Thanks for pointing out the Velvet Rope board. I didn't know about it. Seems that they've had the discussion I was seeking, with the predictable results. Record companies don't get it but have the dollars to put this kind of small-time, free site out of commission by threat of lawsuit--that seems to be the gist of things.
I saw the bit about Nirvana as well. I seem to recall that the Allman Brothers asked a couple of the BitTorrent boards not to post their live stuff because they might sell it later commercially, and the boards, like Sharingthegroove and EZT, readily complied. Seems a bit harsh that the threat is to shut the board down rather than remove/delete the offending posts.
As for the results, I hope there will be a new board to pop up in its place. Sharingthegroove mostly turned into thetradersden, but it too seems a bit overwhelmed right now. I figure as long as concerts remain essentially copyright-free, there will be an outlet for them. There's nothing like getting a copy of a show you were at or a band that you know to sound great live! Also, I have to say that downloading bootlegs never discouraged my cd purchasing at all. Quite the opposite, I thought that giving a questionable band a listen led me to buy some stuff I never would have otherwise.
