What if one of us died?

[Renorei]

So, I've been thinking...what if one of us died? How would everyone on this forum know that we're dead? How do you know if someone has died, or simply stopped posting? I don't know anyone from this forum IRL, so if I suddenly stopped posting, nobody would know whether I had simply lost interest in Freeborn or if something terrible had happened.

I know that, IF someone from this forum ever did die, I'd certainly like to know. So, I just wanted to let all of you guys know that you should all make plans with RL family or friends to notify your online friends if you should happen to die. Thanks.

[Figarou]

There has been a few members that hasn't posted for quite some time. But I'd hate to think that person has died.

I can tell you this, I'm always here. I have to be since I have administrative powers.

If you notice that I havn't posted in a while, or don't answer your PMs, then something is wrong. I am at that age where a heart attack or stroke can happen.


I also drive a gasoline tanker. Having an accident in one of those is no picnic.

[Terastas]

Most of us (or at least most of us that have been here the longest) heard about it through someone else we know online, more often than not, another member. Therefore, most of, if not all of us know someone else in the Pack at another forum or via another means of online communication. If I stopped posting here, for example, Hamster would still be able to confirm wether or not I have also stopped posting at Furtopia. It doesn't confirm that I'm dead if I haven't; it could be a lack of time or a good connection, but if I am still there, it's a good method of denial.

Also, we have an advantage over most forums in that we've been given the opportunity to meet in person, and many more of us have filled out applications for Pack Pendants and ID cards. If one of us died, someone here would eventually try looking for our names and hometowns in an online obituary to see if they could confirm it.

[Vuldari]

This thought has actually crossed my mind more than once.

It's a sad and scary thought.


I doubt that anyone in my family would think to try to inform the online communities I am involved in of my untimely death, even if they knew which ones I am part of.

I am actually extremely suprised I have stayed here as long as I have, because I am usually quite impulsive and shift focus on a regular basis. (...thats ADHD for ya...)

You needn't be too concerned if I seem to dissapear for an extended period, as that would likely just suggest that I've developed a New obsession which is dominating my attention and time.


However...if anyone ever DID feel concerned about my whereabouts and condition, Anthony has my mailing address, and I would not mind if someone sent me some snail-mail, should there be reason to be concerned. (If I was unable to read it myself, my family would read and be able to respond to my mail for me...should I be hospitalized, missing or dead.)

I consider you all my good friends, and should anything ever happen to me (heaven forbid), I would like you all to know, and not just think I had abandoned you all.


It's a very depressing thought...but a valid point.

[Baphnedia]

I've been dead silent - despite my level of involvement here for a very long time. One peice of advice that I think is feasible is listing the online communities that a link to the obituary would be required (for security purposes, putting in contact instructions for the admins of those sites or something else might be preferrable to putting a username and password in your will.

But, it rarely crossed my mind to actually inform the online communities that I'm a part of...

[vrikasatma]

I'm on the E-playa at Burningman.com. We've had our share of deaths amongst our community, for various reasons. The nice thing about the Burning Man community is that we forge strong interpersonal bonds, so when one of us falls, their friends know about it and spread the word to the community.

Another factor is we're a culture that celebrates and honours our dead. We place a memorial plaque somewhere on the Man engraved with the names of the fallen. Up until this year, we also built a memorial temple as a major art installation on the Playa. Participants are invited to come to the Temple and write memorials on the walls and it's burnt on Sunday night, the night after the Man burns.

This thread made me think. I came so close to dying this year, and with my habit of going quiet for spaces of time, nobody here would have known if I had lost my cancer battle.

[Hamster]

Trust me, unless said otherwise, If I don't post here anymore or I don't even log on, I'm dead.

[Shadow Wulf]

Yeah, I have tought about this subject quite a few times, ever sense I joined. I pretty mu ch come in here atleast twice a week. If Im not here for more that 3 weeks without notice before hand, then something happened to me.

[Kzinistzerg]

I've had the same thoughts. i htink i'd liekly just dissapear, but theres a few communities that i'd want notified... this one and the one at d3prived are nice.

[Scott Gardener]

Internet BBSes are still a fairly new social medium, though they're similar in many ways to other media that have been around for a very long time.

Actually knowing that someone is dead--versus simply not posting awhile, implying any of a number of events, from losing interest, to losing access (at least a few regulars have vanished for awhile because of bad grades, for example), to financial problems, to thousands of other possibilities that don't involve answering the Ultimate Question or helping to push up daisies--is the challenge. Someone who dies can't post "I'm not here any more, because I'm dead." But, someone can post "I'm dying." Believe me, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when vrikasatma reported good response to chemotherapy after a bout with cancer.

Generally, one grieves more for the loss of someone closer to you. This forum is surprisingly intimate, and for many of us an appreciable part of our lives. I gained an appreciation of its full significance last A-Kon after meeting a few of you in person, and seeing the Freeborn teaser for the first time there while standing next to Anthony, Silver, Cory Turner, and Figarou.

[Wolveblade]

maybe we could put our username and password in our will and then have that person post a message what a depressing topic.......may every one live long and healthy

[Darum]

this has crossed my mind as well. if i'm not here for a more than a month, it's most likely one (or both) of my parents just canceled our internet subscribtion (SP?) without telling me, so you needn't worry. if something does happen to me, though, i'm fairly certain a family member or friend will let you all know.

[Ink]

Life is cheap. It comes and goes and people die all the while.

If one of us dies it just means we're gone and we'll never log in again. Will any of us ever know? Probably unlikely. People fade away online... This isn't reality, after all.

It's sad but so are the harsh 'truths' in life. I'm okay with fading into the backdrop - that's not saying it's not scary, though.

[Fenrir]

I have thought about this before, there should be a way for people to know, but there's not. I choose not to think about it. the sad thing is this is eventually going to happen and it will scare this forum.