Ghosts in the Machines (What Happens to Your Online Self When You Die?)

Baltimore City Paper ^ | June 30, 2004 | Ryan Boddy

[BluegrassScholar]

Hmmm...all we are is dust in the wind...er, server.

[danneskjold]

AfterImage Bump...

[Izzy Dunne]

Web browsers have to sift through oceans of data left behind by the dead.

Wouldn't it be nice to view the history of George Washington or Abe Lincoln, or Albert Einstein?
Who they talked to, what bands theyu listened to, who their idols were?

OK, maybe not.

[spodefly]

I, spodefly, being of sound mind and body do hereby bequeath my online presence to the cumulative entity known as the internet. And my collection of cereal toys.

[hispanarepublicana]

FReepers never die. They just get Moved to Chat, if they've lived right and ZOT!ted if they haven't.

[cripplecreek]

The history of mankind from about 1995 on will be incredibly detailed.

[hispanarepublicana]

PS: Personally, if I were to die, I'd like Free Republic and FReepers to engage in a proper wake for me, complete with FReepers getting so drunk, that they have no hope of correctly typing "Hispanarepublicana." Hell, I can barely do it sober, and it's my own FR name!

[radiohead]

This is interesting stuff. A number of people at my school do research on online communities - who participates, why, why the communities develop, are maintained or fade away, etc. This isn't just an academic interest - firms also have researchers determining who's in their online communities and why.

Damn, I may have to revise my proposal...

[brothers4thID]

I recently made arrangments with a fellow FReeper to notify you all in case of my untimely demise. Seemed like a good thing to do at the time but now I'm wondering it wasn't a bit morbid.

[Billthedrill]

When I die I'm going to bequeath my FR nick to someone deserving, someone luminous, someone capable of maintaining the high Drill standards of posting so that no one here will be devastated by my loss.

I wonder if Charlie Manson's available?

[hispanarepublicana]

During the post-2000-election hijack by Al Gore, I became ADDICTED to the MSNBC bulletin board having to do with the election. I was "Grasshopper."
About half-way through the whole deal, I discovered Free Republic and ABANDONED MSNBC.
It would have been so much easier on me if I'd discovered FR sooner.

[Krodg]

PS: Personally, if I were to die, I'd like Free Republic and FReepers to engage in a proper wake for me, complete with FReepers getting so drunk, that they have no hope of correctly typing "Hispanarepublicana." Hell, I can barely do it sober, and it's my own FR name!

Since we're all going to die someday, we could just have one mass Freeper wake now.

Here's to FReepers past, present and future!

[hispanarepublicana]

I wonder if Charlie Manson's available?

How do you know he's not already on here? Think "image of a host on the sun," etc.

[olde north church]

I have set up a "foundation" of sorts to continue my legacy into the Internet ether ocean. Is it self absorbed? Nah. I'm programming my sense of humor and other emotional responses.
If I people didn't have the irrational fear of science, I would be setting myself up to be cloned.

[JRandomFreeper]

A proper wake takes time. And is best when the decedent isn't quite, yet. Shouldn't we start now?

Not that I'm looking for an excuse to party.... After all, it's Thursday. ;>)

/john

[Happygal]

Now THIS is what you call a Zot! ;-)

[The Scourge of Yazid]

Hmmm...

Now why hadn't I thought of that?

[hispanarepublicana]

I say we start now!!! Ya'll go on and talk amongst yourselves about what a good egg I was/am. Drinks are on me/in me.

[JudyB1938]

Thank you once again for doing the FReeper Memorial Wall.

[TexKat]

I declare my next online self as ZOT, with ALL zoting powers.

I will be everywhere, zotting at will. ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT

ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT ZOT

LMAO