for the author, this article and his work, and also to Salon for publishing something so worth thinking about. As some have already implied, the tension between independence and interdependence is an often overlooked dimension of all our lives, but especially for those confronted with mental illness and other forms of disability.

As someone with a history of mild mental illness, and someone in recovery for addiction, I agree that those who do this kind of work for the sake of the unwell, as well as for the sake of the rest of us (yes, even for the sake of those who think they are crazy to settle for such low pay, insecurity about their futures, and doubts about whether they are even "helping" at all) deserve our gratitude.

Finally, I need to confess that I actually found myself looking forward to the letters section when I came to the end of the article - and doing so for the first time in quite a while. I am relieved to read that most of you have done as much as, or better than the author has, to demonstrate what one letter writer called compassion, and another quite ably described as the fruits of language for civilization. Bravo!

Maybe it will be worthwhile to renew that Premium subscription after all...

While I also thought the headline promised a more thorough analysis including time & money saved by virtue of better security, I am getting the sense from the few posts here that maybe most folks don't feel comfortable using craigslist or ebay to buy computer equipment.

I bought my very first Mac laptop for $650 in late 2000 and sold it in mid 2002 for $600, bundled with a peripheral item that I paid $100 for. I then upgraded to a new Mac laptop and felt great that I had paid out a mere $150 for my intro. to the Mac OS and almost two years of continuous use. I have since bought and sold other macs and mac gear using craigslist. While I am less inclined to consider dealing in these items through ebay, I'll admit I have browsed at the possibility of buying an iPhone from an ebay seller local enough to perhaps consider a face to face deal.

Plus I thought everyone (at least in the SF Bay area) knew that perhaps the best time to look for Mac gear on craigslist is just after the new stuff gets announced at Macworld. Gotta love those early adopters.