Your Online Life, Postmortem

[cslewis]

I've been thinking. Again. It's a hobby I really have to get over...

Anyway, I've been pondering about the whole Lacero/disapprearing posters phenomenon. Here's a thought experiment for you guys... In the event that you would pass away, what would eventually happen to all of your online accounts and things? Would spam continue to stuff your inbox? Would nigerian bankers still need money transfers?

Let's revisit Lacero. We haven't heard from it in quite a long time. What if it's dead? It could have been shot, or maimed, or run over by an ice cream truck. For god's sake, it could have been playing 'chicken' on the railroad tracks, and we'd never know!

What happens to accounts and things after your death? Chances are that relatives aren't savvy enough to figure out all the places you've been. Besides, we probably have all of our passwords commited to memory. What action do administrators take if accounts sit empty for years? Does anything actually happen? Or are they simply abandoned?

[EDIT]: Yes, I'm still on Percoset.

 

[mad jew]

Well, funny you should ask. My posting rate actually revolves the world which means when or if I ever stop, the world will consequently stop spinning and life will cease to exist as we know it. And people say I'm just some mad spammer... I'm saving the world here people, I want due credit!

 

[Glenn Wolsey]

Good question, but does it really matter? I mean why would the account need to be closed or deleted? No point in in to me.

 

[2nyRiggz]

^indeed....then the pits of hell will open and out comes the man himself.
why all the talk of death....i wish everyone a long life.


Bless

 

[mkrishnan]

Well, funny you should ask. My posting rate actually revolves the world which means when or if I ever stop, the world will consequently stop spinning and life will cease to exist as we know it.

Does this mean that, much like Superman, if you posted backwards, time would also go backwards?

 

[mad jew]

.tuo dnif ot yaw eno ylnO



...ton yltnerappA

​

 

[Clix Pix]

Isn't there already a thread kind of along these lines, something about what would happen if you abruptly disappeared from MR (and presumably your other favorite online haunts)?

 

[mkrishnan]

Isn't there already a thread kind of along these lines, something about what would happen if you abruptly disappeared from MR (and presumably your other favorite online haunts)?

I'm pretty sure there is. I think the original poster disappeared, though.

 

[cslewis]

Good question, but does it really matter? I mean why would the account need to be closed or deleted? No point in in to me.

Well eventually the admins will need to do something. Just look at all of the accounts on the member list that have 0 or 2 or 3 posts. Or the accounts that have been banned or inactive for years. They continue to pile up, eating up space...



Seriously, what happens if you DO die? There's no way for anyone here to know.

 

[grapes911]

Well eventually the admins will need to do something! Just look at all of the accounts on the member list that have 0 or 2 or 3 posts. Or the accounts that have been banned or inactive for years. They continue to pile up, eating up space...

The space they take up is very minimal. As much space as all the rest of the site takes, the members list is probably very small.

And what if you DO die? There's no way for anyone here to know.

That's not always true. There are some members here that know other members outside the forums. Some regally make contact off the forums. Some have know each other before they joined the forums. So, if something happened, it may be known.

 

[cwedl]

Well eventually the admins will need to do something. Just look at all of the accounts on the member list that have 0 or 2 or 3 posts. Or the accounts that have been banned or inactive for years. They continue to pile up, eating up space...



Seriously, what happens if you DO die? There's no way for anyone here to know.

Yeah I know what you mean! It seems as if only 100-200 of us post regularly.

 

[mkrishnan]

The space they take up is very minimal. As much space as all the rest of the site takes, the members list is probably very small.

Yeah, the only problem with this is that it gets more and more difficult, over time, for new people to find straightforward user names, because everything has been "taken." I'm just as guilty of it, getting e-mail addresses I stop using, or "accidentally" registering for one blog site and then deciding I want another one....

But then it's sad to think of shoving off people who're dead! I'm thinking of people who just lost interest.

And as for Lacero, who has disappeared into the mist, we may never know.

 

[StarbucksSam]

You know, I pondered this on occassion. I'm actually going to put it in my will - there is going to be a supplement thereto that I'll have someone very close to me execute. I guess it will just be having people post on the forums I belonged to that I am indeed dead and that I will no longer be there. I know that's a creepy thought since I'm not even 17 yet, but it's definitely something worth thinking about.

Will the world fall apart if you stop showing up online? No. But, people do wonder. I'm sure this subject will become increasingly interesting in the next few years as people who are very active online pass on - the issue will certainly come up more than once.

Anyway, on that note, I wish everyone a long and prosperous life that can be enjoyed with good family, good friends, and good health.