I very much doubt that this author has any real dark web experience. I don't myself..but I know enough about it to smell a journalist that did <6 hours research on his selected topic.
Also...dear MyG readers...if this catches your fancy I'd suggest investigating WUGs instead. Unless you're actually out to buy drugs/hitmen etc then a WUG would tick many of the checkboxes without the illegal part.
WUG? Wireless User group? If so, then yes, I have given that some serious thought over the years, but I've moved around a few times over the years, so no stable spot.