Im going to die

[Distorted Stu]

Calm down, dont worry. Im pretty much living and i shall continue to do so as long as i can.

This thread is completly hypothetical.

So, lets say a user posts on the Escapist that they will die in 24 hours unless the thread gets replied to every 30 seconds. This user is deadly serious, either threating suicide or something along the lines of a sick hostage negotiation.

Would the mods take it seriously and keep the thread alive until the deadline?
Would you post franctically to save the users life?

EDIT: Also, if the deadline is not met. Who is to blame for their death?

DOUBLE EDIT: Ive notcied most of the replies are that you wouldnt take it seriously. Pics or it didnt happen etc.
So bonus question: How guitly would you feel if you seen it reported on the news the day after that a teen died due to the situation above?

 

[El Poncho]

I would assume he is doing it for attention and I wouldn't reply at all.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I'd let him die, because I wouldn't take him seriously.

 

[teh_Canape]

-hardly the mods or anyone will take it seriously, it's the interwebz, remember?
-I don't think so, really

-communists, just, communists (lol that's so 70s)

 

[binvjoh]

I'd probably think it was a troll.

As for who is to blame, be it real, it'd either be whoever killed them (in the hostage scenario) or themselves (were it a suicide).

Of course there can always be other factors, especially in suicide, for example if someone else managed to push them to the brink of not wanting to live anymore.

 

[Madskull]

If anyone was dead serious about that, and on the escapist, everybody would write insanely just to save him, or is that just my way of seeing things around here. Also if you assume that the mods don't delete the posts/thread under the assumption that it's fake or whatever I say that the poor bastard's life can be saved .

 

[Something Amyss]

It's their own fault if they take their own life or that of someone else.

 

[6unn3r]

Lock the thread?

 

[Neverhoodian]

Given how cutthroat and cynical the internet can be, the OP probably wouldn't last long. Then again, what would you expect? There are so many drama queens and pranksters online that you couldn't blame folks for doubting the sincerity of the thread.

In short, I'd have to blame the OP if he/she did carry out their threatened act. They made the decision in the first place, and they picked an extremely poor venue as a lifeline, as opposed to emergency services, law enforcement, or a suicide hotline.

 

[_Janny_]

I'd actually go for the timeless classic 'pics or it didn't happen'.

Otherwise, I'd hit report.

Pretty much this. Also, your avatar is freaking sweet.

It's hard to be taken seriously on the net, so unless the suicide-driven guy can somehow convince us, then I'm afraid he'd get ignored.

 

[Jim Grim]

I'd be like, 'Yeah right.' Then if I found out the person had actually died, I'd suppress the memory. STRONGLY suppress the memory.

 

[Sjakie]

I would not reply to it.
How a man/woman decides to live or die is their choice. If they decide something trivial as posts on a forum is the reason for staying alive: their choice, no matter how stupid i think it is. I would not meddle in those affairs.
If im feeling emotional i might report it so the staff can inform the authorities. Better they find the body then his/hers parents.

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

Assume it is some sort of trolling attempt. Report and move on.
When I find out it is serious, spare it little more than a "huh. I see".

 

[Squidden]

I'd just let the thread die. If I saw on the news that someone died from suicide because the Escapist forums wouldn't keep posting in his thread I'd just say "What a dumbass." or something along the lines. I wouldn't respect someone in death who I didn't respect in life.

 

[Fraught]

It's an internet forum. If he really continues living against his own will because he gets replies on a forum thread, he's better off left alone, to die. Because that's pretty pathetic.

Not to say that anyone who even contemplates suicide isn't.

 

[Captain Pirate]

I think you should edit the OP saying that it appears on the news where you live etc, so it is real and not a guy trolling.
If it was suicide, I'd try and cheer him up. If it was hostage situation, I'd post a lot.

I'd much rather look a fool for posting so much because I got trolled, than not post and have a guy die because of it.

 

[DiMono]

If the person is so unstable that they actually set up that kind of situation, then they probably weren't going to make it very long with out serious psychiatric help anyway. I wouldn't take it seriously, and it wouldn't bother me in the least.