So using somebody's Wi-Fi at the curb is like pissing in their flowers?

Soon as Dave leaves Florida, they arrest a guy in St. Petersburg for using somebody's open Wi-Fi hotspot.

What do they mean, "using"? All they say is,

Police say Benjamin Smith III, 41, used his Acer brand laptop to hack into Dinon's wireless Internet network. The April 20 arrest is considered the first of its kind in Tampa Bay and among only a few so far nationwide.

"... hack into"? Near as I can tell, this guy was busted just for using something a citizen offered for free, like... a lamp by a driveway. Does there have to be a difference? You can commit crimes using somebody's porch light too. The story continues...

A drive through downtown St. Petersburg shows how porous networks can be. In less than five minutes, a Times reporter with a laptop found 14 wireless access points, six of which were wide open. "I'll guarantee there are tons of people out there who have their wireless network being exploited but have no idea," Breeden said. "And as we see more people utilizing wireless, we'll see more people being victimized."

Hey, what about people who want to share their waves? Whatever happened to the flower box concept? Why does free usage have to be framed as "mooching", "intrusion" and "exploitation"? After running down a pile of awful things that can happen over open hotspots, the story finally says,

Not everyone has sinister intentions. Many Wardrivers do it for sport, simply mapping the connections out there. Others see it as part public service, part business opportunity. When they find an unsecured network, they approach a homeowner and for a fee, offer to close the virtual door.

Some Wi-Fi users intentionally leave their networks open or give neighbors passwords to share an Internet connection. There is a line of thought that tapping into the network of a unsuspecting host is harmless provided the use is brief and does not sap the connection, such as downloading large music files. "There is probably some minority of people who hop on and are up to no good. But I don't know there is any sign it's significant," said Mike Godwin of Public Knowledge, a public interest group in Washington, D.C., focused on technology.

"We have to be careful," Godwin said. "There's a lot of stuff that just because it's new triggers social panic. Normally the best thing to do is sit back and relax and let things take their course ... before acting on regulation."

No shirt.

And a story like this will go a long way toward making sure some kind of legislation, sure to create a zillion unintended consequences -- not the least of which is the squashing of a fine public grace -- will follow.

Thanks to Phil Windley for the pointer.