• Death over the internet
    121 replies, posted
We don't think about it a lot, do we? We don't think about complete strangers represented only by blinking lights being flesh and blood people like ourselves, who will eventually (or unexpectedly) die. This is realization really struck home just an hour ago, when I logged into one of my favorite forums. One of our members died. She was kind, young, smart. quirky, and vibrant. She was the person who was nice to everyone, regardless of any sort of status. A pillar of the community. I found out about it late, but she was abruptly taken from us on Sunday. Car accident. She died in the hospital, immediately after. Losing someone over the internet has the same effect as losing someone in real life, but in a different way. The blinking lights representing her will never make a post again. They will never even be online again. Her last posts on the forum were only hours before the fatal accident. It made me think of my own mortality, and all of those around me. It made me realize that internet communities are just as close as real-life communities. Just because you haven't met someone face to face doesn't mean you can't be close to them- to know them. I'll never forget the forumite so tragically lost. Rest in peace. edit: She loved 1:07 to 1:35 on this song. I found it again after I had forgotten about it for years. [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHw5T4_JmmM[/url]
I don't get it. What exactly is the topic and purpose of this thread?
:frown:
On facepunch when you die, everyone always makes sure you get plenty of heart ratings.
great reading a depressing thread right before i go to bed.
Everyone gets old and then we die. Everyone you know now and will ever know is going to die. Have a nice day.
Fuck I don't want to get old.
Sucks. I was looking at my 1st grade class picture, and there was a girl who had just recently passed away, standing right next to me in the photo. Never occurred to me that death had been so close. What was her username? If you don't want to post it because of the obnoxious trolls who will spam it, then that's perfectly fine. I would just like to see if I knew her.
Though we may talk every day, you're still all strangers to me. Please understand that I don't say this to seem cold, or to be mean, but I don't feel enough of an emotional connection towards anybody on a forum or video game to feel much more than passing sorrow at the news of their death. I'd think it was tragic, but I'd receive the news in much the same way that I do about news of a death over the television or in a newspaper: a fleeting sense of pity. I really hope none of you die, though. For the most part, ya'll a swell bunch of folk.
when i die I want someone to update my facebook status to "dead"
[QUOTE=leadpumper;21665211]We don't think about it a lot, do we? We don't think about complete strangers represented only by blinking lights being flesh and blood people like ourselves, who will eventually (or unexpectedly) die. This is realization really struck home just an hour ago, when I logged into one of my favorite forums. One of our members died. She was kind, young, smart. quirky, and vibrant. She was the person who was nice to everyone, regardless of any sort of status. A pillar of the community. I found out about it late, but she was abruptly taken from us on Sunday. Car accident. She died in the hospital, immediately after. Losing someone over the internet has the same effect as losing someone in real life, but in a different way. The blinking lights representing her will never make a post again. They will never even be online again. Her last posts on the forum were only hours before the fatal accident. It made me think of my own mortality, and all of those around me. It made me realize that internet communities are just as close as real-life communities. Just because you haven't met someone face to face doesn't mean you can't be close to them- to know them. I'll never forget the forumite so tragically lost. Rest in peace.[/QUOTE] This is very heartfelt and all but if you think that if the death of a fellow forumgoer (largely impersonal, rarely know each other by first name, have not shared any experiences together outside of a conversation and a videogame perhaps) has the same effect on you as an actual real tangible death in your own social circle you've clearly never dealt with death before
This isn't a Facepunch-esque forum with 3,000 people who don't give a shit about each other that I'm talking about. The people- no, the [i]friends[/i] on this forum all know each other, and care about the problems that they may be going through. We're very close; her sudden, unfair death was a huge blow to all of us.
Sounds very homosexual.
Sorry, double-post
I think it's more sad to view old communities that have stopped being posted on and are long forgotten. You can literally see the last post which was like 2 years ago, and you know you are one of the only people to visit the site since then. Just imagine if facepunch ever becomes like that :frown: [sp] On the side note, I wouldn't care much if somebody died who was a member on Facepunch because I couldn't tell if they were trolling or not about their death[/sp]
Awww One heart for you OP
Well, I'm not sure if you've realized this before, but you WILL die someday, and you're in no way in control of when that is going to happen. It could happen in 1 hour. As far as this forum knows, it could've already have happened. First, you have to *know* .. not fear .. *know* that someday you are gonna die. [QUOTE=bobste;21665283]when i die I want someone to update my facebook status to "dead"[/QUOTE] When I die, I'll update it myself. Ain't nobody changing my status.
Would someone tell us who died?
If I die you guys will be the first people I tell. I'll make a thread about it. 2,700th post high fives all around.
[QUOTE=Comcastic;21665258]Everyone gets old and then we die. Everyone you know now and will ever know is going to die. Have a nice day.[/QUOTE] Not everyone dies early, way to miss the point and fill this with retarded pessimism.
Forever young, I wanna be forever young... Its a persons brain that matters and we wouldn't see that if we were talking face to face so I appreciate people in a forum just as much as I do in real life, even sometimes more.
Well we can't really tell. If someone is inactive, we just assume they have internet/computer issues.
[QUOTE=ashxu;21665519]Well we can't really tell. If someone is inactive, we just assume they have internet/computer issues.[/QUOTE] Over 1-3 years?
I used to be a member of a closely knit San Andreas Multiplayer clan where we all knew eachother and every body was pretty good friends and talked very often. Over time I slowly left the group and began to stop talking to everyone I knew from it and eventually entirely forgot about it, until one day when I returned to see if I remembered anyone and if they all still played (This was around two years after leaving). Loads of people there remembered me and I remembered a few old friends and we all started to talk and then I asked about someone I used to know called Monte. They thought I was being a dick and joking around but obviously I had missed something and ingame they drove me out to this island which they had added to the server. It was a collection of Monte's favourite stuff and a beach shack and up on a hill was a church with flowers. They said it was "Monte's Island" and it turned out he had a heart attack about a year previously. I was pretty shocked by this as I couldn't really imagine that happening and I never even considered him to be dead and I must say I did feel some grief for this person I had never met and had only spoke to online. Obviously some members of the clan did know him in real life and it would be much harder for them but I can definitely see how you can become attached to friends on the internet, even if you never did meet them.
:frown: This thread makes me sad, even though I dont know who exactly died Tell us her username, OP
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;21665281]Though we may talk every day, you're still all strangers to me. Please understand that I don't say this to seem cold, or to be mean, but I don't feel enough of an emotional connection towards anybody on a forum or video game to feel much more than passing sorrow at the news of their death. I'd think it was tragic, but I'd receive the news in much the same way that I do about news of a death over the television or in a newspaper: a fleeting sense of pity. I really hope none of you die, though. For the most part, ya'll a swell bunch of folk.[/QUOTE] I dunno, I'd be pretty bummed if Garry up and died all of the sudden.
Internet deaths don't have the same personal effect on someone, but you feel it all the same. We take other users and gamers for granted, that there'll always be someone else online to play a game or argue with. But what if one night, they're not there? They were taken in the blink of an eye, whether it was a heart attack or a car accident. What then?
But how would we know if someone died?
She was on another forum you geniuses. On Topic: I can kinda see what you mean. If I find out someone I know in real life dies I'll cry hard. My mom died when I was around 10 and I cried for the whole day. If it was a friend still. I don't know how intense it'd be online since I wouldn't even KNOW if one of my friends died. I do believe I would shed a tear or two though. I just can't see it getting as personal as to a real person if you know what I mean.
What was her username?
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.