Facebook To Preserve Accounts of the Dead 292
Barence writes "Social-networking site Facebook is planning to preserve the accounts of dead members. The new 'memorialized' accounts will continue to display photos and wall posts, but remove 'sensitive information' such as status updates and contact information. Friends or family who want to report the death of a Facebook member are encouraged to fill out the site's Deceased form. The form asks for proof of death, such as an obituary or news article, although it's not clear how Facebook can validate the death of a member if neither of those pieces of information is published on the internet. How long before someone snuffs it on Facebook before their time?"
Smart move! (Score:5, Funny)
They're making a wise decision: status updates and contact information for dead people pretty much define "sensitive information."
DEADGUY: "Status: Bones yellowed, but still have some structure. Rat finally got away with St. Anthony medallion. Anyone gonna to go the open bar at Styx tonight?!"
timothy
Re:Smart move! (Score:4, Funny)
I went ahead and reported this user [facebook.com] as dead.
Re:Smart move! (Score:5, Funny)
I'd kind of like to see one from someone getting cremated:
"Heh. Dad, I don't know how you knew about them, but I'm glad you didn't let Mom find those Henta- wait... why are you putting those in that box with the rest of your- ewww." 3 hours ago
"Dad! Don't let mom look behind my GRR Martin books on the shelf! It won't end well!" 4 hours ago
"Wait, what are you guys doing with those bags? Why are you going into the basement?!" 4 hours ago
"Sweet, I'm on the mantle." 5 hours ago
"Whew, THAT was odd. I didn't know cremation could be such an experience. Now I'm in a bottle. It better be one of those Star Trek urns [eternalimage.net] like I told them" 8 hours ago
"Whoah, OK, getting a little warm in here. I thought it was November!" 10 hours ago
"OK, on the move finally. I wonder where they're putting me." 12 hours ago
"Hai guyz! I'm in Ur Church, makin you cry lol! LRN2Grieve" 1 day ago
"This is a pretty nice box I'm in. Very comfy! I wish they'd put me in my other suit, though. This one has a tag that always made my neck itch." 2 days ago
"OK, I'm glad embalming is only done once. I'm drained!:-P" 2 days ago
"Status: Dead. lol!" 3 days ago
Re:Smart move! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
So he's kind of like a virus now?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Was he named Dixie Flatline?
Re:Smart move! (Score:5, Funny)
Would it have been possible to copy them to an SD card and bury it in the backyard? That would have been an ... interesting ... way of dealing with the situation.
Re:Smart move! (Score:5, Funny)
Who the hell would want to go to an open bar at Styx?!
First, you'd be surrounded by a bunch of invulnerable drunks. Fun if you're a redneck, but otherwise might become stale quickly. "Hey guys, hold my beer and watch me light my arm on fire!" x1000.
Second, you'd lose your voice for nine years (this is why the Gods swore oaths on the River Styx... if they broak their oath, they had to drink from the river, lose their voices for nine years, then spend another nine years exiled from the council of gods). So then you couldn't even make fun of the drunken invulnerable rednecks.
I'd much rather go to the open bar at Lethe, but no one can ever remember who the designated driver is...
Re:Smart move! (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Doesn't bother me, so long as they don't include them in their "auto-networking" functions. For example, one of my friends who died two years ago came up recently on the list of "people I should reconnect with."
Status updates for a dead person? (Score:4, Insightful)
"Status: Dead"
"Status: Still Dead"
"Status: REAL Dead"
"Status: Excitedly Dead"
"Status: Dead Dead"
Re:Status updates for a dead person? (Score:5, Funny)
Removing that isn't so much privacy as logic. What would it say?
"Status: Dead"
"Status: Still Dead"
"Status: REAL Dead"
"Status: Excitedly Dead"
"Status: Dead Dead"
The Reaper likes this.
Re:Status updates for a dead person? (Score:5, Funny)
Removing that isn't so much privacy as logic. What would it say?
"Status: Dead"
"Status: Still Dead"
"Status: REAL Dead"
"Status: Excitedly Dead"
"Status: Dead Dead"
Status: Zombie. Want BRAAAAAINS
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Status: Very serious, but stable, condition
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
You're forgetting all the other important demographics.
Vampire. Werewolf. Ghost.
And don't forget the reanimation technologies. If you're broght back like Frankensteins monster, do you get a percentage alive (5% live, 80% dead, 15% lunch), or will it go into detail (Left foot and right arm alive, rest still dead)?
Re:Status updates for a dead person? (Score:5, Funny)
I hate to nitpick[1], but a werewolf is not a member of the undead: "they're big and scary, they come from Überwald, and if you stab them with a sword they don't die. What more do you want?" you might ask (and someone from Discworld did ask). But this is slashdot, and pedantry runs rampant.
[1] Who am I kidding? I love to nitpick. It justifies my obsession with reading discussions on slashdot.
Re: (Score:2)
Right... I always wondered why Angua drank in an undead bar
Re:Status updates for a dead person? (Score:5, Funny)
Werewolves aren't undead. I'd replace them in your list with "middle management".
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
(face) Book of the Dead
Re:Status updates for a dead person? (Score:5, Funny)
"So... it's complicated?"
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The Internet delivers: http://www.thelastemail.com/pr/cnn.htm [thelastemail.com]
Re: (Score:2)
i've seen a few services like this. I honestly didn't read up about how this particular one works, but I sure would hate it if the "Hey, are you still alive?" email went to the spam folder and the service sent out all of those emails...
Re:Status updates for a dead person? (Score:4, Funny)
Frank Deceased is now friends with: Wormy Maggot.
Frank Deceased Is it dark in here, or is it just me?
Frank Deceased has shared a link: http://www.city-data.com/forum/religion-philosophy/139511-purgatory-fact-fiction.html [city-data.com]
Frank Deceased /face melt
Frank Deceased sure is quiet down here
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
What if they were Buddhist and believed in reincarnation?
"Status: Possibly a cat"
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
What if they were Buddhist and believed in reincarnation?
"Status: Possibly a cat"
Well, in that case, you most certainly cannot has cheeseburger.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Status: Mostly Dead. Call Miracle Max.
How long? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
2:1 odds it's Kanye West
Re: (Score:2)
I remember the big issue back in february covered on consumerist: http://consumerist.com/5157481/ [consumerist.com] about facebook refusing to delete people's profiles. Just how long do they intend to retain someone's data?
Re: (Score:2)
"I give it......Thursday (tops) before someone is memorialized as a prank."
I give it not much longer before the first "an hero" who suicides in order to be memorialized.
Re: (Score:2)
This was my thought actually, can Facebook really guarantee the layout of every single newspaper article in every single little town across the world to verify if a report of someone being "dead" is real or not?
People are going to get memorialised (sounds scary in itself) left right and centre. I wonder do they have an appeals process for this or do the dead not get appeals because, well, they're dead?
Imagine logging in one day to find you're apparently dead and half your friends are greiving over you, or e
Re: (Score:2)
I can imagine the link at the bottom of the memorialised account:
"If you are Abreu and can prove you are not dead, click here"
Re:How long? (Score:5, Insightful)
I give it......Thursday (tops) before someone is memorialized as a prank.
Well when I first read about it, I immediately thought about which of my friends had a sufficiently generic name that I could find an obituary for him. If I wasn't at work, it'd probably be done by now, so I'd say Thurs is pretty generous.
How long? (Score:2)
How long before someone snuffs it on Facebook before their time?
I'm sure hundreds have already. I'd expect their friends and relatives would appreciate this service, but I wonder how they're going to deal with photoshopped obituaries. I'd expect they'd naturally try to contact the user directly, but what if they're AFK for a number of days or more?
Re: (Score:2)
(apologies for the horrible personal pronoun usage there..)
Re: (Score:2)
No Apologies! You get it right the first time or you face the Gas Chabmer!
*gags*
Re: (Score:2)
What is this, the 1990s? If you're "AFK for a number of days or more"*, you might as well BE dead.
I kid, mostly.
* What exactly is "a number of days or more"? Is that just 'a number bigger than an unspecified other number'?
Re: (Score:2)
Well, typically the selection of units is based on the magnitude of the quantity being measured. You rarely hear "millions of meters", but instead "thousands of kilometers". In the same vein, I would say "a number of days" tops out around 13 or 60, at which point you have "weeks" or "months" to satisfy the "or more" category.
Re:How long? (Score:5, Insightful)
My mom died, and she's on Facebook. I know my dad and other relatives want her off because it keeps suggesting to add her as a friend, which is slightly cruel. I think however the processes of producing a digital obituary notice etc. is a little insensitive - it would be best if the process was as quick and painless as possible. I also very much hope it doesn't suggest "You might know this dead person"
Re: (Score:2)
I assume you don't know her password? If you did, I'm pretty sure you could change her privacy settings so that it didn't allow friend requests anymore.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I have a friend who died this spring and got a suggestion that I "reconnect" with her. Um, no. Thanks.
For Slashdotters (Score:5, Funny)
Be sure and leave a comment on Stephen King's page. Truly an American icon.
Re:For Slashdotters (Score:5, Funny)
Meme? I heard it on the radio this morning.
Re: (Score:2)
And Netcraft confirmed it.
A Good Thing (Score:5, Interesting)
Unconnected friends (Score:2)
I've also thought about how I have some friends who don't know any of my other friends. If either of us died, there would normally be no way for the other to find out about it through the grapevine. But now with Facebook, we would probably find out by seeing other people's wall posts. I think that's actually a valuable service.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I hate this kind of thing. By "keeping a memory alive", and revisiting that memory every day, I feel you can't get past grief, and move on with your life. Parents who keep a shrine, friends who keep facebook pages going forward - are you actually moving through your life?
The person is dead. They don't care anymore about Facebook. Let them fade, remember the good times you shared, and move forward. Honoring someone's memory doesn't mean canonizing them. If that person was the only thing keeping a group
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I suppose you're not big on leaving flowers at people's graves on Memorial Day, either?
It's not like the advent of technology has suddenly made this prolonged parting thing possible.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Everyone grieves in their own way and in their own time. For some a constant reminder of their loved ones is a good thing, for some it is bad. It depends on the person.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Having had a friend die at 21 from a heart defect, then seeing the family's reaction to all the Facebook wall posts and tagged images, I think you're mistaken. The family was grateful for the outpouring of support, and his profile essentially turned into a memorial maintained by the family. They were the ones that requested that everyone add whatever photos they had, and continue posting remembrance messages. Many of the arrangements and a memorial service were announced through Facebook as well.
Re: (Score:2)
Some people will some people won't, I think that's the point of this. For those that do, a family member could/should take responsibility for the page and take possession of the account.
To be fair though, facebook deadpool trolling is going to become a sport.
Dale Jr. Dad's birtday today. We had cake!
Internet Douchebag Have a smashing time!
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Usually you add FRIENDS on facebook. If your friend dies you are likely to say something positive, or meaningful not give 'senseless opinions'. You chose your facebook friends when you are alive, its not like randoms show up when you die. Its not a public forum unless you make it that way.
I think that family and close friends would be the main people participating on a deceased persons facebook page. Maybe you have never used facebook but family and friends are the only people that seem to interact with
Re: (Score:2)
Unlike the rest of the internet, Facebook friends tend to be people who actually know each other in real life. Thus, the only people able to see and/or comment on the dead person's page will be people the dead person considered to be friends or acquaintances at least. Usually these people know each other as well, friend groups tend to be mutual.
Thus, you're far less likely to get the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory [penny-arcade.com] taking effect, because there's no anonymity involved.
Re:A Good Thing (Score:5, Insightful)
Here's a novel idea... It isn't up to her family. It is up to her. Facebook should make the post-mortem page an opt-in service, and then not allow anyone to interfere with the wishes of the deceased.
Re: (Score:2)
Ahh.. more data in support of John Gabriel's G.I.F.T. [penny-arcade.com]
Wall Posts (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Accounts of the Dead (Score:2)
Did anyone else think "Accounts of the Dead" would be a great George Romero movie?
DeathBook (Score:2)
Na, call the movie "DeathBook"
plot: someone tells Facebook that you are dead and HOW you die by a freak accident. Then, within 24 hours, that said freak accident REALLY kills you.
Quick! somebody create a DeathBook.com web site!
somewhat amusing... (Score:2)
But ... (Score:2)
... I'm not dead yet ... He's only Mostly Dead ... Braaaaaainnsssssss
They always did this... (Score:2)
On a limited basis; are they now going to be preserving the account forever?
It was something like 60 days IIRC (probably 30 or 90 given my memory). After this period of time, the account would be deleted.
Does it lock down access to? (Score:3, Funny)
People won't bother to claim they died if it means it locks them out of their account as well.
After all, a real dead person can't update his/her status.
Next Up: (Score:5, Funny)
EH? (Score:2)
didn't this come up before, and there were serious privacy violations/other issues involving facebook trying to keep up dead people's profiles? I don't remember if it was a celebrity thing.
Does Abe Vigoda have a Facebook page? (Score:5, Funny)
http://www.abevigoda.com/ffb.php [abevigoda.com]
Mark Twain's (Score:4, Funny)
Please tell me... (Score:2)
that I'm not the only one who finds this creepy. But what do I know, I'm one of those curmudgeons that don't use any social networking sites. I just really hope that they allow relatives of deceased people to not just move accounts of the dead to the Facebook Cemetery, but also to have them removed completely. Maybe relatives don't want the deceased person's posts and pics to be available to everyone forever. Heck, maybe the deceased person themselves wanted his or her account removed in case of death.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Heck, maybe the deceased person themselves wanted his or her account removed in case of death.
Guess they should have thought of that before they created their Facebook account. :-/
According to his Facebook page (Score:2)
Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still valiantly holding on in his fight to remain dead.
Status update (Score:2)
My Brother's MySpace Account. (Score:5, Interesting)
When I found out that my brother had cancer, one of the first things that I did was talk to my dad about getting account info for his email and MySpace page. Matt never moved over to Facebook. When he died, we were able to send a message to his friends, and let people know what happened. A friend of his set up a FaceBook group to remember him. It has been a huge help to read stories and good thoughts from the people who knew him. I am glad that FaceBook is doing this.
Rest in Peace Matt.
Hotblack Desiato's status: (Score:2, Funny)
Dead for tax purposes.
How long before posthumous postings are allowed? (Score:2)
Suppose I give my password to a sibling. Can the account still be accessed? As an atheist, I would be amused if my brother updated a facebook entry maybe once a year on my birthday. "Still dead. Still no sign of god."
Re: (Score:2)
So, you believe in the afterlife, or you mean you'd be amused, if you were still around to care...
Watch the network decay! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
It would look like a mandelbrot set
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
what a spin (Score:5, Insightful)
>> Social-networking site Facebook is planning to preserve the accounts of dead members. The new 'memorialized' accounts will continue to display photos and wall posts, but remove 'sensitive information' such as status updates and contact information.
So... basically what you are saying is Facebook's new data retention policy is "we retain your data forever, no excuses."
No more reconnects with dead friends, aww (Score:2, Interesting)
This isn't a DOS attack. (Score:2)
Snuffing it on facebook before your time is not much of an issue, as they explicitly don't disable the account's ability to actually log in. If you wake up one day to find out you're dead, you can still log in, and that provides a pretty decent avenue for contesting the claim.
And I'd rather not go into how I know.
Re: (Score:2)
Lemme guess - You're Jesus and after Your resurrection Facebook screwed you over?
I'm not dead yet (Score:3, Funny)
ob: Monty Python
I'm not dead yet!
Yes he is.
No I'm not.
Is there something you can do?
[thwack]
Timing (Score:5, Insightful)
Facebook to preserve accounts of the dead
Does it feel inappropriate that they announce this right before Halloween?
Hello, shark (Score:3, Funny)
That thing jumping over you is a web2 remnant....
I'm certain twitter will have an auto twat service for the dead. "This twit is no more" "He has ceased to be". .....
Cybernetic Zombies and Vampires (Score:2)
Well, I guess this opens up a new field in horror writing!
how long will this last (Score:2)
Invitation from beyond (Score:2)
RIP Sheldon Brown [wikipedia.org]
Why use obituaries? (Score:2)
Why on earth are they proposing to use obituaries? Instead, they should be thinking in terms of the normal documentation required when winding up someone's estate after they die; a death certificate or a notarized copy of one. This isn't as big a hassle as all that, since the executors have to handle all this stuff anyway in order to sort out the deceased's financial affairs...
...obituary or news article... (Score:2)
That is not proof of death. A registered death certificate is proof of death.
estate property (Score:2)
This sounds like a nice idea, but I have to wonder about the estate and inheritance laws issues around this. Any lawyers out there care to speculate on whether you can leave your FB (or other site) account to someone in your will? Should the executor of your estate be granted access to the page to leave updates?
Should be an option (Score:2)
They should have a setting in the user profile for what to do if you're reported dead. I'd personally prefer that the account be "disappeared" - same as deleted but the data kept there in case the death report was a prank or something, so I wouldn't lose all my data.
Or maybe someone wants the data to be kept there but everything locked.
Internet Immortality (Score:2)
Re:as a nice touch.. (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe they'll let the family customize it. I know I wouldn't want one of my parents to have a black & white memorial page, but I'm sure some people might find it to be an appropriate touch.
Re: (Score:2)
Actually that's not a bad idea, if they made like 80% of that go to the family and skimmed 20% off for themselves I'd call that fair.
Re: (Score:2)
Facebook is now the only way I hear or know about some members of my extended family and old friends
Who tricked you into thinking that having only web based contact with old friends was somehow worthwhile? I can see using a web app to commumicate with real friends and family on top of other channels, but if someone has drifted so far out of your life that facebook is the only way you get any news on them... why bother? If it was your mom or brother I'd get it... but extended family you've only ever seen on
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Yes, but it will be changed to indicate that you are poking them with a stick.