Hello -

Good thread with interesting thoughts. Some more points:

• Janeth responded to my point that Google does penalize duplicate content by saying, "Do a search for some titles with quotes and look at all the sites with the same articles." That does not prove Google doesn't penalize duplicate content. For example, if before you posted duplicate content you were on the first page for the key term "lawnmower", then even though your site returned with other duplicates after searching for "titles with quotes," it is routine for Google to move your SERP way down in the ranking for particular keywords like "lawnmower," etc.
• If copyrighted material is used without the permission of the author, then scraping is illegal. If the article has been released for reuse, it is not illegal.

Thanks for the discussion.

- Scott