: News: Judge to rule against Bidder's Edge: "A federal judge said he plans to issue a preliminary injunction against Bidder's Edge Inc. in a suit brought by eBay Inc., a victory for the big online auctioneer in a battle that could have wide implications for Internet commerce."

You can't do so much about age .

Especially in this case, if you approach the problem as a race/class issue, and there's proof that it's not a factor, then you will accomplish precisely nothing... but I suppose you'll get re-elected doing it. There is a divide, but attack the root of the problem: Education.

Note: it's an excuse when you simply assume those are the causes, it's a valid reason when you have research and logic to back those reasons up... same standards as "the dog ate my homework"!

See, there is a digital divide, but the true divide is between those who are online and those who aren't. That may seem like circular logic at first, but realize this is in stark opposition to the usual opinion on the topic, which insists it's the usual convenient race/gender/class excuses.