Dealing with Deaths in an Online Community

Sometimes you hear that a member of a frequented forum or other online community has passed away. Even if you didn't know the person in real life this can be disheartening. When there is no hard proof of a persons death this can bring about many questions. Sometimes people can even suspect a hoax.

Often times you will find that when someone dies who was an active member of an online community, a friend or family member of the deceased will log into their account and notify online friends. In cases like this it would be nice to have the community staff do some sort of validation. You may feel that everyone there has no need to know the details of the deceased necessarily. People deserve a right to privacy even in their graves and the last thing you would want to do is annoy a grieving family member that brought the bad news.

Regardless, the community may feel that they have a right to know if or when they are being had. Even in cases where everyone in the community would agree that a certain member would never pull such a stunt. After all, who is to say their account wasn't compromised or computer stolen? Some may feel that there is middle ground between inconsiderate and fool. It's not a sin to be skeptical of something you're told on the internet. Asking politely for proof, or asking staff to validate the claim isn't considered disrespectful to some. It is always comforting if a staff member can give you more information but they are not required to. Some people believe that in cases where the death can be validated that it is not inconsiderate to politely ask the family member for some sort of proof. It is possible that an obituary or news article exists relating to the death and links to this information can ease the minds of online friends. It is understandable though that the family member might not want to go through that whole process while they are still mourning.

And what about the people who couldn't care less either way? Death is a way of life and happens everyday, every hour, and every second. It might be a tragic happening but some community members won't be grieving for anyone they don't know that just happens to have play the same online game as them, no matter how great of a person he/she was. This can make handling the death even harder for staff.

In most cases, people believe that it is better to be thought gullible and feel like a fool than to be inconsiderate, and know you are a fool. It is difficult to get cut-and-dry information over the internet when it comes to the personal affairs of an online friend. It can be best to send along your condolences and move on.