Alexia Maddox

Constructive activism in the dark web: cryptomarkets and illicit drugs in the digital ‘demimonde’

ABSTRACT This paper explores activism enacted through Silk Road, a now defunct cryptomarket where illicit drugs were sold in the dark web. Drawing on a digital ethnography of Silk Road, we develop the notion of constructive activism to extend the lexicon of concepts available to discuss forms of online activism. Monitoring of the cryptomarket took place between June 2011 and its closure in October 2013. Just before and after the closure of the marketplace we conducted anonymous online interviews with 17 people who reported buying drugs on Silk Road (1.0). These interviews were conducted synchronously and interactively through encrypted instant messaging. Participants discussed harnessing and developing the technological tools needed to access Silk Road and engage within the Silk Road community. For participants Silk Road was not just a market for trading drugs: it facilitated a shared experience of personal freedom within a libertarian philosophical framework, where open discussions about stigmatized behaviours were encouraged and supported. Tensions between public activism against drug prohibition and the need to hide ones identity as a drug user from public scrutiny were partially resolved through community actions that internalized these politics, rather than engaging in forms of online activism that are intended to have real-world political effects. Most aptly described through van de Sandes (2015) concept of prefigurative politics, they sought to transform their values into built environments that were designed to socially engineer a more permissive digital reality, which we refer to as constructive activism.

Active engagement with stigmatised communities through digital ethnography

Conducting research in the rapidly evolving fields constituting the digital social sciences raises challenging ethical and technical issues, especially when the subject matter includes activities of stigmatised populations. Our study of a dark-web drug-use community provides a case example of ‘how to’ conduct studies in digital environments where sensitive and illicit activities are discussed. In this paper we present the workflow from our digital ethnography and consider the consequences of particular choices of action upon knowledge production. Key considerations that our workflow responded to include adapting to volatile field-sites, researcher safety in digital environments, data security and encryption, and ethical-legal challenges. We anticipate that this workflow may assist other researchers to emulate, test and adapt our approach to the diverse range of illicit studies online. In this paper we argue that active engagement with stigmatised communities through multi-sited digital ethnography can complement and augment the findings of digital trace analyses.

University library strategy development: a conceptual model of researcher performance to inform service delivery

ABSTRACT This case study presents a conceptual model of researcher performance developed by Deakin University Library, Australia. The model aims to organize research performance data into meaningful researcher profiles, referred to as researcher typologies, which support the demonstration of research impact and value. Three dimensions shaping researcher performance are identified: researcher practices, career stage, and activity space. We argue this model serves two practical functions for Deakin Library and librarians: (a) to develop a holistic understanding of what constitutes researcher performance in the contemporary higher education environment in Australia; and (b) to translate this understanding into a service needs diagnostic tool for the development of the Research Metrics and Advisory Service (ReMAS), a strategic library service providing systematic research metrics support to Deakin researchers, schools, and faculties. We argue that both the model and its practical applications may be adapted by other academic libraries within their national and higher education contexts.