Talk:Silk Road

Madeline Trumbauer's Peer Review

Length

The length of the article is around 500 words. It does not yet meet the length requirement of 30000 words but if you plan to finish your essay next Mon-Thurs, you only need to write 600 words per day to meet the requirement so that's my suggestion for breaking down the work.

Structure

There is an opening paragraph that summarizes the issue. I would suggest moving the examples of dark web products from the second paragraph to the first paragraph so the reader has more context on what made the Silk Road special. I think an important element of the Silk Road was its highly dangerous and illegal products. Your writing is direct, straightforward, and clear. I think it's great work.

2) You have not sectioned off the body of the article into one or more sections. You can incorporate headings with ==Example== and use a different number of equal signs to change the size of the heading. Based on your content, you could have sections for Silk Road Informationsphere and how it functioned as part of the internet, as well as another section for its effect on the economy like how you discuss how it contributed to Bitcoin's escalation. Additionally, your text about the FBI could be categorized in the broader subject on the Regulation of the Silk Road, and you could discuss ramifications of its absence and the emergence of the second site. These are just my suggestions; you can take your research any direction you want to focus on.

3) All your statements are backed up by references to reliable sources. You have nicely formatted references that flow with each sentence.

Clarity

You could work on illuminating the ethical issues Silk Road poses. You introduce that it is an illegal website that sells drugs and weapons, but you don't unpack what laws it is breaking or why selling drugs and weapons is dangerous. More details on the different groups of people the Silk Road helped/harmed would help depict the ethical ramifications of the Silk Road. I know it is hard to trace the users of the Silk Road, but you could examine in general whose businesses it helped and whose lives it endangered and the dangerous systems (drug dealing, sex trafficking, assassinations) it implicitly promoted. You could also go into detail about the FBI persecution of the Silk Road and present some of the interesting laws that it was breaking. Another ethical issue that jumps out at me is the question of Ulbricht's incarceration. That issue was made clear by the resistance from Change.org, but I'm really curious as to what the reasons are for his wanted release. That seems like a very poignant ethical issue you could explore because it relates to freedom of speech and regulation of the internet. You could explore why his incarceration is an important question and what implications it has on free use of the internet.

Objective Point of View

YES! You have a great objective voice. You present facts very clearly yet interestingly. Never once did you insert your personal opinion, and you also successfully avoid using opinionated generic lines like "experts claim." Many statements are backed up by references. I think you could describe the controversy more by presenting other people's opinions. Most of your content is objective, but only your author voice has to remain objective. It would be ok to present how different groups perceive the Silk Road. For example, the FBI believes it is an abomination and an illegal, dangerous site. But maybe drug buyers find it convenient. You should present these differing groups' feelings about the Silk Road, but keep up the good objective reporting. Overall, your writing is strong, cogent, objective, and professional. I really enjoyed learning about this topic, and I'm looking forward to reading the finished product. Keep up the great work!