Kudos to Mike for the above post. Not only was it well said, but well thought out to boot.

I agree that pedophiles do not have a "choice" in the matter. What is true in most cases is that these people have been sexually abused as children. The massive phsychological damage that results from these experiences very often evolves into a taste for pornography involving children, which in its own twisted way perpetuates the results of the abuse. Those pedophiles that act on their impulses and abuse children then cause those children to become pedophiles, and on and on.

While I'm by no means defending pedophilia or child pornography, I think it's important to keep things like this in mind. Yes, it most definitely is sick, but in a way it's also sad.

In reference to "taking it easy," all I can say is that a large number of people that use LW to download legit porn have, at least once, come across something questionable with regard to age. Some examples I've seen are clearly NOT of age, and some are close enough to legal to give one pause. Regardless, most people the come across the stuff freak out, thinking that in five minutes the FBI will be knocking at their door. The worst part about is that there does not seem to be much good information out there about what should be done when this happens. Another problem is that a lot of porn now is of the homemade (or "amateur") variety, and the age of these people, regardless of what the filename may say, is very likely impossible to verify (for either us or the authorities). What about that stuff? Should a file claiming that it's of somebody 17 years old be taken literally? When does prudence give way to paranoia?