Crowdsourcing and Crime

Last semester a friend and I did a little experimentation with crowdsourcing, without actually realizing it. We took some sidewalk chalk to the wall at the ramp south of campus. After finishing a little winter-break picture, we left the chalk at the base, with a note that said "help yourself". I came back later, and found it had doubled in size.

What I noticed was the overwhelmingly positive nature of what people had drawn and written. Before we left, someone passing told me "you know that's grafitting, right?". The thing is, he was right! However, if you've ever noticed grafitti in restrooms, on buildings, and in desks, it's almost universally crude at best, and obscene at worst. However, the 'graffiti' I found later added on was overwhelmingly positive. Wikipedia, and other open forums, turn out positive as well in the long run (despite the rabble rousers - we'll get to that in trolling, I believe). When a medium is closed off to the public, that doesn't mean nobody uses it, just the people who have no regard for the law. Take the prohibition, for example - alcohol sales didn't stop, they were taken over by criminals (thus, the prohibition was the 'birth' of organized crime in america) When it's opened up, however, people with something good to have a voice, and I feel that they outnumber those who don't.

Censorship and restrictions on digital formats might affect the volume of information flow, but more evident is how they affect the nature- Peer to Peer file transfer is a great way to spread large files, and has the potential to share vast amounts of information - textbooks, education software, openware. Perhaps due to the stigma on filesharing portrayed by its opponents, though, the overwhelming majority of PtP traffic is in illegally copied material- music, games, and unfortunately, pornography. If we as a culture hope to get the most out of technology, we have to be willing to accept it openly, rather than attempt to restrict it. Let's not have another Prohibition, but instead, an Enlightenment. Happy Blackout day, everone!