identifying the underlying cause of repetitive tagging, The premise
behind tagging is to be known and to gain fame as a tagger. Other
motives include, a sense of belonging to a crew, gaining respect,
and holding good status. There are different ways of gaining status:
1) How much your tags are up
2) How much your crew is up
4) How long a tag stays up
5) How many people see the tag
6) How much style & skill your tag have
7) What crew you belong to
A rookie tagger is a nobody. He has no status but wants to belong.
This is why taggers will follow the rules when selecting a tag name
and finding a crew to belong to. A "non rule follower" would be called
a toy and may be crossed out and not respected.
There is only one person of each tag name. If someone wants to use
the same name, they must battle for it. They battle for the right to use
the name because they know that only one person can be known for
the tag. They want the fame for their work, not for someone else. A
battle is a graffiti competition that determines who is best.
Fellow taggers join in consensus to determine who keeps the name.
Each tag is a signature of the vandal himself. Although tags are hard
to read, at first, the intent is not to make it unreadable. The style and
design are recognizable to their intended audience.
Taggers may choose new names if they have been caught. However,
they still belong to the same crew. It is almost as if the tagger just
can't quite resist the temptation of putting up his old tag name This
practice also helps introduce their new name...