Abstract
Usernames play a major role in online communication by providing a vital first impression and including clues about the identities and personal characteristics of users. Usernames are extremely important in the online trade of illegal drugs, which carries several risks and therefore requires a high degree of trust between the transaction parties. This study examines how sellers and buyers of illegal drugs represent themselves in their usernames. Data on 1,654 usernames collected from a Finnish darknet marketplace, Torilauta (2017–2020) are analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The usernames are mostly in Finnish and often feature slang and spoken language expressions. Many names include clues about a user’s age, gender, and location. References to various illegal drugs in usernames were found to express a close relationship with the substances. In contrast, they only rarely utilize typical real-life marketing strategies, which suggests that the users do not seek publicity and do not wish to enhance their online reputation. Differences between drug sellers’ and buyers’ usernames are minimal, possibly because of group overlap. Overall, it appears that the users aim to blend in with the drug user community rather than stand out from it by building distinctive images of themselves.
Highlights
People are often known only by their usernames on various websites and online services
This study examines how the sellers and buyers of illegal drugs represent themselves through their usernames on Torilauta ‘market board,’ a popular Finnish online marketplace for illegal drugs
Cryptomarkets have certain advantages compared to traditional real-world drug markets. They are located on the darknet, where encryption technologies are used to conceal the identities of the transaction parties, making it difficult for officials to interrupt activities (Munksgaard & Martin 2020)
Summary
People are often known only by their usernames on various websites and online services. Usernames play a major role in computer-mediated communication They are usually the first identity feature that the communicating parties will learn about each other. They help to make the pivotal first impression about the person (Whitty & Buchanan 2010; Back et al 2008). Cryptomarkets have certain advantages compared to traditional real-world drug markets. They are located on the darknet ( known as the Dark Web or Tor network), where encryption technologies are used to conceal the identities of the transaction parties, making it difficult for officials to interrupt activities (Munksgaard & Martin 2020). The digital traces left from the transactions might result in arrests even years later (Yle 2019)
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