What If a Lolcow Became Genuinely Suicidal? -

[___-]

Somedays I feel a little concerned coming here in that if someone documented here became genuinely suicidal over it how would KF react?
I know some lolcows have it coming. However it could be said the legitimately harmless ones who don't do fucked up shit or fantasize about hurting innocent people and feel no remorse for it deserve to be pushed to such a hypothetical degree.
What is your opinion on the matter? Not looking for a shit storm just discorse on how one here thinks they should proceed in such a scenario. I'd also like to clarify I'm not following any lolcows who have threatened suicide (aside from Ross) and aren't in contact with any beforehand.

 

[Doc Cassidy]

Encourage them.

 

[___-]

Encourage them.

I mean if they're genuinely harmless and just cringe worthy is that justified?

 

[AJ 447]

How would you know someone is being genuine?

 

[___-]

How would you know someone is being genuine?

That too is a good point. I suppose since a lot of them are well documented past attempts would be a good indicator.

 

[DumbDosh]

Ideally everyone would do what everyone should do, not get involved.

If they post it publicly someone will probably contact the right people to do a welfare check, but we're all here to sit back and laugh and not get involved, that's what we should keep doing.

 

[AJ 447]

That too is a good point. I suppose since a lot of them are well documented past attempts would be a good indicator.

If they're posting on twitter or facebook, report their posts. Nothing else you can do.

 

[PsychoNerd054]

This isn’t that hard to figure out. Just do what the boss does and don’t touch the poop and try to stay out of drama.

 

[Benine Bovine]

I know it’s the entire point of the forum to kind of gawk at people and laugh, but I think that if someone is severely mentally ill in a way where they don’t pose a threat to others but consider suicide actively and have a documented history of attempts, the nicest thing would probably be to just leave them alone for a while and not engage

 

[IV 445]

This thread has been the first good use for the rating.

 

[CatParty]

 

[Philosophy Zombie]

Somedays I feel a little concerned coming here in that if someone documented here became genuinely suicidal over it how would KF react?
I know some lolcows have it coming. However it could be said the legitimately harmless ones who don't do fucked up shit or fantasize about hurting innocent people and feel no remorse for it deserve to be pushed to such a hypothetical degree.
What is your opinion on the matter? Not looking for a shit storm just discorse on how one here thinks they should proceed in such a scenario. I'd also like to clarify I'm not following any lolcows who have threatened suicide (aside from Ross) and aren't in contact with any beforehand.

That happened two years ago and very few among the userbase felt bad about it. The site owner made a post about how we shouldn't feel bad about it.

 

[Fox]

That happened two years ago and very few among the userbase felt bad about it. The site owner made a post about how we shouldn't feel bad about it.

It was that girl, right? I forgot her name, but I do recall a girl that killed herself and had a thread here.
If that's whom you're talking about, then as Null said, and as I remember, she had more issues than "some people are bullying me on the internet." So I think that it's unfair to say that her thread was the cause of her death. Didn't she also fake suicide before? I remember people not believing that she killed herself when the news first came out.
-
A-logging is heavily discouraged, and we don't carry out trolling plans. We just make fun of people, and if that causes someone to off themselves because "the internet made fun of me" then in that case, just like that girl, they must've had more issues that pushed them to make that decision. And sadly many people fake being suicidal on the internet to push off criticism of any sort, so if we stopped every time someone said I'm gonna off myself then we wouldn't have any threads open.
And suicidal people who are serious about it generally don't go around the internet telling people that they are suicidal.

 

[m0rnutz]

If they're posting on twitter or facebook, report their posts. Nothing else you can do.

All that's going to do is Facebook will just make then click through a bunch of shit asking if they are okay. That's all.

As for asking how we would know if they are, you don't. There are warning signs that can be confused for attention whoring, and there are signs that can come across too subtle to be picked up on before it's too late. By the time you realize they are intent on dying, there is a 95% they're already stiff.

There are two types of trolling. One is just laughing and mocking, which is what a majority of us do in threads. The other side are weens and antagonizers, and they're their own people who are not as sympathetic as the first bunch is. And yet even then they aren't the ones who will push a person to die. "Do a flip" jokes are just that, they mock the state the person is in as a way to point out how stupid and whiny the person is acting. It's the person themselves who are to blame for their demise.

So no, there's nothing we can do to be certain, and certainly nothing we can do to stop them. A lot of these threads are Americans, and we have both hotlines and self-admitted observation clinics for those contemplating. If they die, they die. That's it. Night night, sleep tight, hope it was worth it in the end to them.

It was that girl, right? I forgot her name, but I do recall a girl that killed herself and had a thread here.
If that's whom you're talking about, then as Null said, and as I remember, she had more issues than "some people are bullying me on the internet." So I think that it's unfair to say that her thread was the cause of her death. Didn't she also fake suicide before? I remember people not believing that she killed herself when the news first came out.

Seeing as how her boyfriend would later troon out, it leads me to believe perhaps he played a role in her death by abusing her. She already wasn't the sharpest cow in the barn.

 

[keksz]

It has happened at least twice that a cow has offed themselves while we had threads on them. One was pretty big news for various reasons, the other less so, since it was a minor thread and not "obviously" a suicide.

It's hard to generalize since each case is its own case but usually it boils down to: if you feel you gotta do something, just do it. We don't interfere, as a community (with very few exceptions), the same way we also don't go out of our way to troll anyone. We're just here to watch and we don't want to interfere for good or bad - in the least, it could have legal ramifications, not to mention moral ones, that we're just best avoiding altogether and which is why this website has survived several attacks, due to it's very clear "hands-off" policy and being entirely blameless, for it.

On the first case of cow suicide I know of, I don't know much because I didn't actually follow the thread (was it Julie?), but I seem to remember that she had a family and friends who never did anything (good) for her. I'm kinda skeptical that a random web autistic would be the difference between life and death for her but I wouldn't judge someone who tried to help if they felt they had to.

Take OPL for example. All the people who tried to help him just ended up being dismissed by him sooner or later and ended up just wasting their time and good intention with someone who wasn't worth any of it.

In the end, we're no more responsible or to blame for anyone's suicide as much as every Nirvana fan when Kurt Cobain killed himself (or Robin William or any one star). We just watch people who make themselves public. To think we ought to have any impact in their lives is even a bit entitled.

 

[keksz]

Soffy for double post, meant to link this when I mentioned about "few exceptions" https://sonichu.com/cwcki/Destruction_Of_Chris's_House#Aftermath_and_reaction

 

[Doc Cassidy]

I mean if they're genuinely harmless and just cringe worthy is that justified?

The answer's the same, I just want to make people suffer to compensate for my own unhappiness. I hope every person with a thread dies in excruciating pain.

 

[The Fool]

I contact them and bully them into doing it so I gain a sense of power and accomplishment. Killing small animals just doesn't do it for me anymore.

 

[Sushinope]

It has happened at least twice that a cow has offed themselves while we had threads on them. One was pretty big news for various reasons, the other less so, since it was a minor thread and not "obviously" a suicide.

On the first case of cow suicide I know of, I don't know much because I didn't actually follow the thread (was it Julie?), but I seem to remember that she had a family and friends who never did anything (good) for her. I'm kinda skeptical that a random web autistic would be the difference between life and death for her but I wouldn't judge someone who tried to help if they felt they had to.

Take OPL for example. All the people who tried to help him just ended up being dismissed by him sooner or later and ended up just wasting their time and good intention with someone who wasn't worth any of it.

Spoiler: Slightly off topic

Yeah the suicide was Julie Terryberry, the boyfriend was pretty abusive to her and she would ignore people telling her that him choking her or biting her where she would be bruised/bleeding was dangerous.
The other one was Kadeeliveslife she was a munchie and an addict though from the sounds of it she accidentally ODed with the cocktail of pills she was on (for all of the ailments she claimed to have) and heroin.

Problem is with some people that are truly suicidal they might not listen when you try to help them or you have some people that would constantly threaten to commit suicide or have 'attempts' where its clearly for attention (I forget which one of the girls it was but she would constantly try to commit 'suicide' where she would scratch her wrists hard enough to bleed but not much else). I'd say leave them alone and if you actually know the cow maybe contact family members.

 

[AnOminous]

If you find a lolcow out on a ledge contemplating suicide, you should show some empathy.

You should talk to them and convince them that life is really worth living, that people love them, and that the world is a better place with them in it. Tell them they'd be leaving a huge void in the lives of the people they left behind that would never be repaired.

Then after convincing them to abandon their suicide plan, give them a little shove.