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By What Authority?

I'm not a train geek, but seem to spend a fair amount of times in train stations trying to find my cultural bearings. My motivation is to document and understand signage, and stations just so happen to be signage rich.

Signs tell you a lot about shifting norms in a society: indicating how society is segmented 'female waiting room only' or 'waiting room for military personnel'; what not to do 'no explosives' (Hangzhou train station); suggesting appropriate behaviours 'turn off phone'; or inappropriate behaviour 'no spitting' 'no begging'; supplying status information 'temperature 27 degrees' and so on. Handwritten signs can indicate how the design of buildings have failed their users or how the building has evolved since it was built 'for tomorrows tickets, go down the hall to the left' or the grey nature of the services they are offering 'sim unlocking, 5 Euro, 5 minutes' but that are not offerred by the establishment. They can show societal attitudes on cultural diversity - support for multiple languages or equally not, or the support of the blind and deaf.

Ignoring the observation that most signs remain unread by most people that pass them by. When signs are read, one criteria for acting upon the information in the signage is authority. By what authority is that sign placed there? By what authority should the information on that sign be trusted? Or depending on the authority, mistrusted? Case in point from this Shanghai photo taken during the recent Sars episode "Doctors Advise to Yourself and Others, Don't Spit"

How this might play out in the (naturally perfect) future? Whilst rules are not necessarily enforceable, technologies such as city wide surveillance cameras will make it easier to track 'offenders' if an organisation or individual is sufficiently motivated. 2010 is not a great time to become a celebrity and fall on the wrong side of the tabloids, or webloids for that matter.

If all or part of the message is delivered digitally, its possible to
customise to the message to a particular audience. 'Doctor [insert name of the doctor you've known 15 years] advises you not to spit"

Writing from Shanghai | July 12, 2005 | Permalink