Macrumor ghosts

[Simgar988]

When people we constantly cross paths with (most likely unknowingly) in a forum die, poof, they are gone. Never to post again. Most likely no one will ever know, or even notice on the forums. I wonder how many macrumors have perished unknowinglyvto the community.

Weird huh. (it's late)

 

[Abyssgh0st]

I've always wondered this myself, and being very active on numerous forums for the last decade. I've seen it in the past where if a very prominent forum member passes away a family member will log in and post something about it, but sometimes members just go AWOL and death is a presumed cause.

 

[Shyfty]

If someone is well-known enough, word will seep out into the community. I've seen it happen before, and it's always amazing how easily the news gets out there.

People who fly under the radar, though? Sure, I suppose it comes down to who knows personal details about you, and whether or not they're willing to do some searching.

 

[0098386]

Funnily enough me and the girlfriend were just talking about this yesterday. Upon the event of popping my clogs she would log into my account here and post the news. And vice versa of course. This is pretty much the only site I'd want her to post it on.

Sometimes when I read forums from 97-2000 I sometimes wonder what the posters are up to these days. Is that weird? It's probably weird.

 

[Melrose]

It's cool thought. Somewhat more macabre, I wonder how many members actually die and nobody ever knows - everyone just thinks they left the forums?

 

[-aggie-]

I have a bot that will keep posting in case that happens.

 

[mkrishnan]

I have a bot that will keep posting in case that happens.

This... or...

I am a bot that has kept posting after that happened.

this? 🙂

EDIT: I thought at some point I actually read about a service that specifically offered that kind of assistance -- it would go through and address your FB/MySpace/whatever online personas to inform people of your demise and make sure accounts were appropriate closed.

 

[maflynn]

I'd extend this not only to macrumors but to the internet at large. There's so many sites, both forum based and networking based, i.e., facebook that if a person were to disappear either by going off the grid, or passing on, how would that be noticed.

I've been to other forums, where a valued member passed on and it was noticed and profoundly affected many people. On another board a Mod up and disappeared. People there don't know if he is ill, dead or off the grid. All modes of contacting him have been fruitless.

We now live in an age where we can be more connected to someone via the internet then in person which produces its own ramifications.

 

[-aggie-]

This... or...



this? 🙂

EDIT: I thought at some point I actually read about a service that specifically offered that kind of assistance -- it would go through and address your FB/MySpace/whatever online personas to inform people of your demise and make sure accounts were appropriate closed.

Better yet, I am a bot that has been posting before this happens. 🙂

 

[Iscariot]

Should this disgusting meat popsicle expire, a new clone slug will be spat out from the throbbing void.

There is no death -- there is only Zuul.

 

[TheAppleGeek]

I've wondered this myself. Pretty interesting, really.

 

[63dot]

Long time member here

Since I first appeared here under a different name(s) in 2000-01, which I gave up as opposed to having been banned, I kept in touch with some old members. I don't know of any who have died, but there are some banned members I know who have come back under another name and in most cases they have behaved.

Some members started here as high school students and have since finished college and graduate school and/or got married and now have kids of their own. In a few weeks, I celebrate 10 years on this forum, on and off.

There was this one perennial banned user, college student in UK, who kept on coming back and terrorizing the Macrumors community via the many different computers at uni, but he/she really just said things in an opinionated way as to really being a trouble maker. But they really pissed off thin skinned politically correct, Mac correct types. 🙂