Desire Avenue

I had some terrible news today.A guy who I used to chat with regularly online took his own life on Father's day.
I only found out by going to a Forum where both he and I had stopped going to after it was taken over by trolls.I'd just gone back to see if anything interesting had come up in my absence.Someone there had posted the news,and later my friends' sister had posted his story.
All very sad,and really shocking.
What's particularly sad is that,as with all online friendships,I didn't actually know him except through this mysterious window of the computer.And I might easily never have found out what happened to him.He lived in America,so the chances of actually meeting him were pretty remote too.Turns out he was the same age as me,and his own father had also committed suicide when he was 19,something he apparently never got over.So the Father's day date has an extra poignancy.
I often think about the fragility of the relationships we make online.Someone disappears from this messageboard,and you don't know what's happened to them unless they post again.
Like Alex said,I've grown very fond of everybody who comes here to the Stina forum.Somehow you have to maintain a little shell against the unreality of an online relationship.
I'm feeling very...

very sad indeed; but i sometimes think about it too; how you lose track of persons you've known only online... It's a strange world really

Very sad news...
Online friendship is common with real life friendship sometimes and in fact the strong link between people has no distance; we share a moment of our life with internet friends and we care about this relationship a lot.

Maybe we don't know much about each others here but we shared great moments, like the CQD book. And we still care about people, even if they don't come online as much as in the past because they are in our heart.

Anyway, with this sad news I just can say that if you need to talk we are here because we care and friends (even if they are online friends) are here when people need support.

Thanks Alex

Strange and sad world we live in.

That is very sad news Dave......and shocking news too.
It just brings back in to focus just how fragile life is and just how thin the line between life and death really is.

Very sad thing. I read an article about this kind of things longtime ago and I've just searched and found it for you: What happens to your online self when you die? http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=8182

Thank you everyone
A thought-provoking article,Paola,thanks...

sad sad story...
reminding me of an online friend who seems depressed everytime, and I don't think it's fake. I'm in touch with him from time to time through msn messenger, and each & every time I'm afraid to no longer see him anymore... it's weird...

The time reading that was the saddest I've felt all day...

I was just thinking about that, too. I still wonder how the people that I had chat with 5 years ago are doing. Then again, there are alot of face to face relationships I've lost track of as our lives speed up, slow down, change direction, regress.... I hope all the old friends i knew are good too. But I think I have a better chance of finding out about the online ones than the others.

Sorry about the guy, Dave. For real.

Thanks Tiffany. Just today I saw his email address among my files,gave me quite a turn.

FRANCK!! oddly enough I was just wondering what had become of YOU! , on the World Cup thread! How are things? Music,love?

Hey Dave,

love is going on well, we just bought a house and settled together with my dear Priscille

about music, I'm pretty busy with a show to be performed next week in a street festival...

Got no time to tell much more, but if you understand french a bit, you can go here and there to have more info about this show... it's named "Papy l'boxeur" & I'm also playing in "FranKendriK", an electro-accordion duet.

See ya & take care.

Tough and so true...
Not much to say...