“Your DrugBuddy”

Abstract

AbstractThe chapter’s analysis shows that Silk Road vendors went to considerable lengths to show keen interest in customers, typically presented as seeking to protect the Silk Road community from being tracked by law enforcement, scammed by other vendors, and subjected to drug-related harm. As part of their self-styling as experts, Silk Road users regularly shared externally (i.e., scientific) and internally (i.e., personal experience) sourced knowledge about drug use and dealing. By constructing a stance of openness, Silk Road users displayed business acumen (especially in the vendor profile pages). Styling of the target relied on stances of drug savviness and pleasantness that, respectively, catered to projected identities of Silk Road customers and fellow community members. Targets of digital commercial grooming were related to via deference (as customers) and interpersonal closeness (as fellow community members). As an illicit digital market, Silk Road was itself the target of efforts to detect and exploit its activity. Law enforcement and fraudulent vendors were constructed as its opponents. Law enforcement represented the state and, as such, constituted a direct challenge to Silk Road’s libertarian ethos. Styling of this enemy was primarily undertaken in the site’s forums, often instigated by the market’s administrator, and generally made use of moderate face-threat. In contrast, fraudulent vendors were othered through impoliteness oriented toward face (insults) and equity (belittling) rights. The strength of expression against these internal opponents was legitimated on community-based grounds, mainly lack of integrity as vendors (e.g., scams) and not being respectful to other market users.