This sign is both a symbol and an index. It is symbol in that the sign consists of a sentence, which is a string of words, and each word, in turn, is a string of letters. These “strings” derive there meaning exclusively from convention, that is, society accepts that the meaning attached to them is indeed their meaning; however, that there meaning be the one accepted by society is purely arbitrary and of no causal consequence, and thus the sentence is a symbol. The sign is an index in that its meaning is to be applied to the area surrounding the sign, thus indicating to whom and in which area the meaning should be applied to and understood to lie within.

I am not clear as to where this sign is located. I can only speculate that it might be on the wall of a high-school, an underground tunnel, a shopping center, or any number of places. I will assume for the purposes of this exercise that the sign is located in public space, by which I mean not private property. Whichever of the possible spaces it may be located in, its meaning seems to imply that if you are a productive member of society, then you are welcome to occupy the space, or to do whatever productive activity, so soon as it is productive, in this space if you will. Conversely, it also seems to imply that if you are not a productive member of society, then you are not welcome to occupy the space, or if your activities are not deemed productive for society, then they are not allowed in this space. So, the sign may be attempting to control the activity of socialites in terms of whether the activity is productive or not. The sign really seems to be placing the authority on what is productive or not in the hands of the socialites, or citizens. For it does not specify any of this, it simply uses the word nothing. I take the usage of the word not to mean literally nothing, but rather, to exclude the activities of the modern day jongleur as well as youthful activities, such the few albeit still present street entertainers, in addition to skateboarders, rollerbladers, break-dancers, and the like. With regard to the modern day jongleur, although one can argue that there is a productive nature in their activities on the street, some may consider them nuisances. More directly, the meaning may seem to be intended for vagabonds, which brings me to the next image.

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