I also dislike scrawled low-effort tags. They’re an act of selfishness, making work for others to clean up. They don’t show any skill other than sneakiness of getting it done. No one wants to see that junk. They are not good.
That said, I’d still prefer crappy tags rather than ads. I hate the ads and the manipulative power of advertising. So if there was somehow a choice between crappy tags vs high-quality ads, I’d choose the tags. (But obviously, that’s all a moot point. Higher quality art / graffiti would be better than both other options. Obviously.)
I would argue that any “tag” is just someone advertising themself. They may not be after money, but they are after brand recognition, and that is the same problem.
They may not have the same power as the corporations that set up billboards all throughout town, but they are still an unwanted sign intruding in our lives.
I also dislike scrawled low-effort tags. They’re an act of selfishness, making work for others to clean up. They don’t show any skill other than sneakiness of getting it done. No one wants to see that junk. They are not good.
That said, I’d still prefer crappy tags rather than ads. I hate the ads and the manipulative power of advertising. So if there was somehow a choice between crappy tags vs high-quality ads, I’d choose the tags. (But obviously, that’s all a moot point. Higher quality art / graffiti would be better than both other options. Obviously.)
I would argue that any “tag” is just someone advertising themself. They may not be after money, but they are after brand recognition, and that is the same problem.
They may not have the same power as the corporations that set up billboards all throughout town, but they are still an unwanted sign intruding in our lives.