Update: Reddit Suicide Lawsuit Is a Hoax

[infinity_turtles]

From the sounds of it his ex-wife probably had a lot more to do with this then Reddit. If he'd received more positive feedback and support from Reddit maybe he wouldn't have done it, which is sad, but I doubt they're what pushed him over the edge.

Still, a sad case.

 

[Something Amyss]

I'm going to be honest here. I hate anonymity. That is what leads to this kind of crap.

Well then, "80Maxwell08", go ahead and reveal your identity right here. Put your money where your mouth is. And not just "My name is Frank Carpenter", we need verification. IDs are so easy to spoof. And since your a principle man, take your ID or driver's license or something, hold it next to your face with a note that says: for The Escapist.
And please no "Everybody has to do it!"-nonsense, if real names aren't bad, how could it possibly hurt you?

Anonymous posting has a lot of bad side-effects, most notable that people become more aggressive, sarcastic, wise-cracking and know-it-all'y. But removing this will destroy the open discussion culture of the internet.
A web forum isn't a pub where you can sit on a table and talk life with your pals.
It's a recorded conversation that just about EVERYBODY can eavesdrop in for the foreseeable future.

Yes, because Maxwell is acting with impunity in a negative manner. Therefore, him voluntarily giving up his identity will solve the problem!

Oh, wait.

 

[godofslack]

There is a lot of hindsight blaming of those involved, but you fail to factor in any perspective. They couldn't of possibly known that it was serious, and frankly, if I had to hazard a guess, most such posts aren't. Was telling someone to jump off a building a nice thing to do? Certainly not, but most people assumed it wasn't serious, and I wouldn't of either. If I read that I wouldn't comment or maybe leave a "Oh no don't do it" and forget about it instantly. I can't see any way in which they can be criminally responsible for his death, excluding the Ex-wife of course who should REALLY know better. If you know someone personally you can judge these things, as real or a poor joke, but for someone anonymous on the internet it's unreasonable.

It's really easy to demand that someone pays for this, it's really easy to strip people of their anonymity because they said some stupid things, but I honestly do think that keeping the internet a free and safe medium (a bit of a strawman, I know) is more important than answering this witch hunt. Everyone has had someone say rude things to them on the internet, and most of us have said rude things to another, when someone can be sent to court for an insult of non-libelous nature, it effectively destroys the internet's anonymity.

 

[80Maxwell08]

EDIT: Removed both of my posts here.

 

[frizzlebyte]

I don't think Reddit should be held *liable* for their users actions, but they should be required to give the personal information to the authorities in this case, and I think that some sort of charges should be filed against these despicable people who would goad a man who was clearly in crisis.

Should such actions be taken for every case of "trash-talk"? No, that is ridiculous, but this is a wee bit different.

 

[Merlark]

its called free will people, if I tell someone to go kill themselves and they do it that doesn't mean I have any responsibility for it.

I support suicide. If you want to kill yourself, that's fine with me. Perhaps it doesn't need to be encouraged, it is still a mean thing to say. but since when am I required to encourage other people to live? I have problems like everyone else, life for allot of people is terrible. Who am I to stand here and say, no you should live because...It's worth living? its an opinion.

I am so sick of these weak minded people shouting on roof tops, television or the internet for reasons to not do something stupid. Do these human beings do not know that there are people who get trained and paid to deal with these problems?

Why state, hey I'm going to kill myself on the internet? unless your tweeting a therapist I really don't see the point of it.

I don't know that person, but I'm glad they are dead. This is Darwinism at work, Yes it is not easy when a love one dies. Who can truly understand WHY someone decides to take their own life. but if its because he did it to spite people on the internet...well some how I really believe it was a little more than that.

Yet some puke lawyer is suddenly saying we don't legally have the ability to be responsible for our own lives, its other peoples fault?

I think if these people get convicted I might kill myself. whats the point of living when I am responsible for thinking for other people? I'm pretty sure I'd be doomed for failure judging by what happens so far.

When not caring becomes a crime, ready my cell.

 

[Snow Fire]

They shouldn't be charged, and the case should be dismissed right out. Those comments had, more than likely, nothing to do with this suicide, he already planned to kill himself before the comments were made. It's more likely that he was in a weakened state of mind caused by severe depression. Punishing people, who probably thought he wasn't serious, would be wrong in itself. Punishing these people will do nothing, it won't bring the deceased back, nor will it grant any closure.

 

[DEAD34345]

No, I can't even bring myself to hate the people who egged him on.

The man was suicidal, and I doubt a couple of comments by Reddit users are what pushed him over the edge. Even if they were, I still wouldn't put the blame on those users, I'd put the blame on whatever caused him to be so unstable in the first place. The only thing I consider them to be guilty of is bad taste, as telling someone to commit suicide is a little low even if you do think it's a joke.

This is just an unfortunate thing that has happened, and I doubt any specific person can be blamed for it (though of course without understanding the victim's personal situation, I can't know that for sure).

 

[Mrsoupcup]

Yet another reason to sterilize humanity of the reddit community.

This is like the third time I have heard this happen.

 

[antipunt]

Doesn't really surprise me to be honest. 'Suicide' is a really complex problem. On one hand, you have people who enjoy whining for attention; but equally present, are those we are legitimately suffering from mental trauma that they cannot break out of (aka: clinical depression). Depending on your personal biases, people will choose one interpretation over the other given a first impression. Personally, I just choose to stay far away as possible, because I don't want to make things worse. Believe me, I want the best for them. But depression is so powerful, the only thing I can do is recommend psychotherapy/psychiatry and hope for the best. It's the same reaction I get when I see homeless people. Futile sympathy.

 

[McMullen]

Unfortunate death... check.

Community outrage... check.

Knee-jerk call for hastily-considered legislation... check.

Erosion of freedom... continuing.

If these people can be held responsible for causing a person's suicide, then so can landlords, banks, spouses, significant others, family members, schoolmates, or anyone else who can give a person a bad enough day that they make it their last.

Were these people assholes? Yes. Were they responsible for the man's death? No. The man was responsible for his own death. Suicide is a choice, and though the assholes contributed to the outcome of the choice, they cannot be held responsible for another man's choice. In a world gone as insane as some people here want it to be, if I was feeling spiteful enough I could just off myself and blame it on whoever I'm pissed at, and it would work.

Look, let's keep some perspective here. You're making the same mistake people often make with sensational deaths. If thousands die every year because of smoking or fatty foods, no one really gets worked up about it. If a couple thousand die in an unprecedented and so far unrepeated incident because of terrorism, then we panic so thoroughly that we start tossing out individual freedoms. Same insane principle at work here. Why don't you ban smoking for the sake of those thousands of people a year before tearing down internet privacy for the sake of the handful of people in an entire decade who, at the suggestion of trolls, take their own lives?

 

[bit_crusherrr]

Doesn't surprise me. It was only recently Reddit announced they where "regretfully" banning pictures of underage girls in next to nothing.

 

[Threeseventyfive]

snip

^^^ THIS

It is a tragic story, but the Reddit users are not at fault for his death.

I believe that the Reddit users have, or at least should have a right to troll.

EDIT: disregard former post

 

[jthm]

What's funny is that suicide mockery actually saved me. I was seriously depressed for several years upon discovern 4chan in 2004. I happened across a thread in which someone was threatening suicide and the denizens of anonymous were gleefully encouraging it. The memes, the callous responses, the funny gif images got me laughing so hard at the prospect of suicide that I started thinking rationally about how ludicrous it would be to kill myself. If any guilt is found in this case, I propose that we track down the dozens of people on that thread and creators of the gifs and honor them the same way we would honor a civilian talking someone down off of a ledge.

tl;dr. It's no one's fault when someone offs themselves except for the person who did it.

 

[Zen Toombs]

Wait wait wait, stop the presses.

Being a soulless human being is wrong?

 

[Invadergray]

Why is it that whenever someone is held accountable for something they do on the internet, people assume it heralds the end of free speech (and the coming of SOPA)?

 

[Gilhelmi]

I'm going to be honest here. I hate anonymity. That is what leads to this kind of crap. If people's real names were used on these things then maybe they would think twice before telling someone to off themselves. If a bill went through that said people couldn't be anonymous on the internet anymore (to limits of course I'm not saying you have to show everything you do) I would be all for it.

I give an 'Amen Brother' to this.

I do dislike Anonymity, I can honestly say that I have never posted something online that I would not say to a persons face. I honestly believe, what you do has consequences, no matter how small or large. It is also a matter of my religious faith, everything I do needs to be for the glory of God. Even just hanging out with friends, I must not bring shame to my God from my actions. With everything I say or do, I must not bring shame to my God from my actions.

 

[Jack and Calumon]

I thought this crap was exclusive to Youtube and 4chan.

Reddit wishes it was 4chan, so much it wishes this.

Spoiler: Despite the update that it is, in fact, a hoax, I do stand by this rant, but just imagine it like 20% less angry.

OT: I'm not surprised. Reddit comments have a terrible habit of making everything a joke, regardless of the context. That in itself is despicable to a degree, but the main reason that the community does this is worse. The only reason they do this sort of thing is for upvotes. Oh sure, some people will say "Ah, the community will love this ribbing" but most of them think of one thing and that's a pointless number increasing through mindless drones saying they approve this. The upvote system on Reddit brings nothing but disgusting things, from endless reposts that suck dry the humour from any joke, to events such as this. It is not good in the slightest, just a system that encourages a million people participating in the world's biggest Circle-jerk. An upvote is a low and emotionless act that makes people feel better about themselves until it is given out to the degree that the community becomes greedy and demands it for every single thing they do, reacting with bitter contempt for everyone who dares give them a downvote.

This is the reason I despise the vast majority Reddit's community.

Calumon: ...Jack's being scary and mean... : (

 

[Sandytimeman]

snip

^^^ THIS

It is a tragic story, but the Reddit users are not at fault for his death.

Doesn't "freedom of speech" mean anything anymore?

Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences of what you say. You can say whatever you like without censorship but your words still have weight and consequence.