What is a community? What defines a community to the modern man? Arguably modern man lives in a highly global social setting. Sure there are still states, however, finances and commerce are global and have been for several decades. Wars are fought and state lines redrawn almost daily it seems, and yet business goes on. Money is made, and the true battles are fought and won with the stroke of a pen.

I am no economist and at best can do some minor business math. This is not a reason to be ignorant of what really makes the world go round, though. You see, for almost a decade now, I have been taking advantage of a truly global black market to expand both my personal market and the community I interact with daily. In some ways, this has become a community for my personal survival. In 2007, I had surgery that resulted in my current “permanent” disability. I was close to being able to go back to regular means of generating income when I was involved in a relatively minor car accident that had extended consequences to my physical abilities.

If I was like every other American, I would languish on state aid and end up a fat couch potato. Now I won't deny that I am a fat American, I am overweight and lament that fact daily. However, I am no couch potato. Sure my physical abilities are reduced, but my mental faculties are quite intact. As a result I have become far more engaged in the various possibilities that exist in the infamous dark net. There are several ways to access the dark side; among those is the tor network or .onion. This article is not, however, about how to access that side of things. This article is about the heuristic approach that engages the active minds who embrace the dark side of the internet.

The basic premise is that this side of the internet is made up of sites that are not search-able by the massive search engines that exist. Google, Yahoo and Bing cannot and do not search and categorize the hundreds of thousands of .onion sites that exist. Among these sites are the infamous Silk Road, Blackmarket Reloaded, and similar markets specifically designed to avoid all state interference and allow a completely free market to exist. These markets utilize wonderful encryption and a medium for trade called Bitcoin.

This is a true free market economy that runs without any state interference, except for the occasional raid or bust by whichever states' enforcers feel slighted. In the time I have spent within the markets themselves, I have had less negative experiences than during the many years of trade on eBay. Because of various well managed safety protocols and mediating security features, it is a rare occasion that a smart business person will lose money. While you will rarely ever know the real names and information of those you deal with, great value is generated by maintaining a consistent profile and dealing with others fairly with honesty.

The internet is not going anywhere, and unless all electricity and communications around the world instantly collapse, this is a community that will be available for many years to come. I highly recommend this to other individuals who desire a means of procuring those things that may have been difficult or even dangerous before. You will see things that may not set with your civilized sensibilities. However, treat it the way you would any voluntary community. Just because you disagree doesn't make it wrong. Go on to the next site or page and join a community. Just be aware, this is not a community to take advantage of; if you do not keep your word, you will get hacked and potentially have more than your online profile destroyed.