Why do people who would not steal written or recorded music in a store think it's OK to steal it on the web?

Copying music, video and so on off the net is NOT STEALING.

It is copyright violation. Big difference (but just as illegal).

Why do they do it? Some people have no class.

I'm a big supporter of free and open source software, and that in itself has made me more aware of intellectual property rights. If someone wants to hold their stuff (be it software or music) in copyright and charge money for it, that is their right and it should be respected unconditionally.

Trying to create the fiction that copyright violation is stealing is NOT helping your case. Better to view it as it is:

The copying of someone's personal (or corporate) creative effort not only denies them potential income they have a right to, but spits in their face - it is an act of extreme disrespect.

Note that I use the phrase 'potential income'. Copying takes nothing tangible. That is why it is not theft. If the copier would not have bought it if they were forced to pay for it, there is no loss of income either. (Whatever the BSA, RIAA or MPAA says the losses are, you could probably divide the number by 3 or 5 to arrive at the true figure).

The most disturbing aspect is that a fan who loves and respects an artist might be so willing to copy his stuff insteading of parting with a dollar.

Because going to a record store and filching something involves a physical theft. Anyone from any era could agree on that.

Napster and such involve the copy of data. Nobody has lost anything. There are simply two copies when there was one before. It is theft because the law says it is. Most people throughout history would have trouble understanding how it could be theft if nothing was lost.

Because these people have no understanding of this. They think that because they do it in the comfort of their own home, they're safe, and that because it is in their own home, its not stealing. They believe they cannot be caught. Thats why it is easier for them. However, there are more and more ways to prevent stealing; but still an ever increasing amount of ways to get it illegally. Really, it all comes down to ethics.

Probably because on the web there is less chance of getting caught.

Because it is a lot easier... It's almost impossible to get caught, unless you're a Naspter 2 or something and you upload/download thousands upon thousand of songs... which draws attention...

Just the way they look at it, it wrong both ways, guess they think it's MUCH HARDER TO GET CAUGHT online then it is when you're in a store with cameras and people everywhere.

--Rich

Probrably, because it's easier, Safer, and they can(if crafty in understanding [how stuff work] on the web) they get away with it more easily.