I found this explanation of how the RIAA catches music pirates to be a real laugh riot.   The Chronicle really did a number on this one, and the entire article is certainly worth reading, if not for the information, then for the solid chuckle it’s likely to give you.

An excerpt:

To catch college students trading copyrighted songs online, the Recording Industry Association of America uses the same file-sharing software that online pirates love, an RIAA representative told The Chronicle at the organization’s offices during a private demonstration of how it catches alleged music pirates. He also said the group does not single out specific colleges in its investigations.

The demonstration was given by an RIAA employee who would speak only on condition of anonymity because of concern that he would receive hate e-mail.

The official explained that one way the RIAA identifies pirates is by using LimeWire, a popular peer-to-peer file-sharing program that is free online and used by many college students (there is also a more-robust version of the program sold for a small fee).

You have to read the rest to get the full story, but I promise you it only gets better from there.