Reply #14: But the poll refers to "stealing", not robbery [View All]

[petronius]

I think robbery is taking something from a person's presence by force, and theft is taking something when the owner is not present. Both are stealing...

Both #1 and #2 are easy to rationalize, but I still think they are stealing. In #2, your friend trusted you with his property, and despite the fact that he forgot where the property was you still know it belongs to him. It's sort of like taking the cash out of a lost wallet: it's gone as far as the owner knows, but you (the finder) know who it belongs to and so you have an obligation not to keep it.

I think another situation that could be added to the poll would be software/music theft. I tend to use the rationalization that if I wouldn't buy something then it's OK to copy it, since nobody really loses. Still, deep down I know that it's really theft...