RIAA: "Unfairly maligned"?

There's been a lot of chatter in the blog sphere about the RIAA and the concept of ripping. I've stayed away because I didn't feel the need to add to the choir. Suffice it to say, much as I despise the RIAA and their tactics and completely misguided approach to a changing industry.... they never said ripping was illegal.

CNET sums it up very well, in a simple and direct article documenting who said what and when: Washington Post sticks by RIAA story despite evidence it goofed.

Ripping and then adding to a shared folder... that's a whole different story. I'm a little scared to find out what the RIAA considers a shared folder.