See, here's how I fall on it. I know for a fact that I've ripped samples from just about anything. For the energy of the track, sometimes I've altered them and sometimes I've left them completely untouched. It just seems that, when it comes to criticism, from other producers or DJs especially, there really is no telling when someone will accuse of being a straight rip-off or a "creative" sampler. Fortunately, I've been lucky enough to not have been accused of stealing from other people. But, in my own mind, and as far as laws are concerned, I'm well aware of the fact that what I have done is, for all intensive purposes, "theft." The degree to which the techno community has made this an issue as of late has been truly perplexing as I have seen no clear cut lines drawn anywhere.