They avoid the zero-tolerance areas. If it has value to you, you want people to see it, you want it to stay. Richard was a tagger before he became a piecer. He etched his moniker on MTA bus windows and sprayed it on the sides of boxcars, a means to transport his name across the nation. His work was dangerous, which of course was part of the thrill.
Vandals shimmy up poles using belts and ropes.
They hang over bridges, risking their lives while their friends hold their ankles. Some photograph their work, hoping it will appear in the graffiti magazines and Web sites. Authorities say the public often perceives tagging as a sign of gang activity, which it generally was before the late 1980s. People just didn't know the difference between gangs and tagging. In many areas, taggers may not be gang members.