If You Die, Who Will Tell Your WoW Guild Friends?
If You Die, Who Will Tell Your WoW Guild Friends?
March 16, 2009
Online game guilds and clans often become something of a second family for devoted players.
But if a WoW gamer unexpectedly dies, how will fellow guildies know?
The Associated Press looks into the issue:
When Jerald Spangenberg collapsed and died in the middle of a quest in an online game, his daughter embarked on a quest of her own: to let her father's gaming friends know that he hadn't just decided to desert them.
It wasn't easy, because she didn't have her father's "World of Warcraft" password and the game's publisher couldn't help her. Eventually, Melissa Allen Spangenberg reached her father's friends by asking around online for the "guild" he belonged to.
The AP notes that some hardcore MMO types are leaving detailed instructions in the event of their demise. There are even online resources that have been created for the purpose:
David Eagleman... set up a site called Deathswitch, where people can set up e-mails that will be sent out automatically if they don't check in at intervals they specify, like once a week...
If Deathswitch sounds morbid, there's an alternative site: Slightly Morbid. It also sends e-mail when a member dies, but doesn't rely on them logging in periodically while they're alive. Instead, members have to give trusted friends or family the information needed to log in to the site and start the notification process...
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GamePolitics ShoutBox
Posted 03/19/10 at 01:50am
hayabusa75: Flamespeak: Shhh, the Dems might hear you ;)
hayabusa75: Flamespeak: Shhh, the Dems might hear you ;)
Posted 03/18/10 at 09:41pm
ZippyDSMlee: And not taxing the 30-500K bracket so much, sure you make 500K at the end of the year add in life thats minus 200K add in the company you made there's another 200K.
ZippyDSMlee: And not taxing the 30-500K bracket so much, sure you make 500K at the end of the year add in life thats minus 200K add in the company you made there's another 200K.
Posted 03/18/10 at 09:39pm
ZippyDSMlee: Flamespeak: we should be taxing the ultra rich alot more(those that have more than 10 million in wealth),.
ZippyDSMlee: Flamespeak: we should be taxing the ultra rich alot more(those that have more than 10 million in wealth),.
Posted 03/18/10 at 08:04pm
Flamespeak: I never understood why someone should work hard to get a lot of money, just to be punished with more taxes for doing so.
Flamespeak: I never understood why someone should work hard to get a lot of money, just to be punished with more taxes for doing so.
Posted 03/18/10 at 06:44pm
hayabusa75: Isn't the upper class supposed to be footing most of this bill?
hayabusa75: Isn't the upper class supposed to be footing most of this bill?
Posted 03/18/10 at 06:05pm
Austin_Lewis: Of course, that ignores the fact that for the next 4 years, the people will be taxed without 'benefit' from the bill.
Austin_Lewis: Of course, that ignores the fact that for the next 4 years, the people will be taxed without 'benefit' from the bill.
Posted 03/18/10 at 06:04pm
Austin_Lewis: If we go by the CBO's past estimation failures, they're about 300% short on the actual cost.
Austin_Lewis: If we go by the CBO's past estimation failures, they're about 300% short on the actual cost.
Posted 03/18/10 at 05:21pm
ZippyDSMlee: *punt*Roll call, whos on and how are you doing?
ZippyDSMlee: *punt*Roll call, whos on and how are you doing?
Posted 03/18/10 at 12:07pm
JDKJ: No, I did you the favor and said it for you.
JDKJ: No, I did you the favor and said it for you.
Posted 03/18/10 at 12:06pm
Valdearg: What I said was while I may have implied long term accuraccy, and that might have been incorrect, my greater point that the CBO report calculated reduced deficits, expanded coverage, and lower costs is still 100% accurate. :D
Valdearg: What I said was while I may have implied long term accuraccy, and that might have been incorrect, my greater point that the CBO report calculated reduced deficits, expanded coverage, and lower costs is still 100% accurate. :D
Posted 03/18/10 at 12:06pm
Valdearg: Like any good politician, I don't believe I said "I was incorrect." :P
Valdearg: Like any good politician, I don't believe I said "I was incorrect." :P
Posted 03/18/10 at 12:02pm
JDKJ: If you'd said "I was incorrect" 10 shouts ago, I'd have quit twisting your arm to get you see the obvious 10 shouts ago.
JDKJ: If you'd said "I was incorrect" 10 shouts ago, I'd have quit twisting your arm to get you see the obvious 10 shouts ago.
Posted 03/18/10 at 12:00pm
JDKJ: You were they one assuming 100% accuracy. In all caps, no less.
JDKJ: You were they one assuming 100% accuracy. In all caps, no less.
Posted 03/18/10 at 11:59am
Valdearg: Yes, my implication that the long term estimates were facts was incorrect, but the short term calculations are absolutely facts, and even the long term estimates are still useful in attempting to determine exactly what will happen with the bill.
Valdearg: Yes, my implication that the long term estimates were facts was incorrect, but the short term calculations are absolutely facts, and even the long term estimates are still useful in attempting to determine exactly what will happen with the bill.
Posted 03/18/10 at 11:58am
Valdearg: I do. The Short term costs are actually calculated facts. The long term estimates aren't necessarily 100% accurate, but to assume that they can't possibly be accurate because someone said they might not be 100% accurate is also wrong.
Valdearg: I do. The Short term costs are actually calculated facts. The long term estimates aren't necessarily 100% accurate, but to assume that they can't possibly be accurate because someone said they might not be 100% accurate is also wrong.
Posted 03/18/10 at 11:57am
JDKJ: When someone says, "I could be wrong but, as best as I can tell, X," X ain't a fact.
JDKJ: When someone says, "I could be wrong but, as best as I can tell, X," X ain't a fact.
Posted 03/18/10 at 11:53am
JDKJ: It's too early in the morning for you to be deaf, blind, and dumb drunk. A "my best guestimate" can't be a fact. Don't you understand the difference between the two?
JDKJ: It's too early in the morning for you to be deaf, blind, and dumb drunk. A "my best guestimate" can't be a fact. Don't you understand the difference between the two?
Posted 03/18/10 at 11:41am
Valdearg: By how much depends on variables that can't necessarily be predicted at this point in time. And yes, those Facts are accurate only so far into the future, but those estimates can certainly be used to support this measure.
Valdearg: By how much depends on variables that can't necessarily be predicted at this point in time. And yes, those Facts are accurate only so far into the future, but those estimates can certainly be used to support this measure.
Posted 03/18/10 at 11:40am
Valdearg: And I'm saying, as far as the CBO report goes, the facts that it does put forward are deficit reduction, reducing costs, and expanding costs. Those ARE facts.
Valdearg: And I'm saying, as far as the CBO report goes, the facts that it does put forward are deficit reduction, reducing costs, and expanding costs. Those ARE facts.
Posted 03/18/10 at 11:30am
JDKJ: You were the one championing a qualified estimate as an indisputable fact. I'm merely pointing out that it's far from indisputable. So says the estimator.
JDKJ: You were the one championing a qualified estimate as an indisputable fact. I'm merely pointing out that it's far from indisputable. So says the estimator.
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
fainaly it's adressed so that your online freinds can know if you have past on
This is something I thought about during HALO2, played with this one guy who told me that if he wasn't on at least once a week that he was dead, he stopped playing a month after have not seen or heard from him since.
This is one of the reasons I fundamentally disagree with the rule of "never give out your password, even to loved ones" that many MMOs have.
Of course, I understand why.. even people you love can decide to mess with your game.
But ultimately, things happen, if you can't trust your wife not to use your password wrong.. you have something wrong with your relationship.
"We never paid any heed to the ancient prophecies... Like fools we clung to the old hatreds, and fought as we had for generations"
Just have a sealed envelope with instructions to only be opened upon your death. Inside you can have all the usernames and passwords for all the games and websites you visit. That way loved ones can alert your friends and close all your accounts.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma
Unless you change your password in between making the envelope and dying. :)
/b
Or unless one of those accoubnts is a Second Life account, may not want people seeing that shit. ^^;
Why do I see this article backfiring somehow.....?
I've always wondered this, ever since a huge hubbub on a forum I used to belong to... a user's sister came on and claimed she'd passed away from complications of diabetes. Everyone just assumed it was a hoax... but what if it wasn't?
I have real friends online that I would want to know if I died.
Similar thing happened to me in an MMO guild I was in.. someone my wife and I got on with very well, and her husband, vanished.
Months later a guildie stumbles accross a newspaper ad of them dying in extremely tragic circumstances.
Suppose at least we know what happened :/
"We never paid any heed to the ancient prophecies... Like fools we clung to the old hatreds, and fought as we had for generations"
hehe, good point
It's a good idea. When I was GL of a guild in WoW, my mother was dying of cancer. That made me think of my own mortality, and what would happen to the 60+ members of my guild if I croaked. I mean, aside from me suddenly not doing my duties or my friends needing to know what happened, there's also the fact that to remove me from the Guild Leader position, they'd have to disband the guild and start over.
I typed up instructions for my family and left it in an envelope in the computer desk, letting them know that it existed. Considering that my family is "gamer illiterate," I had to be very specific. From how to log on, how to open guildchat, how to type a message, how to respond to questions, and how to assign someone else as Guild Leader. Then it got really technical. How to use a hearthstone, how to find and empty the Bank, how to find a vendor and sell off everything, how to find a mailbox, and finally how to send all my gold to an officer in the guild! Yeesh! Finally, how to discontinue the account. Getting your affairs in order in a virtual world is as complicated as it is in the real world.
I also had instructions on how to tell people in a couple forums that I frequented, but I ended up removing those, since most people on a forum wouldn't believe it. Nowadays, I don't play MMOs, so I don't need to keep the instructions at all.
But Slightly Morbid sounds like a good idea.
Well.. technically, any Guild Leader can be removed and the position given to another Guild member by the GMs if the account has been inactive for 30 days.
But.. get your point :)
"We never paid any heed to the ancient prophecies... Like fools we clung to the old hatreds, and fought as we had for generations"
Unfortunately, this won't be understood by any outside the gaming community. To many, especially in older generations, the idea of having meaningful relationships via an MMO or even simply online is alien.
If I left an envelope with instructions on how to notify any guild I happened to belong to my wife would probably do it. But my parents? No way. They simply wouldn't get that I really did have friendships with these people despite never actually meeting.
For many outside the gamer community a person arguing that they have real friends online is akin to saying:
"I live in my parent's basement. I have no social skills. I have no human contact. I live through this game. I'm totally addicted and the game is to blame!"
To this group having actual friends via a game is an indictment of the game. It means that you have sacrificed "real" friendship for "fake" friendship.
The thing is though, with more sites like Facebook becoming just as important as any single game, more and more people are going to treat their online lives, no matter what form it takes, as just an extension of their offline life. So, I see this as perfectly logical and reasonable for people to leave instructions.
I've actually thought about this kind of thing before. Not WoW specifically, but I have clan members that I'd like to let them know if something happened and give out my gear or.... somethin along those lines.
I have a few real-life friends who have connections with the online communities they frequent. Some of which are friends with my other real-life friends.
Should I ever pass away, hopefully the news will spread and said connected friends can let my online friends know. From there it's not too long before all of my online friends get the news and know why I haven't gone on IRC or forums or whatever in weeks.