> Honestly this doesn't bode well for darknets. The problem is that even if darknets have a legitimate reason to exist, non-creeps will avoid them if they see much of this kind of thing.
Non-creeps shouldn't use cash to purchase anything. People will almost always use money to purchase drugs, because it's extremely difficult to trace.
Just because people use something for something illegal, doesn't mean that it shouldn't be used at all. In fact, if more people use darknets for legitimate activities, then there is less illegal activity going on overall (looking at it percentage wise, there would still be arguably the same amount going on).
I don't like the fact that these things occur on darknets. But these places are perfect for them, and I highly doubt these darknets would be created solely for the purpose of illegal activities.
That's a bad analogy. Networks are more akin to social spheres, especially if they are "sub-networks" like Tor.
Imagine you walk into a hotel. There's a guy in the lobby with a visible gun on his hip, and he's not a cop. The elevator opens up and someone's getting a blow job from a hooker. There's a dead roach in the corner. Would you stay there? With your kids?
It's not a question of should or shouldn't. What I'm saying is that normal people will run away screaming from a network that's full of child porn. They won't use it. As a result, it loses its utility for non-creepy but legitimate uses like political expression. The swimming pool is yellowish and stinky.
Non-creeps shouldn't use cash to purchase anything. People will almost always use money to purchase drugs, because it's extremely difficult to trace.
Just because people use something for something illegal, doesn't mean that it shouldn't be used at all. In fact, if more people use darknets for legitimate activities, then there is less illegal activity going on overall (looking at it percentage wise, there would still be arguably the same amount going on).
I don't like the fact that these things occur on darknets. But these places are perfect for them, and I highly doubt these darknets would be created solely for the purpose of illegal activities.