Apr 26 2007
Death on the Internet
An online acquaintance died yesterday. Hearing about the death of someone I know always leaves me feeling disoriented, but this one was particularly shocking since she was only a little older than I, and like many people, I associate death with old age. It really goes to show how unpredictable life is and how anyone can die anytime in a countless number of ways.
It also made me wonder how many abandoned sites out there belonged to people who have died. Not that I’ve never thought about that before, though. In fact, a couple of years ago I gave my FTP password to my friend Chrissa, along with instructions to post a quirky and light-hearted death announcement on my site just in case it’s still around when I die. Something morbid but funny and maybe even cute, I told her. Tall order? Nah. If anyone can pull that off, it’s Chrissa.
I mean, she wasn’t even weirded out by my request, as I’m sure my other friends would have been had I asked them instead. She actually likes the idea — at least enough to give me access to her LJ account every time she travels abroad, so I can do the same for her should her plane crash. (Hopefully I will never have to.)
This reminds me, I need to update her on a couple of password changes I’ve made since migrating to WordPress. Hey, it’s better to be prepared.
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Amanda 04.26.07 #
Oh wow. :S I’m so sorry to hear that.
It does make you wonder though…how would we ever know if an online acquaintance died? No one knows my passwords…and for all purposes, I would simply be gone. It’s scary to think about.
Amber 04.26.07 #
I’m so sorry. That does make me wonder what would happen if I died though; I don’t even think my parents know my website address let a lone my passwords. I could only hope on my friend to do something like that.
It would seem a shame to simply disappear and for no one to know what happened.
Kimmie 04.26.07 #
I am sorry for your loss.
My boyfriend has all of my passwords to everything, and I to all of his stuff. If something were to happen to one of us, the other could take care of his / her online business at least.
Rose 04.27.07 #
I’ve actually asked people to do that too (leave a message on my site) I was inspired to when Cece died (she was hosted at aquatique.net/cece - don’t know if you remember that or how the site was kept up for quite some time in memory…)
Rafia 04.27.07 #
I’m so sorry to hear this.
I’ve always wondered about abandoned sites and if the owners had died. I’ve had some online friends that said that just stopped updating everything and that worried me a little. Maybe they didn’t want to do the site thing anymore, or maybe it was something else :/
Bubs 04.28.07 #
I’m sorry about your friend.
I recently told my boyfriend to MAKE SURE he posted a note on my website if something were to happen to me. I would hate for my readers and friends to think I simply vanished from the net.
Izza 04.28.07 #
O_o Who died? Anyone you’ve ever told me about? Wow, how… scary. I don’t think it’s good to read about this just when I’m about to fly again tonight. *gets paranoid* Anyway, in case something happens, you know what to do.
katherine 04.29.07 #
that’s sad news…
and that makes me realize that no one else knows my passwords for my blogs or emails… O_O Mm.. I don’t think I want to give it to anyone… ^^;
Susie 04.30.07 #
Oh my, I’m so sorry your friend died.
I’ve never really thought about abandoned sites belonging to people who died, but I suppose it is possible. That would be terrible though. If something happened to me, I’d want someone to let my online friends know.