Posted by Kim on May 13, 2020, 9:00am
NOTE: This has been a somewhat needed feature for some time, and planned for a long time as well. I built it before the pandemic started, and wrote the initial article about it then too. It was scheduled in the list of all the other feature spotlights to go out today, after Epic Week. But since the pandemic began, I've been waffling about whether to push it out -- it just feels so strange to be talking about death right now. But also very strange not to talk about it! So I just want to acknowledge up top before going in to this that there's probably no great time to talk about this subject that won't feel very heavy to some in the audience. But, deep breath, holds hands, we'll get through this mildly weird announcement together
Of all the things I thought I would need to think about when starting a website for RP gaming, I did not think that how to handle a death would be one of them. Yet over the years, the community has lost some very dear friends. How to memorialize them has always been an open question.
So far, we've had an informal policy of
- Not deleting the profile (unless contacted by a verified family member who requests it)
- Not editing the profile in any way
- Allowing kudos that may not meet the normal kudos guideline to be left on the user without the mods intervening, as a form of memorializing the user
But those friends who are grieving a user have often wondered if anything more could be done to protect the profiles, or to place a notice that would let others who knew them find out about their death.
So, now we finally have a way of marking a profile as "In Memoriam." Doing so:
- Prevents anyone from logging in to the account again
- Protects the account from being deleted by automated Server clean-ups
- Places a small note on the profile that the user is deceased, and the profile is being kept as a memorial
- Allows many more kudos to appear directly on the profile at a time, and stops those kudos from showing up in random order (on the theory that older kudos may be encouraging people to RP with the person, while the more recent kudos are tributes meant for family and friends to see)
- In the moderation review queue, submitted kudos are shown with a message to mods about the relaxed kudos guidelines to try and prevent mix-ups.
We're also changing our guidelines somewhat on what we'll accept as proof of a user's death. Instead of only accepting a copy of a death certificate, a combination of an online obituary and some other proof such as a link to a news article about the deceased may also be accepted.
Post tags: Feature Explanations
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Comments
Queen_of_Hell
May 13, 2020
11:13am
I support the idea of keeping up the profiles of the members that have passed on (unless a family member asks for it to be taken down.) It is wonderful to keep their profiles in as a reminder this is very sad but incredibly thoughtful.
this is very sad but incredibly thoughtful.
This is depressing, yet wonderful. Reminds us that even here, on the roleplay repository, where every dream and fantasy world is grown, the harsh reality of life is still a thing.
Thanks Kim. Love to anyone who lost someone dear to them.
Thanks Kim. Love to anyone who lost someone dear to them.
MasterWinter
May 13, 2020
11:11am
I have a question, of course after I made my original post. Now I think I went over this carefully, but if I missed it I'm sorry.
What if you do not have a family member who could inform RPR that you are deceased, but you have a trusted friend who could do so?
I don't have any family who knows about RPR, nor how to do anything associated with it. Plus I wouldn't trust them with my personal stuff, like RPR anyways. So would this be possible?
What if you do not have a family member who could inform RPR that you are deceased, but you have a trusted friend who could do so?
I don't have any family who knows about RPR, nor how to do anything associated with it. Plus I wouldn't trust them with my personal stuff, like RPR anyways. So would this be possible?
A good idea, those who have passed it be a good thing.
It helps people who don't know want to know and that way they know who has been affected and who hasn't.
It helps people who don't know want to know and that way they know who has been affected and who hasn't.
Thank you so much for doing this. We lost a friend in December and we all poured love into her kudos section.
That is really amazing feature. While things like that are really sad, i'm glad to see that you guys care about it. Other sites would just delete profile for being "in-active", but you guys take extra mile. Really wonderful, thank you.
MasterWinter
May 13, 2020
11:00am
I'm in full support of this. This is fantastic. Super kudo's to you, Kim!
Mipps
May 13, 2020
10:59am
I think this is beautiful
Hades_
May 13, 2020
10:58am
Novus
May 13, 2020
10:54am
As sad as it is, I love this idea. It's great to have something to preserve that bit of a user that we knew best. Thanks for rolling this out, Kim.
This is a very thoughtful thing to do for your users, Kim. I hope it helps with those that have had friends on RPR pass.
I have been wanting something like this for a long time, but didn't know how to approach it. I love this and am so grateful. Thank you. ♡
Kim
May 13, 2020
11:27am
I don't have any family who knows about RPR, nor how to do anything associated with it. Plus I wouldn't trust them with my personal stuff, like RPR anyways. So would this be possible?
Yes, a friend could inform us, so long as they could link to an obituary/news article that proved your actual death.
We have had a few faked deaths before that were violently upsetting to those "left behind," so we are unable to just take it on faith from anyone, even if they claim to be family.