Hmm.

Perhaps this is a question better suited for a self-described ethicist, for I am hopelessly undecided.

A friend asks whether it's appropriate to open and download for oneself a CD bought as a gift for a loved one.

Generally, I think the removal of plastic packaging constitutes a breach of gift-giving etiquette. The benefit, too, of personal consumption that accrues to oneself via the download is another ethical red flag.

Then again, music in this day and age is such an amorphous commodity; who, really, can claim ownership of it at all? And at a time when you can get almost any new release for free, giving someone a hard copy is itself an effort that constitutes a gift of a kind.

I guess, ultimately, it depends on the loved one.

What do you, wise readers, think?