Update: Reddit Suicide Lawsuit Is a Hoax

[Freechoice]

SRS is a pretty shitty place and to say they went too far is an understatement. I hope the people who caused this get a just punishment.

You mean going on with their daily lives because all they did was be jerks? Do we really need to hold the hand of a 51-year old man? I can understand bullying; that's during the formative years when your psyche is still being molded. But a grown adult wants to go onto Reddit (as opposed to a suicide forum, WebMD, the national suicide hotline or, you know, get some professional help) and we're supposed to believe a bunch of anonymous morons are guilty of murder? Seems legit.

Few to no one gave a shit about this guy when he was alive (hence why suicidal people often give big fuckin' hints about it) so don't pretend like you give a shit now.

I may not like Reddit for unspecificed/unknown reasons, but the redditards are guilty of nothing and no one should be trying to argue the veracity of this statement.

 

[Hammartroll]

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.

You can't change the world with legislation, the new "crime" will just go underground. There will still be people who will go to deepnet sites to express their troubles as an anonymous (since they don't want the world to know their private feelings... there still is a thing called privacy you know) and there will still be people who will take advantage of being anonymous. Trying to end anonimity will just cause a surge in more nefarious internet activities. edit- people obviously don't read history, when a government tries to take away people's rights, the people bite back, IT DOSN'T WORK.

Yes I believe people have the right to be mean. The anons didn't kill the man, he killed himself. People crying for the anons to be charged are not thinking logically, they're just reacting to the emotional outpour of a suicide. Chit happens.

And really, if you really want to blame other people for him killing himself, do you really think the anons are to be blamed? He obviously had problems before coming to reddit, the anons was just the final straw. You want equal justice? How about we go blame everyone in his entire life that was mean to him? The anons were not the problem, cruelty was the problem and you can't fix cruelty (at least not without creating a totalitarian hell state) you just have to live with it.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

He wanted to commit suicide. It is impossible to determine if internet jerks affected his decision. But if he was so weak to allow himself to be pushed over the edge by a few internet jerks, his genes have no place in our gene pool. That's how nature works. No one said it's pretty.

 

[renegade7]

If a person came up to you and told you he was thinking of committing suicide, I'm guessing you wouldn't egg him on. Anyone who thinks a screen gives them the right to be a dickhead is...well...a dickhead.

By the way, people get in trouble for harassing people on Facebook all the time. This year at my school there have been almost a dozen suspensions and who knows how many lesser punishments handed to people who either harassed people on Facebook or were dumb enough to post a picture of themselves smoking a joint. Why should other sites be exempt, just because people think they get to hide behind anonymity?

Now, I'm not saying anonymity is all bad by a long shot. I actually think it's a good thing. But like all good things it can be abused, and people who abuse things to the detriment others should be punished.

 

[mattttherman3]

You know it is pretty simple to avoid a lawsuit in the future: Don't threaten someone, don't sexually harass anyone, don't encourage crime.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Welcome to the internet. We're a very encouraging community. One just has to be careful about what it is we're encouraging you to do.

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

4chan mostly moved to various subreddits, if I'm not mistaken. SRS and r/Spacedicks certainly have their fair share of the old 4channers floating about.

 

[Hammartroll]

If a person came up to you and told you he was thinking of committing suicide, I'm guessing you wouldn't egg him on. Anyone who thinks a screen gives them the right to be a dickhead is...well...a dickhead.

By the way, people get in trouble for harassing people on Facebook all the time. This year at my school there have been almost a dozen suspensions and who knows how many lesser punishments handed to people who either harassed people on Facebook or were dumb enough to post a picture of themselves smoking a joint. Why should other sites be exempt, just because people think they get to hide behind anonymity?

Now, I'm not saying anonymity is all bad by a long shot. I actually think it's a good thing. But like all good things it can be abused, and people who abuse things to the detriment others should be punished.

how about instead of seeking revenge through punishment, you forgive them, vow to be a stronger person and try to teach other people to also be strong enough not to fall victim to similiar antics.

 

[Xan Krieger]

I blame the guy for going to the internet for help or sympathy, that's not what the internet is for. Anytime I was suicidal and wrote about it online, well that's how I learned what it meant to an hero.

 

[mattaui]

You know that if a guy is on a building and you're shouting for him to jump and end it all, in person, that you're not liable, right? I don't care what sort of civil lawsuit someone tries to drum up. That would be a reach even for something like the intentional infliction of emotional distress, and you'd have to be doing more than just encouraging him to end it all.

There's no question that it's reprehensible for someone to wish death on a depressed person, or to callously egg him on, but this is a ridiculous lawsuit.

 

[weirdee]

I don't think the claim is valid, because being a total asshole without any other type of physical action on their part is not technically a crime and this isn't what the system is supposed to punish outright.

Regardless of the outcome, the true consequences would be meted out by society anyway. There's a good chance that these people's identities will be public soon, and I don't really have any sympathy for what comes after.

 

[Hammartroll]

Words have consequences. Time than people start to learn that. Don't be a jerk, don't tolerate others being jerks, don't live by the wrong saying "sticks and stones".

can I ask what that means? to not tolerate others being jerks?
and "sticks and stones" is true, cause sticks and stones can break your bones, but can an air vibration caused by vocal cords? nope. This is what people mean when they say common sense is dying.

btw, isn't the brony moto TO tolerate? haters gonna hate? I liked you guys, wtf happened?

 

[Ashoten]

People being held accountable for their actions? Sounds good to me. Maybe people on the internet should just start using their own names instead of an avatar(Don't bother pointing out that I am posting this with an avatar name cause you probably are too). Twitter has already started showing user names. For all the John Wayne" attitudes I see out there on forums I think people would be happy to use their real name.<---Sarcasm

 

[Ashcrexl]

a tale as old as time. you should not go on the internet for sympathy. haven't we learned this lesson from years of 4chan?

 

[thomaskattus]

Trolling is a right.

Being an asshole is not a right.

 

[Farther than stars]

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.

And they are. Accessories to suicide are taken very seriously and with good reason. If we were to limit the act of killing, be it oneself or another person, to a mere physical process, then we wouldn't be able to prosecute people who order assassinations and the like. There is no pragmatic doubt in areas of legal matters, philosophy and psychology that socialogical incentives have as much to do with individual actions as the freedom of that individual.
But the bottom line is: if you're mentioned in a person's suicide note, then you could loose that same freedom for a very long time.

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

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

Not when that freedom impedes other humanistic values, such as that of life. Then it becomes a battle of what we deem most important as a society.

 

[Dooly95]

If a person came up to you and told you he was thinking of committing suicide, I'm guessing you wouldn't egg him on. Anyone who thinks a screen gives them the right to be a dickhead is...well...a dickhead.

If that was a complete random? I'd ignore him, personally.

But unless I shoved him off the bloody building, I'm not liable for anything.

Surprise, all people aren't nice. That doesn't mean that they should be held for manslaughter of some 50-year old man that decided to jump off a building.

 

[A.A.K]

This is interesting actually.

I believe that a human's life is only worth it's actions.
A man who kills himself isn't worth anything, and neither are people who provoke others. I hate jerks with a passion, online and in 'real life'...but I really can't pick a side here.
I do hope they get their comeuppance, and he's dead so there's nothing to worry about.

 

[Suave Charlie]

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.

Wat?

You can say whatever you want without censorship but if you say something we don't like you'll be arrested and charged.

I could understand if you said that "inciting suicide" isn't protected speech but what you said didn't make sense.

I think you should look up what "freedom of speech" is before you defile it's very honourable and very well defined nature anymore and before you make any more an ass of yourself.

Making an ass of myself? I was only trying to say that the Reddit users do (or at least should) have a right to say what they said.

Are they assholes? Yes.

Should they be held responsible for someone else taking their own life? No.

That's for the judge to decide and "freedom of speech" does not mean freedom to say whatever you want to whomever you want.

No, no it does. The difference is that there may be consequences for it. Barring the "screaming fire in a crowded theater" scenarios then it does mean that you can say what you like, but again there will likely to be consequences if you say things to certain people. Free to say them, free to accept the consequence that will come of it.