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Tags are a type of graffiti. It can be a noun or a verb, like "tagging" which means to write a tag.
Tags are a simple type of graffiti. Most people who learn graffiti do tags first.[1] Tagging is usually illegal and many people think that tags are a kind of vandalism.[2] A tag is a bit like a graffiti signature.
Tags are usually written with spray paint or marker pens. They are smaller than other types of graffiti. People practice them a lot so they can write their tag quickly, because they do not want to be seen tagging.[1]
A tag is like a signature, but is not usually the writer's real name. It is not good when two people in a town use the same name, or if someone uses the same name as a famous writer or famous tagger. Usually the names people tag are short (only 3-5 letters) so they can write them quickly.[3] Tags usually use letters from the latin script even in countries where people don't use them in normal writing.[4][5] Writers tag in their own special style, called a handstyle.[5]
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People have written their names on things for a very long time.[6][7] but tags in the modern style started in the 1960s in Philadephia and New York. One of the first people to tag wrote Cornbread in Philadelphia.[8] TAKI 183 and Julio 204 were writers in New York who did a lot of tags, and many people saw and wanted to copy them.[9]
People like to tag so that lots of people will recognise their tag.[1] People who have lots of tags where they live are called "all city".[10] Some people write tags on stickers and put stickers on things. This is faster than writing a tag onto a public service and the writer will be less likely to be seen.[11] Many people use "my name is..." stickers to tag on.
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