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GameToo Much...... And Die!

A 24-year-old South Korean man died after playing computer games nonstop for 86 hours, police said yesterday. The jobless man, identified by police only by his last name Kim, was found dead at an Internet cafe in Kwangju, 260 kilometres southwest of Seoul, they said. Quoting witnesses, police detective Oh Myong-sik in Kwangju said the man had been virtually glued to the computer since late last Friday and had no decent sleep and meals. The man collapsed in front of the counter early yesterday but soon regained consciousness. He then went to the toilet where he later was found dead, the police officer said. Initial investigation ruled out the possibility of murder, police said. An autopsy was planned. Source Article can be found in The Sydney Morning Herald In related gaming news: sam_handelman writes "In an article on the front page of the online edition, (free reg required) the new york times takes a rather negative look at the rise of broadband gaming in South Korea. The author, Howard W French, is a Times staff writer, with a background in staggering human tragedy, which may help to explain why he thinks my hobby is an epidemic. There was a wired article about Korean broadband (summary: they have lots), which we already discussed."

851 comments

  1. In other news... by JanusFury · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A man recently died after drinking 15 gallons of beer.

    Too much of anything is never good... don't people ever learn? First we had that guy who committed suicide after he played way too much EverQuest and spiraled into depression, and now this.

    --
    using namespace slashdot;
    troll::post();
    1. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It doesn't matter man, this is how it starts. I watched this all go down with GHB. First they find some poster children that die from the thing they want to ban (nevermind that the people were acting incredibly irresponsibly, and in the case of GHB, and Samantha Reid, probably never even took GHB.)

      Then they put up tons of propaganda web sites, and sell politicians on this evil thing, even though the politicians have no clue about the real facts, only what they have been told by the "anti"'s. End result: Safer replacement for alcohol and antidepressants with less side effects gets banned.

      This all started when people stopped taking responsibility for their own actions, and started asking the government to protect them from themselves. To all you liberals, grow up and start taking responsibility for your life, and make others take responsibility for theirs.

    2. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      To all you liberals, grow up and start taking responsibility for your life, and make others take responsibility for theirs.

      I've got a better idea. We're going to ban all computer games because playing them can lead to death. Now that would be very 'liberal,' don't you think?

    3. Re:In other news... by silicon_synapse · · Score: 1

      "I've got a better idea. We're going to ban all computer games because playing them can lead to death. Now that would be very 'liberal,' don't you think?"

      Yes, that would be a very liberal interpretation of the constitution to think you could do that.

    4. Re:In other news... by Skater · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Water taken in moderation cannot hurt anybody."

      --Mark Twain

    5. Re:In other news... by Blackknight · · Score: 0

      Unless you choke on it and die...

    6. Re:In other news... by Hrothgar+The+Great · · Score: 0, Troll

      We're going to ban all computer games because playing them can lead to death. Now that would be very 'liberal,' don't you think?

      Yes.

    7. Re:In other news... by VoiceOfRaisin · · Score: 2, Informative

      "A man recently died after drinking 15 gallons of beer."

      TERRIBLE example. seeing how alcohol is a POISON.
      last i heard, videogames arent.

    8. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Um, if I can ask, what is GHB? I couldn't seem to pull a clear answer out of that website. We have a drug called GBH ( Grievious Bodily Harm ) here in Australia, but I'm guessing it's not the same thing...?

    9. Re:In other news... by CableModemSniper · · Score: 1

      "Water taken in moderation cannot hurt anybody."

      --Mark Twain

      --
      Why not fork?
    10. Re:In other news... by Ig0r · · Score: 1

      You also die after drinking too much water, so the analogy holds true.

      --
      Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
    11. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Pretty sure you're talking about the same thing. Gamma Hydroxybutyrolactone (or something like that) is the actual chemical. I've heard it called Georgia HomeBoy too, which makes about as much sense. Anyway, I tend to agree with the original poster - it was a nice substitute for alcohol back in the day - didn't last as long, no hangover, easy on the liver. Doesn't make you act quite as stupid either. But then they demonized it as a date rape drug, even though alcohol is a factor in way, way, WAY more rapes than GHB ever was. Not sure what this has to do with video games though...

    12. Re:In other news... by rat7307 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      too much anything is too much

      That's why it's called "Too Much"

      --
      Burma?
    13. Re:In other news... by Anonymous+DWord · · Score: 2

      How 'bout love, happiness, clean air, good food, good music? With maybe the exception of food there, I don't think you can really have enough of the others.

      --
      "If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he's sorely mistaken." Bush on bin Laden
    14. Re:In other news... by elmegil · · Score: 5, Funny
      To all you liberals, grow up and start taking responsibility for your life, and make others take responsibility for theirs.

      As opposed to the conservatives who just want to lock you up for any mistake unless you're the governor's daughter?

      --
      7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
    15. Re:In other news... by whereiswaldo · · Score: 1

      Score: 0 Interesting? Please. Mod this guy up.

      This is exactly what is happening. Social engineering.

      If you wanted to stop people from doing X, and you did something terrible to the people who practiced X, lots of people would stop doing X. Those who know that and have no morals or qualms about doing terrible things to people could use that fact to steer people in the direction they want. To a point anyway... only the future will tell.

    16. Re:In other news... by danox · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Too much love can be stifling. Too much happinines can make you ungaurded and easy to hurt. too much clean air can lead to hyperventilation. too much good food can lead to obesity. too much good music can lead to deafness.

      moral to the story: any positive can become a negative if you try hard enough.

      --
      "Me and my girl named bimbo . . . limbo . . . spam" - Captain Beefheart.
    17. Re:In other news... by douglas+jeffries · · Score: 2, Insightful

      How 'bout love, happiness, clean air, good food, good music?

      it's clear (as you hinted) that you could have too much food (e.g. eating more than your previous body mass)

      i'd say too much air could happen, clean or not. you're lungs certainly have a maximum safe volume. and thinking globally, it's possible to have enough clean air, just not at all likely to happen.

      would you say it's too much good music if you hear it every second of every day? some people may like that, but i enjoy quiet from time to time.

      i certainly agree about love and happiness though.

    18. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      neither of you have any clue what the word liberal means.

      From dictionary.com:
      " liberal Pronunciation Key (lbr-l, lbrl)
      adj.

      1.
      1. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
      2. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.
      3. Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism.
      4. Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.
      2.
      1. Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor.
      2. Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes.
      3. Not strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation.
      4. Of, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum: a liberal education.
      5.
      1. Archaic. Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman.
      2. Obsolete. Morally unrestrained; licentious.

      n.

      1. A person with liberal ideas or opinions.
      2. Liberal A member of a Liberal political party.

    19. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just because you're liberal doesn't mean you don't think you have any responcibilities. Eat a dick, its you conservatives who want to be responsible for EVERYONES life. make others take responcibility of theirs. I'm not going to make anyone do anything. If some guy wants to play games for 86 hours, while drinking 15 gallons of beer and trying to OD on GHB in an internet cafe, let him. To all you liberals, grow up you grow up, at least some of us have independent thought.

    20. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Gamers have no political allies. What should we do about it, you ask? Well, I'd like to welcome you to:

      The LAN Party

      We're a nationwide political party with growing influences around the globe, and our main focus is on the protection of the rights of gamers in America.

      Our motto is:

      Try us
      Realize our goal
      Open your mind
      Level the playing field
      Lead on to victory!

      If you are intersted in the LAN Party affiliations, please contact us at lanpolitics@lannational.com

    21. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To all you liberals, grow up and start taking responsibility for your life, and make others take responsibility for theirs.

      Yeah, whatever. Tell me, which group, liberal or conservative, is the "pro-choice" one? Which one is for legalizing marijuana (the safer replacement for tobacco?) or for that matter, hemp? Which group wants stiffer penalties for polluters (taking responsibility for the crap they put into the air/water/land)? And so on...

      I think what you meant to say is: "People should take control of your own life, except in the following circumstances which I don't agree with..." Realistically, both (or "all"?) sides say that. Everyone supports what they like, and everyone tries to get rid of what they don't like.

      I also think you need to get past the childish generalizations and develop a deeper understanding of politics. Hopefully you will when you grow up.

    22. Re:In other news... by rat7307 · · Score: 2

      would you say it's too much good music if you hear it every second of every day? some people may like that, but i enjoy quiet from time to time

      But to those people it would be enough.

      But Jimmy Barnes did sing the following:

      Too much ain't enough love to satisfy me...

      Which of course makes no sense.... :-)

      My theory is that Too much good health is bad for you too

      Paraphrasing Anne Elk (John Cleese): That is my Theory, that is to say it is mine, and no-one elses. All my own. Mine. Not yours.

      --
      Burma?
    23. Re:In other news... by nomadic · · Score: 1

      too much clean air can lead to hyperventilation.

      Uhhh, the other ones were good points, but you lost me on that one...

    24. Re:In other news... by stephanruby · · Score: 0, Offtopic
      As opposed to the conservatives who just want to lock you up for any mistake unless you're the governor's daughter?

      You're assuming that she is getting special treatment. She is not. Do your homework next time.

    25. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Take a bunch of deep rapid breaths, and you will soon realize that he is right.

    26. Re:In other news... by AsparagusChallenge · · Score: 1

      Too much of good music stops really being good music. That is the main problem with pop music: when they have a good song they roll it down the stairs by playing it ad nauseaum in the media.

      Yes, that does happen, pop music has also good songs; but one wouldn't ever notice.

    27. Re:In other news... by psych031337 · · Score: 3

      Absolutely. 15 gallons of pure H2O would do the same to you as they would wash out minerals and nutritients stored in your bloodstream without giving replacements.

      --
      +++ath0
    28. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You're assuming that she is getting special treatment. She is not. Do your homework next time.

      You go do some homework yourself, dittohead.

      She was even busted smoked crack in the rehab facility and the Bushies leaned on the staff not to make a thing out of it.

      Just today, it was reported that they're trying to seal the whole case away from the media and we all know how the Bushies love those sealed documents.

      Who else gets these doors kicked open for them?

    29. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Too much pr0n can lead to... Well, there's really no negative side effect there...

    30. Re:In other news... by Anonymous+DWord · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Too much love can be stifling. Too much happinines can make you ungaurded and easy to hurt.

      I feel sorry for you if you really believe that.

      too much clean air can lead to hyperventilation.

      Breathing too quickly, maybe, which is something different.

      too much good food can lead to obesity.

      Sure, depending on your metabolism.

      too much good music can lead to deafness.

      No, that's volume.

      moral to the story: any positive can become a negative if you try hard enough.

      Why do you have to try? That's exactly the point.

      --
      "If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he's sorely mistaken." Bush on bin Laden
    31. Re:In other news... by IdahoEv · · Score: 5, Insightful

      To all you liberals, grow up and start taking responsibility for your life, and make others take responsibility for theirs.

      Self-responsibility is not a liberal vs. conservative issue; it is better characterized as an authoritarian vs. libertarian issue.

      Liberals with an authoritarian bent would have the government outlaw "dangerous" things like offensive/hateful/politically incorrect language, games that "promote" racism, etc. Conservatives with an authoritarian bent would outlaw "dangerous" things like homosexuality, games that "promote" immorality or drug use, violence and sexuality on television, etc.

      OTOH, someone with libertarian tendencies, whether they were otherwise conservative or liberal, would prefer the government stay out of people's lives. I.E., a libertarian believes people should take responsibility for themselves. They wouldn't outlaw "unsafe" games.

      You bring up drugs, GHB in particular, and complain that the government prohibits "safer replacements for alcohol and antidepressants". Ignoring for the moment any debate over the merits of that particular drug, those who would prefer legalized drugs of any sort are strongly libertarian. Many are liberal, as well.

      Those who "ask the government to protect them from themselves" aren't "liberal". They're authoritarian, and include just as many conservatives as liberals.

      I'm actually quite surprised to see you blaming the outlawing of GHB on liberals- the most vocal proponents of harsh drug laws, generally, are conservative authoritarians.

      You, it seems, do not really know who your enemies are. I consider myself quite liberal, but I agree with you that people should take more responsibility for themselves.

      --
      I stole this sig from someone cleverer than me.
    32. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is exactly the kind of close minded respose I've come to expect from a liberal.

    33. Re:In other news... by tundog · · Score: 1

      If she was black and a nobody. She'd be behind bars.

      All men are created equal, only, some are more equal than others.

      --
      All your base are belong to us!
    34. Re:In other news... by scientific2503 · · Score: 0

      > >too much clean air can lead to hyperventilation. > >Breathing too quickly, maybe, which is something >different. You are both mistaking what we call clean air also contain oxygen try to look at a old peace og aluminium, iron or kopper. The process where we get energy from oxygen also leaves what we call free radicals these breake down your cells and can also cause cancer. Like a nuke powerplant alot of nice and clean energy but it also leaves som teriable waste. Oxygen is actualy a terible energy source for the human body! but its free : )

    35. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Governor Bush's daughter most certainly is getting special treatment. She has been sent to a live in rehab facility (this is quite different from the live in facility Gov. Bush supports most offenders going to). Further the software company, that no doubt hired her because of her father, says she still has a job when after she gets through treatment.

      You shouldn't accuse someone of not doing there homework when you really just disagree with them.

    36. Re:In other news... by Jedi+Alec · · Score: 1

      If you start doing terrible things to people who do X, only those sufficiently cruel, wealthy or whatever it takes to get away with doing X will continue to do it. The others will start looking for alternative Y...

      --

      People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
    37. Re:In other news... by cyronix · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Too much" it self puts a negative meaning on everything. Each of your sentences can be generalized to "Too much is bad", and that phrase is redundant in itself, because too much is always bad.

    38. Re:In other news... by Skater · · Score: 1

      Thank you. After I got a -1 on the message, I wondered if anybody on /. understood the comment!

    39. Re:In other news... by evilviper · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      That depends... Do you consider being born a minority, a "mistake"?

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    40. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL show me how many conservatives take GHB vs. how many liberals take GHB and call me when ya get a clue, ok? Also while you're at it be sure to tell me who came up with this "War On Drugs" and what political ideology he followed, ok?

    41. Re:In other news... by flyneye · · Score: 1

      Ya,but a liberal would want to use my money to start a program to promote or validate their cause.wish they'd take responsibility for the money.Any one who believes in a cause should put their money towards the cause instead of the candidate.im tired of funding liberal programs.damn if the poor need money,WORK!dont gimme that shotgun shack with nine kids story either.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    42. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To all you liberals, grow up and start taking responsibility for your life, and make others take responsibility for theirs. LOL. Let's see... It's conservatives that want a police force AND army without sacrificing their own weapons. It's conservatives that don't want to pay taxes. It's conservatives that don't want to clean the environment. It's conservatives that like doing reckless dealings with other nations. It's conservatives that believe that leaving the economy alone will magically make it better. It's conservatives that want an opressed labor force. Oh yes the conservatives take plenty of responsibility.

    43. Re:In other news... by hesiod · · Score: 1

      Oh yeah, what an incredibly intelligent statement. If you have something to say, at least say something that can be backed up with a single shred of evidence, and isn't just some random "The world hates me/this person because..." bullshit.

    44. Re:In other news... by hesiod · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What does liberal mean, if it doesn't mean the government doing things for you? Isn't that not taking responsibility? My impression is that liberals are like slightly more democratic socialists. I'm not insulting you for your choice, mind you... I'm just as right for being conservative (libertarian) as you are for being liberal.

    45. Re:In other news... by invenustus · · Score: 1

      You don't need to drink water in excess of moderation to choke on it. Haven't you ever had water go "down the wrong pipe"?

      --
      grep -ri 'should work' /usr/src/linux | wc -l
    46. Re:In other news... by SEWilco · · Score: 0, Flamebait
      "liberal
      1. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas"

      Such as restrictions imposed by logic.

    47. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who else gets these doors kicked open for them?

      The kennedys.

      ---matt

    48. Re:In other news... by egriebel · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      How in the hell does a post like this get modded up to 5??? Geez, wish I saved some of my mod points!

      --
      ACHTUNG! Das computermachine ist nicht fuer gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist nicht fuer gewerken bei das dumpkopfen.
    49. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He's the president now, oh that's right, both of them have bailed out their daughters.

    50. Re:In other news... by Maudib · · Score: 0

      In further off-topic discussion....

      I agree with you entirely. Contemporary discussions that attempt to characterize much of politics as conservative vs. liberal are way off base as they are associated with Republican and Democrat respectively. When in reality both Democrats and Republicans take a great deal of their agendas from both classical liberalism and classical conservativism.

      For instance the free trade debate was originally a liberal concept. Protecting labor (originally knwn as guilds) was a conservative issue. Today the two parties have very little to do with the classical political dichotomy.

      What is really peculiar and often neglected is that there are two Republican party strands in America. One of wich is strongly libertarian, and the other which is strongly authoritarian. The authoritarians draw their inspiration primarily from Religous issues, whereas the the libertarian Republicans are simply modern incarnates of Adam Smith who would also like to see the government stay the hell out of our personal lives. Both the religous right and the democrats piss US off ass the dems take this paternalistic holier then thou approach; inherent in this is the message "you are not capable of running your own lives, we WILL do it for you". The Religous republicans on the other hand are just God fanatics pushing their values on everyone else through an iron boot. They both suck.

      Of course my hope is that someday a split will occur in the Republican party, seperating the religous right from the libertarian adam Smithites. I am sure that much of the dems would flock to the libertarian side, and the religous right would eventually be marginalized.

      Unfortunatly, this is unlikely to occur anytime soon. Hence, I am moving to Canada.

    51. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NE1 else notice how the motto spells TROLL???

    52. Re:In other news... by Dave9876 · · Score: 1

      Assuming you didn't drown first...

    53. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oxygen isn't an energy source; it's a catalyst that allows the reaction (cellular respiration) to happen. The actual energy source is glucose (c6h12o6).

    54. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      moral to the story: any positive can become a negative if you try hard enough.

      Or if you multiply by another negative!

    55. Re:In other news... by greenrd · · Score: 2
      WORK!

      That's an ironic comment considering your sig.

    56. Re:In other news... by Hiro+Antagonist · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Too much love can be stifling. Too much happinines can make you ungaurded and easy to hurt.

      I feel sorry for you if you really believe that.

      No, he's right; think "spoiled child". Their parents love them *so* much that any thought of *possibly* hurting them goes right out the window, and any idea of discipline goes right with it. If you don't believe me, walk around in a supermarket for awhile, and observe the parents that are *begging* their kids to behave. Do you really think that a deeply ingrained response to tell figures of authority to go stuff themselves is going to be beneficial later in life?

      "Screw you boss, I'm not doing that because I don't wanna," isn't the best way to keep a job.

      Easily hurt can be seen in children that have had their self-esteem falsely reinforced. By only giving positive feedback, you spare a child temporary emotional pain and possible and/or perceived humiliation in front of their peers. The problem with this is that they come to expect it, which leads to a disassociation from reality -- the child expects to live in a wonderful, happy bubble, and whenever that bubble is threatened by an external entity (failing a test, rejection by a love-interest, etc.), they will lash out, often violently.

      --

      --
      I Hit the Karma Cap, and All I Got Was This Lousy .sig.
    57. Re:In other news... by robson · · Score: 2

      Self-responsibility is not a liberal vs. conservative issue; it is better characterized as an authoritarian vs. libertarian issue.

      Excellent point. More on both (left v. right and authoritarian v. libertarian) here:

      Two-axis political compass test and info...

    58. Re:In other news... by weewilly · · Score: 1

      Well if it was your daughter smoking crack and stuff, you would do all in your power for her...special treatment yes, but jesus what do you expect? Yeah I'm the governer and I'm going to let my daugther rot in jail, and also I'm not going to use one of my numerous connections to get her a job...grow up, how do you think the world runs? It's who you know, not what you know...you didn't know that?

    59. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you never listened to your favorite album so much that you got sick of it?

    60. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I should note that I never said what governor :-). I have no axe to grind on either side, I just think that everyone should get their equal time beatings.

    61. Re:In other news... by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 2

      "Haven't you ever had water go "down the wrong pipe"?"

      Once, shortly after hearing "ARMAGEDDON!"

    62. Re:In other news... by Zordak · · Score: 1

      I think you have a good point, except for one thing. This is not the result of "too much love." This is really the result of spinelessness and apathy on the part of the parents. Parents who spoil their kids are often doing it to get them out of their hair becuase they're just too busy to deal with the little brats and/or as a weak attempt to make up for a lack of real, quality, personal face time (which is what the kids really want as a token of parental love). The two are very closely related, and usually it's both. The parents just have so much to do, the easiest thing is to toss Johnny a new video game console and let him vege out while the parents get on with life. It takes lots more time, love and attention to say "No" to a child, and then explain why and then discipline the child (I'm not talking about beating, that's another problem entirely) when he doesn't obey than to just give him what he wants and get back to business.

      --

      Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
    63. Re:In other news... by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 2

      what if its diet water though?

    64. Re:In other news... by elmegil · · Score: 1

      BTW it's worth noting, if the statement hadn't started with "all you liberals", I wouldn't have responded. I am absolutely in agreement with the dictate for people to grow up and take responsibility for themselves and hold others accountable for their own lives as well. I just don't think it's a liberal/conservative issue. Liberals tend to fail in particular areas (gun control etc.) and conservatives tend to fail in different particular areas (drug laws etc.).

      --
      7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
    65. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      actually I believe that taking responsibility for your own actions is a libertarian point of view.

    66. Re:In other news... by 2names · · Score: 0, Flamebait
      Yes, that would be a very liberal interpretation of the constitution to think you could do that

      What the hell are you talking about, stuff like this happens all the time!! Our Government can ban whatever they want, whenever they want because the populace is too fucking lazy to stand up for our rights!! Wake up, dumbass!

      --
      "I'm just here to regulate funkiness."
    67. Re:In other news... by elmegil · · Score: 1
      actually I believe that taking responsibility for your own actions is a libertarian point of view.

      Libertarians I know don't specifically single out Liberals for chastisement.

      --
      7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
    68. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "clean air"

      Get enough oxygen in the air and when you breathe it in you'll spontaneously combust.

      [You need a very high concentration of it though]

    69. Re:In other news... by Fizzlewhiff · · Score: 1

      She was even busted smoked crack in the rehab facility and the Bushies leaned on the staff not to make a thing out of it.

      If JEB wanted to he could pardon her and the whole thing would be over. But he's not doing that. His daughter has a problem and needs to recover from it properly. Dragging her pesonal life through the TV and paper tabloids would not be good for her recovery. And her problems shouldn't be used as ammo against Bush which would more than likely be the case with JEB up for re-election. JEB is a good governor and would make a great president, 100 times better than Dubbya.

      --

      'Same speed C but faster'
    70. Re:In other news... by phocuz · · Score: 1

      Ehm. I dont know what planet you are from, but here in Sweden we had a number of GHB related deaths, after which a law made it illegal.

      Most deaths occurred while mixing it with alcohol, which increases the risk of falling into a coma like stadium which lasts for a couple of hours. What makes the drug dangerous is that it is hard to get the right dose, which often leads to overdoses. Since GHB in larger doses frequently causes nausea, and vomiting, this is a dangerous combination. Puking while being unconscious, and subsequently drowning in your own puke is, at least to me, not a very nice prospect.

    71. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She is not a man....

    72. Re:In other news... by bluprint · · Score: 1

      Who else gets these doors kicked open for them?

      Who else get's their rehad drug through everyones' home at 6:00 and 10:00?

      --
      A modern day witchhunt.
    73. Re:In other news... by bluprint · · Score: 1

      BTW it's worth noting, if the statement hadn't started with "all you liberals", I wouldn't have responded.

      I'd say it's generally true that, more so than the conservatives, liberals tend to make laws to protect people from themselves. On the other hand, conservatives tend to make laws to punish what is outside their consideration of "proper behavior."

      In the context of this particular story, making a comment about the "left side" (in regard to the issue about them protecting people from themselves), seems appropriate.

      --
      A modern day witchhunt.
    74. Re:In other news... by CreationLtd · · Score: 1
      At which point you decide which you prefer...

      A government that makes it harder for you to get your illegal substances ...

      A government that throws you in jail for life for getting your illegal substances.

      - "Well, at least you can admit you're a Republican. That's the first step to recovery."

    75. Re:In other news... by CreationLtd · · Score: 1
      At which point you decide which you prefer...

      A government that makes it harder for you to engage in potentially harmful activities ...

      A government that throws you in jail for engaging in potentially harmful activities.

      - "Well, at least you can admit you're a Republican. That's the first step to recovery."

    76. Re:In other news... by CreationLtd · · Score: 1
      I think the Romans used that line of thought on the Christians. Following that train of thought the only ones who should have continued practicing Christianity were the cruel, wealthy, or desperate.

      "Mmmm... Lions, tigers, and bears. Oh my!.... Maybe Zeus isn't such a bad idea after all."

    77. Re:In other news... by silicon_synapse · · Score: 1

      Perhaps you should read my comment again. Since their thinking they can ban such things depends on their interpretation of the constitution, the word "could" in my comment obviously does not refer to their capability. "Could" rather refers to the constitutionality of banning these things. They cannot do it without defying the constitution. Of course they do it every day anyway. Thank you for blessing us with your great display of intelligence douche bag.

    78. Re:In other news... by elmegil · · Score: 1

      I'd say that the drug laws in particular seem like a prime example of conservatives more than liberals supporting laws that "protect people from themselves."

      --
      7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
    79. Re:In other news... by bluprint · · Score: 1

      "That's an ironic comment considering your sig."

      Only if he is drawing welfare...or some other such thievery of the employed.

      In regard to your "example", I particularly like your inability to demonstrate why a "law to prevent paypal from sucking" is such a necessity to every single person in the country that it should be made LAW.

      --
      A modern day witchhunt.
    80. Re:In other news... by Hrothgar+The+Great · · Score: 2

      3. Not strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation.

      I have mostly leftward political leanings; however, I will not hesitate to point out to you, sir, that "liberals" tend to very heavily favor censorship of music and video games. Look at Tipper Gore's crusade against 2 Live Crew and The Dead Kennedies if you need a great example of this. I believe #3 applies very well in this case - liberals favor broader interpretation of constitutionally granted powers, such as the interpretation that the government has some sort of right to censor media.

      Don't tell me you don't think the slightly left Democrats and the extremely left Greens don't both want to censor the video game industry. I've read too many statements affirming this from both to be convinced by your posting of a dictionary definition.

      neither of you have any clue

      No, I think I do.

    81. Re:In other news... by budalite · · Score: 2

      "I would not want to be of any organization that would want me to a member!" - G. Marx.

      (My other .sig is brilliant and funny, but I left it in my other discussion threads.)

    82. Re:In other news... by orkysoft · · Score: 1

      It's called "water poisoning", IIRC :-P

      Sounds odd, doesn't it?

      --

      I suffer from attention surplus disorder.
    83. Re:In other news... by Wildcat+J · · Score: 1
      Who modded this insightful? They didn't even read the post to which they reply...

      The entire point he was making was that such narrow definitions of "liberal" and "conservative" don't represent people's ideological stances very well. Hence, the two-axis system he explains. Read it again.

      -J

    84. Re:In other news... by evilviper · · Score: 2

      Thank you...

      For one thing, it's quite clear that Bush is putting away any arabs for any reason posible, despite the fact that most are law-abiding citizens (happen to remember the story about the arab students a short time ago?).

      Secondly, I am not a minority of any kind... White, Male, etc.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    85. Re:In other news... by danox · · Score: 2

      ok well, wy don't you try breathing as much clean air as fast as you can for 10 minutes straight, and we'll see how soon you pass out.

      --
      "Me and my girl named bimbo . . . limbo . . . spam" - Captain Beefheart.
    86. Re:In other news... by Jonny+290 · · Score: 2

      Yeah, it's a catch-22.

      It's illegal because it causes deaths. It causes deaths because dosage is tricky, but dosage is tricky because quality is unknown. Quality is unknown because it's black-market, and it's black-market because it's illegal.

      --
      Hey Taco! Looks like you're using the "infinite monkeys and typewriters" scheme to generate Ask Slashdots again...
    87. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If Gov. Bush pardoned her the only thing that would be over is his bid for reelection.

    88. Re:In other news... by schlach · · Score: 1

      I just wanted to point out, that's quite a comment you got there:

      Moderation Totals: Flamebait=1, Troll=1, Insightful=1, Informative=2, Funny=3, Overrated=1, Total=9.

      It's something when you can get modded about equally in both directions... =)

      cheers

    89. Re:In other news... by flyneye · · Score: 1

      well,the poor have no slack anyway and are just pawns of the conspiracy.they might as well work as feed off MY slack.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    90. Re:In other news... by Moirke · · Score: 1

      I am very sorry for any deaths that result from anything (don't want to sound insensitive). Still I think the point would be that individuals should be responsible for themselves. If you believe in freedom, and surely you do, then you must accept that everyone is free to do whatever they want. This becomes a problem when someone decides to use your front door as target practice or drive 200mph down your neighborhood street. So you give government the right to infringe on your freedom when your actions endanger others. Others is important, atleast to me. If you want to drink a combination of bleach and ammonia then that is your business (please don't do it cause I would feel very bad). Just my opinion. I don't use any illegal drugs but I really don't care if someone else does. It is not as though the human race is having trouble procreating.

    91. Re:In other news... by LordBrutish · · Score: 1

      Dude he's the president now. Catch up.

    92. Re:In other news... by bsane · · Score: 1

      story about the arab students a short time ago?

      I distrust law enforcement more than most people, but those guys haven't suffered much at the hands of the police. They weren't taken to jail or anything like that. I personally think the problem happened because some hick saw three arabs together and called the police, but I haven't heard anything about the way the police responded that makes me think they were out of line (given what she told them).

      As far as other arabs being held I have mixed feelings. If they being held on some visa violation, then they probably don't have much recourse. If they're being held in Cuba, then there's no telling why they're being held, and it does bother me. Most everyone else has been charged within our legal system (only exception I know about is Jose Padilla- a US Citizen, and not an arab).

      When its all added up I don't see how you can say we're "putting away any arabs for any reason possible". Maybe you can enlighten me to some other group of arabs that I've missed.

    93. Re:In other news... by elmegil · · Score: 1

      Why thank you :)

      --
      7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
    94. Re:In other news... by Rakarra · · Score: 1
      Who else gets these doors kicked open for them?

      Regular folks get these doors kicked open for them too. However, it's usually followed by a few people yelling "This is the DEA, freeze!"

    95. Re:In other news... by Rakarra · · Score: 1
      Hell yes. It should be rectified.

      Michael Jackson treatments for everyone!

    96. Re:In other news... by evilviper · · Score: 2

      I personally think the problem happened because some hick saw three arabs together and called the police

      I see the problem... You don't even know the story. Catch up on your news, then try again.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    97. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hahahahahahaha, liberals want to steal your children in the night! You want to tell me that conservative moralists who vomit rhetoric about "family values" have no desire to censor? We can all sit here and narrowly define the term liberal (a term which even political scientists can't figure out a definition for), but the truth is there are many different types of liberals. I'm a liberal in more of the classic J.S. Mill sense of the word, and a classical liberal would never ban substances and/or media (especially media). A conservative theocracy would in a second though. It is a flaw in our system that we imagine that there are only two sides to every debate instead of a myriad of opinions from many different angles. Also, please provide a quote where the greens would wish to censor the gaming industry. I don't mean to question your honesty, but I'd very much like to read any reasons they might have.

    98. Re:In other news... by bsane · · Score: 1

      You don't even know the story. Catch up on your news, then try again.

      So enlighten me.

    99. Re:In other news... by evilviper · · Score: 2

      I'd love to spend good deal of my time typing up the story, and being your personal secretary (for free)... No, I think not. You're on your own. If you can't find a news story on your own, there's little I can do to help you.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    100. Re:In other news... by techathead · · Score: 1

      Um if you are male you are technically a minority.

  2. Only 86 hours?!?? by ErikTheRed · · Score: 5, Funny

    Geez, dude needed to work on his stamina...

    --

    Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
    1. Re:Only 86 hours?!?? by Ishkibble · · Score: 0

      heh good one, i'v been to week long LAN parties. where we go the whole time on pizza and BAWL's

    2. Re:Only 86 hours?!?? by E1v!$ · · Score: 1

      You bastard! That's what I was going to say!

    3. Re:Only 86 hours?!?? by Jace+of+Fuse! · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm getting the impression it's not uncommon within the gamer community.

      The difference between him and us is that we're smart enough to take our required dosage of Mountain Dew and Pizza.

      The old saying still stands...

      SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK.

      And there is the other one...

      DEATH IS NO REASON TO QUIT PLAYING.

      --

      "Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"

      Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
    4. Re:Only 86 hours?!?? by Ruis · · Score: 1

      How do you know that's not what he was doing?

    5. Re:Only 86 hours?!?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > DEATH IS NO REASON TO QUIT PLAYING.

      And if you were playing Warcraft, you continue playing as the Undead.

    6. Re:Only 86 hours?!?? by abdulla · · Score: 1

      The way of the jedi master gamer.

    7. Re:Only 86 hours?!?? by Hittite+Creosote · · Score: 1
      SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK.

      Right, fine. But I'll go to bed. And eight hours later, when I come back bright and refreshed, my now superior reaction times and clearer thought processes will wipe the floor with your error-ridden sleep addled mind.

      If any management person ever says sleep is for the weak, it just means he can't manage.

    8. Re:Only 86 hours?!?? by Bob+C.+Cock · · Score: 3, Funny

      Maybe he thought he'd respawn or something.

  3. Game? by Avalerion · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I just want to know what game he was playing... Maybe another EverQuest victim?

    1. Re:Game? by mrleemrlee · · Score: 5, Interesting
      I remember pulling all-nighters with Civilization, but usually my eyes stopped working right about noon the next day, and my hands would start rebelling, so I'd stop. I never forgot to eat, though.


      Maybe I was just a wuss.


      I can't imagine a game more addictive than that one was, always asking you to do the NEXT THING, then do this, your city has completed a temple, what would you like to do now? There was never a natural stopping point, so you just kept going, to see what you would build or discover on the next turn, or which nation's ass you would have to kick.


      I had a friend who had no computer that would come over to our dorm room and start playing in the afternoon. We'd pretty much just ignore him or hang out with him, and then I'd have to kick him out when the sun came up the next morning. I was too nice a guy back then.

    2. Re:Game? by Docrates · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I know this is unforgivably offtopic, but when I read this I couldn't help but think of Ender Wiggins, exhausted, after coming from a few days of having colapsed, sitting hopelessly at his terminal and launching a suicide attack on a game simulation of the buggers planet, breaking through their lines of defense and launching the Dr. Device, destroying the planet and his fleet with it...Only to realize it wasn't really a game, but that he was actually controlling earth's armada through the clasified Ansible connection.

      Ok, time for me to go to bed. And remember, their gate is DOWN...

      --

      There are two kinds of people in the world: Those with good memory.
    3. Re:Game? by Kreeblah · · Score: 1

      To hazard a guess, since he was South Korean, I'd say it was probably Gunbound, an exremely addicting game (kind of like an updated version of Scorched Earth). It is only in Korean at this point, but it's quite fun even if you can't understand the text (which you don't really need to, anyway).

      You can get a free account here (fields are username, password, password again, and the radio buttons are male/female; then click the large rocket graphic at the bottom) and a copy of the current version of the client here. Grab the gunbound_xxx.exe file (where xxx is the latest version number).

    4. Re:Game? by sahala · · Score: 2
      I just want to know what game he was playing... Maybe another EverQuest victim?

      I bet it was Civ III. He probably died waiting for the computer players to churn out their moves.

    5. Re:Game? by Sn4xx0r · · Score: 1

      Not that offtopic IMHO. Those last chapters describe pretty much how the Korean guy must have been feeling the final hours. But then again, Ender was a genius, and this dude? Well.. ;)

      --
      Got brain?
    6. Re:Game? by simong_oz · · Score: 1

      way back in the good old days (TM), my mates and I once had a game of Civilisation (the original) that lasted ... 5 days straight!

      Everyone had their own tribe (6 players if I remember right?) and each person would go into the computer room and have their turn while everyone else hung around in the rest of the house (strict privacy/secrecy rules!). Near the end of the game you could usually get 2 hours between your turns - plenty of time for sleeping, eating, and other necessities!

      --
      "Because it's there." - George Mallory, when asked why he wanted to climb Mt Everest, March 18, 1923 (New York Times)
    7. Re:Game? by Soul-Burn666 · · Score: 1

      Something like this was posted ages back and he was playing Counter-Strike.....

      --
      ^_^
    8. Re:Game? by Aliks · · Score: 1

      Hmm, now which camp would it be in Everquest?

      Brother Raster? Well it took me 43 hours in 5 sessions and I did hear of people doing 40 hours straight.

      Ragefire? Well he is supposed to spawn within 72 hours of a server reboot, so maybe the guy was a cleric waiting for the Ragefire that never came. That would be enough to break anyones health.

      Seriously though, I don't know the guy or anyone connected with him, but wherever his spirit rests, let it rest in peace.

    9. Re:Game? by Tim+Browse · · Score: 2

      Wow, I really hope no-one out there wanted to read the book, because you just spoiled it quite effectively for them...

      Tim

    10. Re:Game? by ergo98 · · Score: 1

      In high school my abuse game of choice was the game called "Empire" on the Atari ST, a turn based strategic board games of sorts. While the games started off brisk and progressive, as each side expanded, individual turns started taking upwards of 45 minutes (each person took turns doing their moves): The game did not scale. We easily spent 24 hour periods at time playing that game. The end of the game came one day when he casually mentioned that it sure seemed that he was having a lot of bad luck...perhaps I gave him a handicap (the game let you when you start a game). After checking through the menus and finding that there was no way to check the levels of the two sides, I flicked the power switch: The value of victory to me instantly was dissolved.

      BTW: It wasn't my hands, but rather my teeth would literally start to feel loose after extended periods of awakeness. Very disconcerting.

    11. Re:Game? by gte910h · · Score: 1

      If you use a LCD screen, you can last much much longer.

      --
      Want to see every step I took to start my company? http://www.rowdylabs.com/blogs/pitchtothegods
    12. Re:Game? by archmedes5 · · Score: 1
      >>Ragefire? Well he is supposed to spawn within 72 hours of a server reboot, so maybe the guy was a cleric waiting for the Ragefire that never came. That would be enough to break anyones health.


      Nope, ragefire's triggered now. Coulda been shard camping though, hehe.

    13. Re:Game? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      MS-Windows sol.exe

  4. Drat... by mrgrey · · Score: 3, Funny

    A 24-year-old South Korean man died after playing computer games nonstop for 86 hours

    Well, so much for that week long LAN party idea...

    --
    -Tolerate my intolerance
    1. Re:Drat... by kubrick · · Score: 1

      Well, so much for that week long LAN party idea...

      This is just a slight technical hitch. We're going to need intravenous food and caffeine, and bedpans (and people to clean them up) to take care of the other end. :)

      --
      deus does not exist but if he does
    2. Re:Drat... by (startx) · · Score: 4, Funny

      The weeklong lan works, because eventually everyone has enough sense to get sleep (and get duct taped to the floor) every once in a while and eat wholesome pizza. This guy didn't.

      What? the duct taping isn't required? well shit.

    3. Re:Drat... by ickyfreak · · Score: 0

      imagine a beowolf cluster of those :)

      (go easy on me its my first attempt at a beowolf cluster line hehehehe)

      --

      ---------------
      100% Australian

    4. Re:Drat... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      (go easy on me its my first attempt at a beowolf cluster line hehehehe)
      Maybe on your second attempt, you'll spell it correctly.

    5. Re:Drat... by tierra · · Score: 1

      One of our more recent LANs being scheduled is 36 hours strait (which I guess really isn't too uncommon), but I wonder if I can claim I had a near death experience after that?

      Maybe only half dead... guess it's a challenge, now there will be more competition to see who can beat the 86 hour record, hehe.

    6. Re:Drat... by kuiken · · Score: 1

      Maybe only half dead... guess it's a challenge, now there will be more competition to see who can beat the 86 hour record, hehe.

      Been there, done that. well if you replace gaming with drinking beer.

      The main trick is to constantly eat stuff, otherwise you getto a point where a piece of bread will make you barf

      --

      42
  5. Boots by Samus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thats the geek way of dieing with your boots on.

    --
    In Republican America phones tap you.
    1. Re:Boots by WeaponOfChoice · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Pretty sure the geek way of dying involves electrocution, or maybe immolation (provided it's an electrical fire I guess).
      Now if he'd died at the keyboard that'd be a different matter...

      --


      It's not that I'm Anti-American - I'm Pro-Freedom
    2. Re:Boots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, It is the the people who are to lame to be programmers way of dying with their boots on. Geeks don't game, They masturbate over graphic-cards.

    3. Re:Boots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can't they do both at the same time? ;-)

    4. Re:Boots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Geeks don't game, They masturbate over graphic-cards.

      Not me - at least, not unless I'm properly grounded. But then I am a professional geek.

    5. Re:Boots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, he died on the shitter

    6. Re:Boots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought it was autoerotic asphyxiation.

    7. Re:Boots by EverDense · · Score: 1

      No, he died in the toilet. That is the ELVIS way of dying.

      --
      http://jesus.everdense.com/
    8. Re:Boots by bigsteve@dstc · · Score: 1
      Pretty sure the geek way of dying involves electrocution, or maybe immolation (provided it's an electrical fire I guess)

      ... or 3.5 kilograms of sodium.

    9. Re:Boots by Anonymous+DWord · · Score: 2

      Didn't Kenny die like that too one time?

      --
      "If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he's sorely mistaken." Bush on bin Laden
    10. Re:Boots by Guppy06 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Nah, the geek way of dying is saying the 1337-speak equivalent of "Hey, y'all! Watch this!" while chucking 3.5 lbs. of sodium into a lake.

    11. Re:Boots by duck_prime · · Score: 1
      ...the geek way of dieing with your boots on.
      A conversation after which someone must die:

      DEV: [Jittering, shaking] Okay, I've been up all night coding this to meet our deadline. It will ship. It must ship.

      QA: [Shaking, jittering] Don't complain to me, I've been up all night testing. Hmm ... the colors on the buttons don't match the feature specification. I'm not shipping this.

      PHB: [Fresh, rested] Oh, didn't I tell you, they extended the deadline two weeks.
    12. Re:Boots by furballphat · · Score: 1

      the 1337-speak equivalent of "Hey, y'all! Watch this!"



      j00 sux0r?

      1 0wn j00?

  6. Oh no by Medevo · · Score: 4, Funny

    With the winter coming, and only me and quake 3 at home I might be next.

    Oh well, worse ways to go.

    Medevo

    1. Re:Oh no by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      -Nietzhe

      Who?

    2. Re:Oh no by cicatrix1 · · Score: 0, Troll

      if you still find Q3A fun, I'm surprised you haven't died from staring at your hamster go around in his wheel. Or... maybe going around in your own.

      --

      I know more than you drink.
    3. Re:Oh no by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      133t spelling for Nietzsche.

    4. Re:Oh no by Kowh · · Score: 5, Funny

      If you have an Athlon, at least you won't have to worry about freezing to death.

    5. Re:Oh no by Sharkyfour · · Score: 4, Funny

      LOL. So true, so true.

      Right now all the rooms in my house need the heat on to be bearable exceept the one w/my computer in it. That room still needs A/C.

    6. Re:Oh no by Seehund · · Score: 1, Funny

      133t spelling for Nietzsche.

      5eH+, icH lERNE 3uCh dEN ÜB3RM3N5cHen!
      D3r Ü8eRmen5cH i$+ Der $1nn D3r 3rDe.

      - @L50 $Pr4Ch z4r@+hu$+r4.

      d3® üb3rm3n5ch 0wnz0r j00! ;)

      --
      Help savingAmigaOS and a free PowerPC market
    7. Re:Oh no by lithiumcloud · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah... our school is so stingy they don't fire up the giant furnace until classes actually start (it needs a couple of hours to actually give any effect) so everyone who arrives early in the depths of winter just huddles together in the computer rooms which are the warmest part of the school. Hang on... maybe it's deliberate... leaving computers on all the time is probably more heat for less money. Hmm.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank.
    8. Re:Oh no by matt4077 · · Score: 0, Troll

      just open the door fuckin energy wasting american

    9. Re:Oh no by Sharkyfour · · Score: 1

      Believe me, if you lived with my stepsister, you'd wonder why I only kept my door shut and not triple deadbolted. ;-)

      If she's not home, the door is wide open, tho, and there's still a huge temperature difference when you walk through my door.

  7. not the game's fault by outsider007 · · Score: 5, Funny

    He then went to the toilet where he later was found dead

    why wasn't this story called "Go to the toilet... and die!?"

    --
    If you mod me down the terrorists will have won
    1. Re:not the game's fault by davidstrauss · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sounds like too much Mountain Dew to me.

    2. Re:not the game's fault by Xtraneous · · Score: 3, Funny

      Moutain Dew? Sheesh! Where I come from, we don't drink no sissy drinks, we drink stuff like Red Bull, and Jolt-Espresso, and Bawls.

      And what do we eat? Moovitz, and any other highly sugared, caffeinated food. Mountain Dew?

      That's like vodka to Russians,
      Water

      --
      .noitacidem deen uoy siht daer nac uoy fI
    3. Re:not the game's fault by sharkey · · Score: 2

      He then went to the toilet where he later was found dead

      Maybe he was an Elvis fan?

      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
    4. Re:not the game's fault by haystor · · Score: 1

      We distill Mountain Dew until its just caffeinated rock candy.

      --
      t
    5. Re:not the game's fault by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've never seen a person so wigged out over his little pecker that he has to make his food and drinks sound as manly as possible. Until now.

      Put it away, peewee.

    6. Re:not the game's fault by Guppy06 · · Score: 5, Funny

      "why wasn't this story called "Go to the toilet... and die!?""

      Because we all should have learned that lesson by now with Elvis.

    7. Re:not the game's fault by Walt+Dismal · · Score: 2, Funny

      why wasn't this story called "Go to the toilet...and die!? ... Because that's the name of the next James Bond video game?

    8. Re:not the game's fault by guttentag · · Score: 5, Funny
      why wasn't this story called "Go to the toilet... and die!?"
      PHB: Good point, outsider. If he'd only stayed in his seat he'd still be alive today.

      Dilbert, I'd like you to write a proposal to choose a committee to draft a proposal for a new company policy that forbids programmers from leaving their seats during working hours.

      Asok: Why can't we just implement the new policy?

      PHB: Asok, go back to your seat right now if you want to live.

    9. Re:not the game's fault by Luggage · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Elvis already got that one.

    10. Re:not the game's fault by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You put Bawls in your mouth?

    11. Re:not the game's fault by outsider007 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Good point, outsider. If he'd only stayed in his seat he'd still be alive today.

      yes, but only if he got an *extra life* :)

      --
      If you mod me down the terrorists will have won
    12. Re:not the game's fault by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A little less conversation,
      A little more action.

    13. Re:not the game's fault by Goldsmith · · Score: 1

      I don't need chemical supplements to reach my peak performance level.

    14. Re:not the game's fault by Goenk · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Yeah... it just like Elvis - he died on the can too - why doesn't anyone do something about this toilet-menace ?!

      --
      Incompetence Floats
    15. Re:not the game's fault by StormShaman · · Score: 1

      Too much?!?! Sounds to me like not enough! Guy has got to remember to take his meds! /.

    16. Re:not the game's fault by Easy2RememberNick · · Score: 1

      Actually a lot of people do die because of the drop in blood pressure after using the toilet, i.e. #2 ...I guess it was a good poop! lol
      A nurse friend of mine told me they get a lot of people who have had heart attacks or die form them on the toilet, well it isn't thetoilet like I said it is the sudden drop in blood pressure after "dropping a big load". It's very common.

    17. Re:not the game's fault by Nomad37 · · Score: 1

      what are you talking about? I saw Elvis just the other day, in McDonalds... I'm sure it was him, why would he be dressed like that otherwise?

      --
      Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will! - Antonio Gramsci.
  8. Easy fix by InterruptDescriptorT · · Score: 5, Funny

    If the guy puts in a quarter quick enough, he may be able to resume where he left Earth...

    ...I mean off. :-)

    --
    Karma: Excellent Birds (mostly as a result of listening to Laurie Anderson)
    1. Re:Easy fix by MrEd · · Score: 5, Funny
      Well, look at it this way - at least he didn't have to pay for his 86-hour Internet Cafe bill!

      ... at least not in this world... >:)

      --

      Wah!

    2. Re:Easy fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Repent, sinner, for you have paid the ultimate price for looking at porn nonstop for a whopping 86 hours before making your way to the bathroom!

  9. Anyone know what game he was playing? by Tidan · · Score: 5, Funny
    Cause if he couldn't stop playing for 86 hours straight, it's probably worth checking out.

    Unless he was playing Super Mario Bros. 1, and got stuck in minus world. (Yea, I bet nobody remembers that)

    --
    free ipod? yeah.
    1. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by arkane1234 · · Score: 1

      I remember that...
      Of course, I always got so fed up that I just turned the game off LOL

      --
      -- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
    2. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by greenfly · · Score: 5, Informative

      For those of you who *don't* remember that, the negative worlds were an easter egg of sorts in Super Mario 1 that I believe the developers put in there to test the water levels.

      You go to level 1-2, which is underground, and go to the very end of the level, but not through the final pipe, if you stand on top of the pipe and knock out all the blocks to the left of it (but not to the right) and jump backwards a special way, you can walk through the wall and jump in one of the warp zone pipes before they list worlds 3, 4, and 5. If you do that you will warp to a negatively numbered world which is an water level that keeps going.

    3. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by diesel_jackass · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I only knew one person who had the talent to crouch and jump in the side of the pipe to slide through the bricks to the warp pipes. (it was a chick even!) I had to use the game genie to get to them.

      I could never beat those goddamn negative worlds. I went through that water one I ton of times. I even used the game genie to stop time so I wouldn't have to worry about it running out. I must've spent at least an hour. I know it seems sad, but 86, goddamn!

    4. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      I remeber people trying to beat the -1 world...

      I also remembered being baffled.

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    5. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by Smidge204 · · Score: 1

      Nah, Probably Everquest or Ultima Online. They have a history of destroying lives!

      =Smidge=

    6. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by pyman · · Score: 1

      It was Solitaire of course!

      --
      a ^= b; b ^= a; a ^= b;
    7. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by Tycho · · Score: 2

      I remember the minus worlds, but I could never or never tried to get there. What were they like aside from being a bug?

      --
      Impersonating Tycho from Penny Arcade since before there was a PA.
    8. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by GoogolPlexPlex · · Score: 1

      Is the "minus" world included in more recent ports of the game, eg, for Game Boy Color?

    9. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can't beat it because it loops over and over forever.

    10. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He was probably playing Lineage: The Blood Pledge

      http://www.lineage-us.com

    11. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by diesel_jackass · · Score: 2

      yeah, that's why i only spent 1 hour, not 86. ;-)

    12. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by Sharkyfour · · Score: 1

      Are you sure? I heard it was FreeCell. Game #11982 to be exact...

    13. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by Snafoo · · Score: 5, Funny
      If you do that you will warp to a negatively numbered world which is an water level that keeps going.

      Oh wow. So if you complete a complex task perfectly, you're rewarded by being removed to a position where the work is repetitive, impossible and ultimately futile. Minusland is middle management!

      --
      - undoware.ca
    14. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, I believe the Japanese Disk ver of Super Mario Bros was different. You could go to the minus worlds the same way as described in other posts, but there was an end.

      I read about the minus worlds in an old (then new) Japanese guide that had maps of all the levels and secret areas, etc. I distinctly remember reading a (roughly translated) warning like "minus levels -2,-3, and -4 only in disk version. You cannot leave world -1 in the cartridge.".

      I was never able to try it out on the disk version, so I have no idea if it's true.

      - akamichi

    15. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by theperplepigg · · Score: 1

      actually, the side pipes take you to the minus world. the middle pipe takes you to world 5, i believe.

      --paul

      --
      -- Every time you kill a kitten, God masturbates.
    16. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by mrsmalkav · · Score: 1

      you know, this thing pissed me off for so many hours. i tried and tried and tried to get to that minus world but couldn't.

      i was living in singapore and was playing smb on one of those 50-in-1 game cartridges that were the style at the time and place. apparently, the bug was fixed when they copied it over to the pirated version.

      it kinda confused me that the pirated version worked "better" than the "real" version.

    17. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by Nos. · · Score: 1

      I always thought the idea that every possible game of freecell was winnable. Check Game #-1 - yup negative one.

    18. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by throx · · Score: 2

      From Korea, he was almost certainly playing Lineage (the most popular MMORPG in the world). Morons suggesting EQ or UO don't know the demographics of those game and are just flipping off at the current targets of choice.

      --

      Fear: When you see B8 00 4C CD 21 and know what it means

    19. Re:Anyone know what game he was playing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the trouble with minus world was that the timer still counted down even when you went into the pipe.

      so you'd only have 400 ticks of the clock (~3 minutes) per life (plus a few ticks while you're entering the pipe; certainly not more than 5 seconds per round trip) anyway..

      you can only have up to 110 lives...

      110*3=330 minutes.. a tiny bit less than 86 hours, wouldn'tcha say?

      Additionally, _getting_ 110 lives would be a little difficult, because you can't use the infinite bounce trick until the 3rd world.. and you can only legitly enter the level by walking through the wall in 1-2.

      So, no, it doesn't work. :p

      AC'ing because I'd hate to be called a troll for remembering SMB1.

  10. Skip NYTimes reg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    This link will go directly to the article in question, no reg required.

    Thank you, Google News!

  11. REDRUM!! by Anenga · · Score: 4, Funny
    Initial investigation ruled out the possibility of murder, police said.

    Hmmm... I don't know about that. Suspects include: (but not limited to) Orcs, Night Elfs, Zerglings, Hydras...
    1. Re:REDRUM!! by diesel_jackass · · Score: 2

      don't forget Xaero!

      or Crash because no one would suspect her.

    2. Re:REDRUM!! by DoomedPhil · · Score: 5, Funny

      I guess I'm old, but I'd check to see if the bathroom light was out and interview a grue or two...

    3. Re:REDRUM!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A man has died. Some decorum, please.

      I'd post under my account but the sad thing is this post would be modded down.

    4. Re:REDRUM!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And apparently taken another man's sense of humor with him.
      We didn't kill him and we're not glad he's dead.
      It's just a funny way to die.

    5. Re:REDRUM!! by tommck · · Score: 1

      That was friggin funny! Gotta love the jokes for the old farts!

      --
      ---- It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again. It does this whenever it's told.
  12. I don't get it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    He was fine when he was playing games. Obviously it was going to the crapper that killed him!

    1. Re:I don't get it. by King_TJ · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hey, if you ate LAN party quality snacks and drinks for 86 hours straight - you'd probably have one heinous session at the toilet too.

      Maybe it was just the smell that overpowered him?

    2. Re:I don't get it. by macrom · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I knew a guy once that played EQ or some-such online game for 2 weeks without getting up to so much as take a crap. He ate mostly fruits and breads, stuff that backs you up real good. After hearing his story, I think he wished he was dead when the doctor had to manually extract the feces from his colon.

      I love games like every one else, but I definitely place defication above advancement to the next level in a game.

      /me awaits the snide comments about my lack of dedication to gaming...

    3. Re:I don't get it. by kingOFgEEEks · · Score: 0

      no, i think you have your priorities straight

      --
      mechanicos ergo cogito
    4. Re:I don't get it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe some it will be possible to link defecation and levelling. Hm.. wait a minute, I know, there's Neverwinter Nights, where the higher your level, the crappier the game gets.

    5. Re:I don't get it. by ryanvm · · Score: 2

      I knew a guy once that played EQ [...] for 2 weeks without getting up to so much as take a crap. He ate mostly fruits and breads, stuff that backs you up real good.

      Hmmmm - I've got the mod points, but I can't find the "-1 Bullshit" selection.

    6. Re:I don't get it. by MarcQuadra · · Score: 1

      Probably it was heroin or something that did him in. Played through some withdrawl, then attempts to overcompensate in the crapper, takes too much and ends up dead.

      --
      "Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
    7. Re:I don't get it. by Pfhor · · Score: 3, Informative

      Its called manual disimpaction.

      Friend of mine is an EMT and has fun stories about that.

    8. Re:I don't get it. by macrom · · Score: 2

      Believe what you want. Matters not to me. If you're that pissed about it, mod it down as "Offtopic" or something.

      Besides, the story is about Humanshit, not Bullshit. :^)

    9. Re:I don't get it. by Tokerat · · Score: 3, Funny

      Maybe we should make games that give bonus points if after 8 (+/-) hours you pause for 15 minutes and go take a crap?

      "+10,000pts DEFICATION BONUS! A Healthy Gamer lives to buy More of our Products!"

      --
      CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
    10. Re:I don't get it. by ryanvm · · Score: 1

      Heh. I'm not mad, buddy. Besides, I don't believe in negative moderation.

    11. Re:I don't get it. by lithiumcloud · · Score: 4, Funny

      Playing Baldur's Gate II, whenever the game went into the loading screen you would get some sort of tip about the game. One of them reminded you to eat, saying they didn't want to lose any dedicated players.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank.
    12. Re:I don't get it. by WoodsDweller · · Score: 1
      • reminded you to eat, saying they didn't want to lose any dedicated players

      The first time I saw that message I hadn't eaten for 24 hours. Good user interface design!

      --
      There are two kinds of societies: sustainable and doomed.
    13. Re:I don't get it. by Beliskner · · Score: 2
      #4421191 Look at your mod points! You're almost as bad as some of the sigs

      Moderation Totals: Troll=1, Interesting=3, Funny=3, Overrated=3, Total=10.

      --
      A caveman dreams of being us, the incalculable power and riches. We dream of being Q, then what?
  13. yeah great journalism here by GoatPigSheep · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It must have been the games that did it!

    Force anyone to sit in one place for 86 hours without sleep, food, or water, and I'm sure at least SOME of them would die.

    But I'm sure it was the GAMES that killed him.

    --
    GoatPigSheep, the 3 most important food groups
    1. Re:yeah great journalism here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I "met" your sister; she ain't worth it.

    2. Re:yeah great journalism here by Capsaicin · · Score: 1, Redundant
      Force anyone to sit in one place for 86 hours

      Nobody forced him ... Why excatly was he sitting in one place for 86 hours again?

      --
      Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident a security. --Edmund Burke
    3. Re:yeah great journalism here by wormbin · · Score: 1

      Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

      Bullets don't kill people. The hole does.

      Games don't kill people. Sitting for 86 hours without food or water kills people.

    4. Re:yeah great journalism here by VoiceOfRaisin · · Score: 1

      but isnt it the game that caused him to do those things?

      "it wasnt me who killed him officer, it was just the bullet from my gun"

    5. Re:yeah great journalism here by Destoo · · Score: 5, Funny

      > why exactly was he sitting in one place for 86 hours again?

      It's called Camping.

      --
      Nouvelles de jeux et technologies en français. TC
    6. Re:yeah great journalism here by adamp3 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Of course it was the games -- he died after he got up to go to take a break.

      Clearly, he died of withdrawl.

    7. Re:yeah great journalism here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      its only 3 days. ppl have lasted longer.

    8. Re:yeah great journalism here by sowellfan · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You know, it just struck me that this sounds a bit like the feared 'economy class syndrome' that we've heard about on the news. From the press I've heard, it can happen when a person sits in a chair for a long time without being able to move around much, and a blood clot gets the chance to form in the legs or buttocks. IIRC, the trial lawyers are trying to soak the airlines with lawsuits about this.

      In the airplane cases, these people are in their seats for 5-10 hours, in the cases I've heard of. And this guy was sitting in that chair for 86 hours. Granted, he might have gotten up to go to the restroom a few times, but that could still cause problems. From what I know, your body needs to lay down every once in a while, if only to redistribute bodily fluids to where they ought to be.

    9. Re:yeah great journalism here by DaveSchool · · Score: 1

      Or maybe it's the game's publisher's fault, they shouldn't have made such a good game, they knew people would get addicted too it... Or is it the guy's parent's fault, for not teaching him proper care for his body... Or maybe it's society's fault... Perhaps is the government's fault for not addressing the problem... Or is it your fault, for not checking every netcafe in the world in case someone's dying in one. You can play the blame game all day long, it doesn't matter, the guy wasn't smart enough to care about his own self-preservation. Simple as that.

      BTW, guns don't kill people, I kill people.

    10. Re:yeah great journalism here by FurryFeet · · Score: 2

      Yeah, but nobody was forcing him to stay in one place. He did it of his own free will. Why? To game.
      What makes it newsworthy (and, to me, fascinating) is that gaming was compelling enough to, as you put it, "Force [him] to sit in one place for 86 hours without sleep, food, or water".

    11. Re:yeah great journalism here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Should we blame the government?
      Or the Images on TV?
      No!
      BLAME CANADA!!!

  14. inevitable question... by boomka · · Score: 1, Funny

    can I have your stuff?

    --
    Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.
    H.G. Wells, "The Outline of History"
    1. Re:inevitable question... by GigsVT · · Score: 0

      Someone already looted his corpse, sorry.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
    2. Re:inevitable question... by alexmogil · · Score: 1, Flamebait
      You goddamned PK'er.

      Parent poster is the suspect! See if he has that kid's ear!

      --
      A winner is you!
  15. Discrediting Violence by thenovacrisis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Now they can't blame video games for increasing violent emotions and actions. How are you going to be violent to someone if you can't pull yourself away from the computer long enough to eat.

    --

    -----.----.-------
    I'll .sig you!
    1. Re:Discrediting Violence by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 2

      I had one roomate that would get little violent, very mad and lot profane if someone called while he was playing StarCraft and wanted to talk to him. Needless to say, the girlfriend he had is no longer his girlfriend.

  16. I see new advertising potential by citroidSD · · Score: 2, Funny

    "John Romero Is Going To Make You Kick the Bucket"

    1. Re:I see new advertising potential by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How is John Romero gonna do shit when all he is doing now is making games for portable devices and teaching some lame-ass class college course on 'game design' ? I saw him at a bar in Dallas a few months ago. He still looks gay, and I still think Stevie must have been desperate (or he was the only person who didn't mind her genital warts).

  17. /me . . . by acceleriter · · Score: 5, Funny

    . . . pours a bit of Red Bull on the side walk in memory of his homie. I hope I go down in glory like dat.

    --

    CEE5210S The signal SIGHUP was received.

    1. Re:/me . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He died on the toilet, not at the computer. That's not going down 'in glory'.

    2. Re:/me . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you hope to die on the shitter too?

      Hope you make it, son.

  18. Slashdot Newbie! by Anenga · · Score: 2, Redundant

    Journalism?! This is Slashdot!!

    1. Re:Slashdot Newbie! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not to split hairs, (I realize your post was of the "humorous" sort) but you, Anenga: user #529854, are more of a newbie than GoatPigSheep: user #525460. :)

  19. That's a long time to hold it... by Radi-0-head · · Score: 5, Funny

    Was it the first time in 86 hours that he had used the restroom? That would kill anyone.

    1. Re:That's a long time to hold it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Actually, I've heard that holding it in too long can cause a person to loose their ability to have an erection.

      Of course, if you play games that often, you don' really have to worry about this.

    2. Re:That's a long time to hold it... by schwatoo · · Score: 1

      You haven't met the wife.

      --
      I have trouble with passwords among other things.
  20. Suspicious that... by Xtraneous · · Score: 5, Funny

    He played for 86 hours, as in the X-86 architecture. So what's next? The new Apple Ad?

    It went like, beep beep beep, and then I died

    --
    .noitacidem deen uoy siht daer nac uoy fI
    1. Re:Suspicious that... by Glytch · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Best of all, "86" is slang in lots of places for "dead".

      Yes, kids, that's why they gave Maxwell Smart that number, too.

    2. Re:Suspicious that... by Duckz · · Score: 1

      Best of all, "86" is slang in lots of places for "dead".

      The casinos use this term "86'd" whenever someone is banned from the casino for any reason.

      --
      Todd
    3. Re:Suspicious that... by messiertom · · Score: 1

      "86" is a restaurant term for "kill the order." Hence, the name "Agent 86" on "Get Smart" (Hey, I guess we've both watched that show :)) was actually some clever humour.

    4. Re:Suspicious that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      86'd is the term used when you are kicked out of a bar, usually for having drank too much. Could 86 be the universal number for excess?

    5. Re:Suspicious that... by dasboy · · Score: 1

      Actually, '86' the verb, means "to get rid of." Example: "John was told to 86 the gun." It is sometimes used to describe murder as in "Ted was 86ed by Carol."

    6. Re:Suspicious that... by Windcatcher · · Score: 1

      I thought the lady that was his sidekick was Agent 86. Or was she Agent 99?

      Blech. Too much TV in my youth...

    7. Re:Suspicious that... by Glytch · · Score: 2

      She was 99.

      And one of these days I'm going to take a cellphone and embed it into a shoe.

    8. Re:Suspicious that... by JKConsult · · Score: 1

      And then try to board an airplane.

    9. Re:Suspicious that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I tougth that slashdot means that... "the site was slashdotted by..."

  21. bs by witort · · Score: 5, Funny

    now he's in heaven shouting "OMFG that was such bullshit!"

    1. Re:bs by JanusFury · · Score: 5, Funny

      Except he's shouting it in korean and 3 script kiddies are up there giving him funny looks and asking 'wtf d00d speek english'?

      --
      using namespace slashdot;
      troll::post();
    2. Re:bs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      what's korean for 'damnnnn lag!'?

    3. Re:bs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Script kiddies DON'T go to heaven.

    4. Re:bs by Exiler · · Score: 1

      Niether do gaming Koreans... =P

      --
      Banaaaana!
    5. Re:bs by PaganRitual · · Score: 1

      OMFG!!! g0d 15 4 l4m3r w4llh4ck1ng a1mb0t ch34t1ng r0ck3t f4g n00b ... w00t!!1! w00t !!! *lightning strike*

    6. Re:bs by vectra14 · · Score: 1

      CHEATER! WALLHACK!

    7. Re:bs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The "gaming" part is irrelevant.

    8. Re:bs by mateomiguel · · Score: 1

      script kiddies do NOT go to heaven!

  22. Obviously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Obviously video games are bad because they make you die after playing them a long time.
    If this man was engaged in eating, drinking water, sleeping or exercising for 86 hours he wouldn't have died. It had to be the video games that actually killed him. I know if I keep eating for 86 hours straight I don't die! I know! I've tried!

  23. .hack//SIGN by Otik2 · · Score: 1

    Going into a coma while playing a computer game... it's the World!

  24. Re:Game? me too! me too! by diesel_jackass · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wouldn't it be funny if he was trying to beat Doom II? Or some other old game that everybody's beaten? And especially if he didn't make it past the first level or didn't know how to switch guns or something.

    Well, I guess it would be more tragic than funny, but due to the fact that it would be so darwinically sad, that it might get a chuckle or two.

    You like that word "darwinically"? I just made it up, hehe.

  25. I hope the poor sap saved his game by blackbeaktux · · Score: 5, Funny

    It'd be such a waste if he didn't. All that effort for nothing...

    1. Re:I hope the poor sap saved his game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He was probably just camping.

    2. Re:I hope the poor sap saved his game by Anonymous+DWord · · Score: 2

      That reminds me of the time I was in this arcade in my neighbourhood when I was young. It was a pizza place too, and it must have been a slow day, because the only guy there was playing 1942. Anyway, the phone rang, and he's like "cover my game for me!" I rush over, and start playing. He's on level 362882, with the giant boss that completely fills the screen. I had played 1942 a couple times before that, but I wasn't that good. I killed his remaining 8 guys, and left before he came back.

      --
      "If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he's sorely mistaken." Bush on bin Laden
  26. I'm sure... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I'm REALLY sure this guy's family would love to read your humor. Especially since the guy, well, DIED.

    1. Re:I'm sure... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Idiots die all the time for doing idiotic things.... It's evolution at work.

    2. Re:I'm sure... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's right...I guess we should give up on all humor since most of it has to do with people doing stupid things and getting hurt because of that fact since it will inevitably hurt the family of the poor soul who met his end. Well this world has just gone to shit...

    3. Re:I'm sure... by ceejayoz · · Score: 3, Funny

      Somehow I don't think his parents are going to be using a computer to read Slashdot anytime soon...

    4. Re:I'm sure... by superyooser · · Score: 0, Troll
      I would prefer not to discuss a person's death in such an irreverent manner, but since you've decided to take the discussion down this path, I'd like to correct you on a point of science.

      I think you really mean to say that it's natural selection at work, not evolution. However, even that would be wrong.

      Natural selection is a separate proposition from evolution. Because of natural selection, genetic information is not available to later generations of organisms. It is removed, not added.

      Idiotic hypotheses die all the time. It's "natural selection" at work.

    5. Re:I'm sure... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Frankly, I sincerely hope that if I ever die in such a stupid/silly/odd way, my family would not only appreciate such humour but join in.

    6. Re:I'm sure... by Tassach · · Score: 2
      --
      Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
    7. Re:I'm sure... by ParrotDroppings · · Score: 1

      FINALLY! Stupidity DOES Hurt!

      Get some legislators out there to prohibit it in public places

      --
      Free ?! Does that mean I can't get a Discount ?!
      This message was /.'ed
  27. Proof! by x136 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That video games are a bad habit and can kill you!

    Wait, no, it's just proof that being a dumbass can kill you. Never mind, carry on.

    --
    SIGFEH
    1. Re:Proof! by WhiteKnight07 · · Score: 1

      This incident gives your sig a whole new meaning.

      --


      We're going to make information free Mr. Anderson, whether you like it, or not.
  28. My wife says I'm the worst in the world... by kbielefe · · Score: 2, Funny
    and now I can prove her wrong.

    --
    Anyone ever died from 86 straight hours reading Slashdot?

    --
    This space intentionally left blank.
    1. Re:My wife says I'm the worst in the world... by wd123 · · Score: 1

      No, at least not if you want to stick to the world of the living you can't. :)

      --
      "question = (to) ? be : !be;" --Shakespeare
    2. Re:My wife says I'm the worst in the world... by Washizu · · Score: 5, Funny

      My wife says I'm the worst in the world... and now I can prove her wrong.

      Actually, now you are.

      --
      OddManIn: A Game of guns and game theory.
  29. Deep Vein Thrombosis? by nzgeek · · Score: 5, Interesting

    IANA Doctor, but although it's primarily an air travel thing, isn't it the case that sitting anywhere for too long can cause blood clots to form in the legs?

    Said clots may detach and make their way to the lungs (causing pulmonary embolus) or brain (causing a stroke).

    Sounds to me that this dude just suffered an extreme attack of stupidity. If you're gonna LAN for a week (or take a long flight) then at least get off your arse and walk around every few hours.

    1. Re:Deep Vein Thrombosis? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      IAA physician. (BTW, do Americans (or is it a New Zealander in this case?) really call all physicians "doctors"? Cute.)

      isn't it the case that sitting anywhere for too long can cause blood clots to form in the legs?

      No. You get a harmless and physiologically normal venous pooling of blood, but if you get clotting from sitting still you suffer from a disease.

    2. Re:Deep Vein Thrombosis? by nzgeek · · Score: 1

      Yup - when I get sick here in New Zealand I book an appointment with my Doctor. I guess I just have to check the certificate on his wall to make sure he is an MD and not a PhD of Physics or something :-)

      Back on the subject, so you're saying that airline-related DVT requires you to be predisposed to clotting? Or is it to do with the pressure changes, and therefore the airlines saying that you are just as likely to develop DVT on a long train journey are full of it? Wouldn't put it past them.

    3. Re:Deep Vein Thrombosis? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd like to see the degree from that guy who said he was a doctor and that you can't get a DVT from sitting too long. Cuz a doc who tried to convince his examiners about that on his board exams just might fail. And I am a ... Medical.... doctor

    4. Re:Deep Vein Thrombosis? by taniwha · · Score: 1
      to be fair in NZ a doctor has a BMedSci or some similar (I forget the exact designation), not an actual doctorate (a medical degree there is not done in postgrad but entered directly from a special undergrad track).

      'Doctor' is an honorific

    5. Re:Deep Vein Thrombosis? by ivaldes3 · · Score: 1

      Yes, that's a possiblity as well as many other possible medical causes. However, without knowing anything more than what the article states, it clearly sounds like mania. Mania used to be quite deadly until good psychotropic medications came along. You go and go until you literally drop dead.

      -- IV

      --
      http://www.LinuxMedNews.com Revolutionizing Medical Education and Practice.
    6. Re:Deep Vein Thrombosis? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      doctor doctor doctor doctor doctor doctor doctor doctor motherfucking barbara streisand doctor! doctor doctor doctor doctor doctor doctor!

      Oh, and I've taught a fair number of pre-meds in my time. Were you one of the high-minded pretentious types that couldn't find the root of a polynomial of order one (solve an equation for x, for the math illiterate) or the sadly determined, but bored of it all rich fucks? Oh well, it doesn't matter, because either way I think you're a git.

      God that felt good.

    7. Re:Deep Vein Thrombosis? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      when I get sick here in New Zealand ... I just have to check the certificate on his wall to make sure he is an MD

      Unless he's a seppo, he's not likely to be an MD, the letters you would see in enzed would be MBBS

    8. Re:Deep Vein Thrombosis? by Isldeur · · Score: 2

      IAA physician. (BTW, do Americans (or is it a New Zealander in this case?) really call all physicians "doctors"? Cute.)

      >isn't it the case that sitting anywhere for too long can cause blood clots to form in the legs?

      No. You get a harmless and physiologically normal venous pooling of blood, but if you get clotting from sitting still you suffer from a disease.


      Methinks there's one doctor who needs to brush up on Virchow's Triad:

      1. Stasis
      2. Endothelial Injury
      3. Hypercoagulability

      Can all predispose to thromboembolism.

      (Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, but I play one on TV)

    9. Re:Deep Vein Thrombosis? by Alan_Exs · · Score: 1

      I demand to see your qualifications (like, which show?)

    10. Re:Deep Vein Thrombosis? by vaguelyamused · · Score: 1

      This isn't absolutely true. Otherwise healthy people who are for some reason immobile for long periods of time can develop DVT. Most people in comatose states in ICUs are on some form of DVT prophylaxis, regardless of age or preexisting health conditions. I've seen it happen in 40yo guys who were sitting around all the time with a cast on their leg. If this guy was really that compacted I do wonder if he didn't Vagal himself out. If he hadn't drank any water for that long he could really throw his electrolytes off which could predispose him to heart arrhythmias.

      --
      STOP ROCK VIDEO
    11. Re:Deep Vein Thrombosis? by evilviper · · Score: 2

      IANADBIPOOS (I am not a doctor, but I play one on Slasdot)

      If you're a doctor, I'm a parot... I can say, for a medical fact, that if parts of your body remain perfectly still for too long, you will form a blood-clot.

      I would say it's unlikely that happened to this person, since just a twitch, once in a while is enough to avert this problem. But considering his record for not going to the bathroom, it may well be possible.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    12. Re:Deep Vein Thrombosis? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      BTW, do Americans really call all physicians "doctors"?

      It's so common that when I told someone my that a coworker was a doctor, they said, "Not a real doctor," because his PhD wasn't in medicine.

      Cute.

      Never thought of it that way, but I guess it is a little cute.

  30. Oh please by Jacer · · Score: 2

    when heroes of might and magic 4 came out, 6 of us sat up for longer than that doing a 3v3 hot seat, and we never won!! (hot seat heroes games, on extra large maps can take *days*)

    --
    --fetch daddy's blue fright wig, i must be handsome when i release my rage
    1. Re:Oh please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      thanks for sharing how much of a loser you are!

    2. Re:Oh please by Destoo · · Score: 1

      Here's the flaw in your example: HOT SEAT.
      Unless your chairs all had wheels, then you did actually get up and move.

      --
      Nouvelles de jeux et technologies en français. TC
  31. This is why they need... by SteakandcheeseUm · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is why they need computers in the Bathrooms! geese!

    1. Re:This is why they need... by majestynine · · Score: 2

      nonono, If you can't make the geek go to the toilet, bring the toilet to the geek.

    2. Re:This is why they need... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Geese?! Where?!

    3. Re:This is why they need... by Bob+C.+Cock · · Score: 1

      That's why laptops with wireless network cards are so usefull.

  32. holy god by heff · · Score: 1

    i could be next..

    *ejects bf1942 cd and walks to use the bathroom*

    --

    --

    |-_-| . o O ( bEef!)

    1. Re:holy god by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you needn't have the cds inside.

  33. OH SHIT by Gimpy-Joe · · Score: 1

    there goes my plan to play all the baldur gate and icewind dale games without sleeping

    --
    Good luck in hell.
  34. I'd love to know what he died OF by blackbeaktux · · Score: 5, Funny

    But then, if he was a true gamer, he obviously died from "natural causes"

    1. Re:I'd love to know what he died OF by AgentTim3 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Since he hadn't been to the can for more than 80 hours, I'd scientifically theorize that when he sat down to take a dump, his ass exploded.

    2. Re:I'd love to know what he died OF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Finally... A reasonable explanation of how the Goatse man came into existance!

  35. food, drink? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps the lack of food and drink did it?
    Anyone who ignores the cravings of life.. well. dies...

  36. References by quantaman · · Score: 2

    I'm not sure how the The Sydney Morning Herald would like it if they knew their story was pasted word for word on the front page of a major (?news)site with no acknowledgement given other than a link at the bottom of the text which doesn't suggest the story was copied from there. It's not that hard to put some quotes or throw it in italics like you do for a submission and say
    The Sydney Moring Herald just ran a story which included "... "
    I just hope they don't take the
    Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. at the bottom too seriously

    --
    I stole this Sig
    1. Re:References by quantaman · · Score: 1

      Sorry the line
      Source Article can be found in The Sydney Morning Herald
      didn't quite register on the first read (must of been gaming too long:) Still is it still possible that some paper could get mad about it?

      --
      I stole this Sig
    2. Re:References by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Umm... dude... Copyright should have NEVER been applied to News in the first place. Since, its only that paper/producer's spin on the same data. All news should be freely distributable, any such copyrighted news should be instantly shoved to the back burner. Kudoes to /. for just showing the news clip, and -NOT- bothering us with excess.

      Microft
      -Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart, he dreams himself your master.

  37. what is the game.. by kcf3r · · Score: 0, Redundant

    he was playing???

    I want it

  38. Re:Game? me too! me too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gee, half your moniker is perfect.

  39. Uhm... by tomthebomb · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Wasn't this a hoax? I've seen this many times before and it's usually involving people that are Asian. I do believe it's a hoax.

  40. Should have used IV's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Further proof that soda cannot nourish the human body for more than three days.

    1. Re:Should have used IV's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i know, he should've been drinking pop!

  41. Which games? by famazza · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Please, could somebody tell us which games did he played?

    --

    -=-=-=-=
    I know life isn't fair, but why can't it ever be un-fair in MY favor!?
    1. Re:Which games? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm sure that the makers of these games would like toknow. It could be great advertising for them.

    2. Re:Which games? by SaturnTim · · Score: 1, Redundant

      Solitare.

      --
      http://www.theMediaBunker.com
    3. Re:Which games? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      with a deck of 51?

  42. sounds familiar by kraada · · Score: 1

    I called it last week . . . and the week before that . . . and the week before that . . . and . . .

  43. Re:Game? me too! me too! by diesel_jackass · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I know, its too bad my old car ran on gasoline.

    '86 740 GLE

    There was a diesel-engine version too :-/

  44. Must have been high. by Puggles · · Score: 3, Informative

    Lack of sleep doesn't do it, nor mass amounts of monitor radiation. He was probably overdosed on some drug. He probably died like Elvis - a pH imbalance getting hightened by his duties in the bathroom.

    Besides, if this could happen to just anybody, EverQuest would have far fewer players...

    --

    Pereant, inquit, qui ante nos nostra dixerunt.
    "Confound those who have said our remarks before us."
    1. Re:Must have been high. by Gizzmonic · · Score: 2

      Yes. Drugs must have done him in. It couldn't possibly have been his own irresponsible behavior...or be associated with *my own* pet vice, videogames.

      Just keep telling yourself that.

      --
      (-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
    2. Re:Must have been high. by Puggles · · Score: 1

      Using drugs*is* irresponsible behavior (The illegal kind, that is).

      --

      Pereant, inquit, qui ante nos nostra dixerunt.
      "Confound those who have said our remarks before us."
    3. Re:Must have been high. by cawsin · · Score: 1

      Are you serious? You sound like one of those people that believe that bullshit that the War on Drugs is preaching. Do some research and find out the truth about these EVIL illegal drugs. "Irresponsible" is a completely subjective term. That's your opinion. Would you call someone who smoked marijuana say once a week irresponsible? Hmmm. How about someone who did cocaine a couple times a month? What if I knew someone who smoked marijuana on an almost daily basis and does cocaine every so often and does ecstasy every two months or so? Is he/she irresponsible? According to you, absolutely. But this person is a full-time college student with a job and has no criminal record or dealings with the law. All As on the report card. Drugs don't affect said person's relationships with friends or family or co-workers. Irresponsible? No. Responsible.

  45. Not a real big deal by dlur · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I know from my MUDding experiences that it's not uncommon for folks into games to stay up for more than a few days at a time with nothing but caffiene. In college I use to regularly stay awake for 48 hours straight MUDding.

    I also know quite a few people who are heavily into methamphetamines that stay up for over a week at a time. I know quite a few folks who brag about having stayed awak for 9 days straight and lived to tell about it.

    The best part about having been awake for more than 3 days isn't necesarily the game you're playing, it's the delusious and hallucinations you get. >3 days awake is better than most hits of LSD you get these days.

    --
    Duris MUD - The best pkill MUD. Ever.
    1. Re:Not a real big deal by nuxx · · Score: 3, Interesting

      My ex girlfriend could attest to this... If she had known that she was delusional. She'd stay up for days on end, pulling the old "I'm not tired, I don't need much sleep" and acting manic and extremely self destructive. I'd eventually have to put her into bed and sleep right next to her for the next twelve hours to be sure that she was all right. Then maybe two days later the cycle would start again.

    2. Re:Not a real big deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i think you were staying up long enough to become delusional and think you had a girlfriend, you then you'd whack it and think you were going to sleep with her. then two days later the cycle would start again.

    3. Re:Not a real big deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, I can understand why she's now an ex-girlfriend.

    4. Re:Not a real big deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's the delusious and hallucinations you get. >3 days awake is better than most hits of LSD you get these days.

      Three dudes moderated that "+1 Interesting". Are they gonna try it or what?

    5. Re:Not a real big deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Those are symptoms of bipolar disorder. Its a very serious condition.

    6. Re:Not a real big deal by mino · · Score: 1
      I'd eventually have to put her into bed and sleep right next to her for the next twelve hours to be sure that she was all right.

      Ummm... yeah. To make sure she was all right. Uh-huh.

      "Yeah, honey, I know we're not having sex yet. But I'm just sleeping here to make sure you're all right. No, really. Yeah, I always sleep naked. Oh, and can you wear this please?"

    7. Re:Not a real big deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, and can you wear this please? Define "this".

    8. Re:Not a real big deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A strap on.

    9. Re:Not a real big deal by FeloniousPunk · · Score: 1

      I don't see how you could play a game well enough to be competitive past 2 days without sleep. When I was in the Army there were field exercises where I effectively stayed awake for up to 72 hours, fueled by army coffee and Copenhagen chaw. Long before you get to the outright hallucination stage you have to contend with the heavily degraded attentativeness stage. The experience was like watching a movie, but only getting to view one frame of every 10 or so.

      --
      I know this because Tyler knows this.
    10. Re:Not a real big deal by Anonymous+Custard · · Score: 1

      My ex girlfriend could attest to this... If she had known that she was delusional. She'd stay up for days on end, pulling the old "I'm not tired, I don't need much sleep" and acting manic and extremely self destructive. I'd eventually have to put her into bed and sleep right next to her for the next twelve hours to be sure that she was all right. Then maybe two days later the cycle would start again.

      Talk about high maintenance!

      Hope she turned out ok.



    11. Re:Not a real big deal by seudafed · · Score: 1

      Yeah, my friends and I were all addicted to crystal about for about 4 years. We'd play StarCraft for a week straight. After about the 3rd to 4th day we'd start nodding out in the middle of games. One of us would have a whole fleet of carriers just sitting at our base doing nothing while the rest of us were getting owned. We'd have to throw shit at him to wake him up and send his carriers to defend us. The sad thing is, for all the fucked up shit a drug addiction can do to you, it was still the most fun time of my life.

    12. Re:Not a real big deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      twelve inches; soft rubber; ribbed; highly bulbous; 45degree curve.

    13. Re:Not a real big deal by Chicane-UK · · Score: 1

      Well.. maybe its just common sense talking but thats a pretty bad way to abuse your body. For christs sake - what ever happened to going to bed and coming back to the game the next day? Its not like its not gonna be there when you come back.

      I dont think I have ever stayed up for more than 24 hours - I must have come close though. Old LAN parties years ago playing Carmageddon and Quake - sure they were great fun but come about 6am it really was time to knock it on the head. Taking drugs and drinking a tonne of caffeine really isnt a good idea.. just storing up some nasty problems for later in life. Your body has to make that lost time up somewhere.

      --
      "Hey! Unless this is a nude love-in, get the hell off my property!!"
    14. Re:Not a real big deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I once , after staying awake for three days straight, became convinced that I didn't NEED sleep, and was confident of this as I laid down to test this theory.
      I woke up wrong 18 hours later.

  46. Let it be known... by Mashiki · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That many of the internet cafe's there are known for spikeing the water and whatnot. Amphetamine spikeing is common to keep customers in the stores longer and whatnot. There have been several deaths related to this over the last few years.

    Also a goverment crackdown has been done once, as you can see...it hasn't made much of a diffrence.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
    1. Re:Let it be known... by ender81b · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not that I don't believe you but you should include some links/citations before making a statement like that (I know, crazy talk). I could only find the following:

      Shanghai Cybrcafe Shut Down

    2. Re:Let it be known... by Inthewire · · Score: 4, Informative

      Have you *ever* tasted meth? It isn't something you'd overlook in water. Coffee wouldn't mask it. It's not an oderless or tasteless substance.

      --


      Writers imply. Readers infer.
    3. Re:Let it be known... by theLOUDroom · · Score: 2, Informative

      I just found this link: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_383454.html

      --
      Life is too short to proofread.
    4. Re:Let it be known... by Mashiki · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I suppose I could clairfy. They do put other things in the water to mask it. Koolaid, Tang, ect. I have tasted several diffrent kinds of amphetamine's, and I've also tasted the spiked water they sell. You couldn't taste it but, that was because it was made very sweet and shown as an "energy boosting drink". And unless you actually know what it tastes like, besides a "supposed" energy drink you wouldn't know.

      An example, you have a glass of tea. But the tea kind of stings your tounge, it's listed as an energy boosting tea but; doesn't have any ingrediants. What's in it? Maybe ginger, maybe something else.

      Just let me be clear, I'm not saying that they are all bad guys spikeing the water, but some are. And you have to becareful, especially since they didn't at one time get inspected for selling food or anything else. They may now, but it's been 6mo since I was last in Korea.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    5. Re:Let it be known... by jarn · · Score: 1

      Maybe they spiked the toilet?

    6. Re:Let it be known... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It would really not be worth it financially (not to mention the risk of poisoning someone or getting caught) to spike an internet cafe's water with amphetamine.

    7. Re:Let it be known... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I go to many korean PC-Bongs. Unless Pepsi or Lotte are spiking their cans of coke and water, I don't see this as a problem. I barely see anyone heading to the water cooler. Other then that you can't get anything but can or a couple of bottles.

      I wouldn't suspect this as a problem in South Korea, I can't speak for North Korea.

    8. Re:Let it be known... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I once had a drink called Water Joe. It was caffinated water.

      I drank a liter of that shite once and it was a bit more caffine than I am used to.

      Stuff taisted like mineral water.

    9. Re:Let it be known... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here's one link: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_383454.html

    10. Re:Let it be known... by Beliskner · · Score: 2
      Have you *ever* tasted meth? It isn't something you'd overlook in water
      Rohipnol has no taste, and then under it's effect they can make you drink your own piss and you woudn't notice. This is when they should add the amphetamine, and hey presto - one recharged customer at only slight risk of injury like Ford Pinto.
      --
      A caveman dreams of being us, the incalculable power and riches. We dream of being Q, then what?
    11. Re:Let it be known... by Reziac · · Score: 2

      Hmm. The water in Universal City (which is a separate system from Los Angeles public water) tastes very faintly like grape koolaid. Could this be to hide the flavour of pro-Fritz brainwashing drugs?? ;)

      (BTW I'm not kidding about the water there, it really does taste like extra-weak grape koolaid!)

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    12. Re:Let it be known... by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      Ahh well there could be something there. I would suggest asking the works dept. if they use floride, I've heard in some cities that's what it tastes like. In others there is no taste at all, apparently it has something to do with the concentration. I'm no expert on it, and I might be compeatly off base on that.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    13. Re:Let it be known... by Reziac · · Score: 2

      I grew up with fluoridated water, in 1960s concentrations (which I gather is somewhat higher than today's typical use) and it had no flavour at all. Tho that was from artesian wells with the best water for several states around. It may well taste very different in the presence of various minerals. My well water here is high in calcium and while the water has little flavour, its scale residue tastes like sea salt.

      AFAIK Universal City uses only well water from a very deep well, so it's probably not treated at all (well water typically does not need chlorination or filtering, either). Also there is no residential use (Universal City being basically the studio, the theme park, some hotels and restaurants), so I have a hard time imagining why they'd add it. It does't taste like old metal or PVC pipes, either. Who knows what the odd flavour is from!!

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
  47. dag nabbit! Now I'm going to have to ... by Ack_OZ · · Score: 1

    change my t-shirt slogan to game AND die...

  48. uh by zapfie · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Er, what CAN you do for 86 hours and not die? I don't think the fact that it was games made it anything special..

    --
    slashdot!=valid HTML
    1. Re:uh by Hatechall · · Score: 1

      Well, once I was able to breathe for 96 HOURS STRAIGHT! --- I am not kidding, I really did. I think the world record is like 128 hours...so damn close!

    2. Re:uh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think the fact that it was games made it anything special..

      Camping, of course.

    3. Re:uh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Next thing we know, you'll be challenging Kenny G for the world record 'holding a note' time.

  49. Darwin was Ahead of his Time by coupland · · Score: 4, Funny

    W00t! Computer games as an instrument of natural selection, you've gotta love it. And you thought we were doomed as a species....

    1. Re:Darwin was Ahead of his Time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >And you thought we were doomed as a species....

      Well, OK. Let's take a vote. Were going to do this democratically, OK. So we don't flood this post with comments, I am going to ask who doesn't game here? Yeah. That's what I thought. Then when the gamers (most IT folk) die, what will become of the people who don't game? They will kill themselves because the e-mail server has been down for a month. I think that a gamers anonymous is definately in order. Hold on.... gotta finish my NWN game--only 78 hours left (just started you know)!

    2. Re:Darwin was Ahead of his Time by coupland · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Wha? I wasn't saying games kill... We all have a funny story about a time we were locked in deathmatch battle and nearly peed ourselves because we didn't want to leave to go to the bathroom. However none of us have sat at our computer playing for 80+ hours straight. Games were just the rather fortunate instrument of this guy's demise, he died because he was dumb. My point was abundantly apparent to anyone who wasn't... uhm... "uninformed".

    3. Re:Darwin was Ahead of his Time by Inthewire · · Score: 1

      Me. I fucking hate video games, television, movies, shit like that. Slashdot is more mindless entertainment than I could possibly absorb in a single lifetime.

      --


      Writers imply. Readers infer.
  50. Not an easter egg, a genuine BOOG by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Nope, it was not intentional. A real bug. Here's a ton of info on it.E2 has the scoop.

    1. Re:Not an easter egg, a genuine BOOG by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      woo that site mentions the small firey mario bug too! i did that twice. as i remember, you are a big mario and jump onto bowser's head *and* the axe that takes away the bridge on any level, and you shrink back to small mario and go save the retainer. when you enter the next world and get a flower, you stay small but can shoot fireballs. your head gets big or you turn big/small really quick (kinda hard to tell/remember) when you shoot the fireballs. next time you get 'hit' you turn BIG. the next hit you die. wow.

  51. conspiracy by pandrew · · Score: 1

    No, I think we have it all wrong, I think, the was done in I think
    the record industry
    is trying to scare people away form computers in general I mean think of it, what do we do while we wait for the mp3's to download? we play games

    now, it is dangerous to sit in front of the copmuter

    no more games
    no more computers
    no more mp3s!

    1. Re:conspiracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >now, it is dangerous to sit in front of the copmuter

      oh, wouln't THAT be an interesting device...

  52. this isn't the first time that's happened by JustinHoMi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Last year someone died after playing too much Counter-Strike.

    Here's the article.

  53. they said it best by digitalsushi · · Score: 3, Funny

    Confucious say gamer man who die flushing one down need 1-up

    --
    slashdot: where everyone yells sarcastic metaphors to themselves to understand the issue
    1. Re:they said it best by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mod up plz kthxbye

  54. Counter-Strike by SexyKellyOsbourne · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Depressed and alone on Christmas break during college, I went on a Counter-Strike spree some day in the age of Beta5 that lasted 97 hours straight, only taking breaks to quit drinking coffee and urinate.

    Tiredness did not matter -- everything was a copy of a copy, and I was some sort of killing machine, though I went from top of the list to somewhere in the middle after the first day. After two days, I was screwed up beyond recognition and was hallucinating, thinking that flowers were growing in de_nuke and that Beavis and Butthead were saying "Go Go Go!."

    After the third day, my head and eyes hurt terribly, I had pissed myself and didn't notice for an hour as my legs were totally numb, and everything was a nightmare. I was so wacked out I couldn't do anything but shoot at things that weren't there...... but my obsession could not end as I sat alone in my dorm room.

    I passed out, collapsed on the floor, and slept for two days (well, about 28 hours) afterwards and was drowsy with a TERRIBLE, GODAWFUL headache for the entire next week, which I pretty much spent in bed.

    1. Re:Counter-Strike by papabear1 · · Score: 1

      What goes up, must come down ... and down ... and down ... You got a headache, he got dead - really it's just a matter of quantum isn't it?

    2. Re:Counter-Strike by shepd · · Score: 1

      Sounds like the results of a failed uberman sleep schedule to me...

      I plan to try it one day, but I hear it could be dangerous to your health. Hmmm... Hard choice. :-)

      --
      If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
    3. Re:Counter-Strike by Phosphor3k · · Score: 4, Funny

      Replace CS with Tribes/Tribes2/Diablo 2.

      Rinse, Repeat. Thats the story of my first and only 3 semesters at college.

      Step 1 Gaming
      Step 2 ...
      Step 3 Degree!

    4. Re:Counter-Strike by Andrewkov · · Score: 0
      You forgot:

      Step 4 Profit!

    5. Re:Counter-Strike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tiredness did not matter -- everything was a copy of a copy

      Somebody been watching too much Fight Club?

      Oh wait... that'd be me.

    6. Re:Counter-Strike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's such a waste. College is for getting women and partying.

    7. Re:Counter-Strike by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 1

      Maybe he just realized that replacing "Profit" with the word "Degree" was actually marginally funny. It served to differentiate himself from the 500 "Profit!" posts made every day.

      --

      How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
    8. Re:Counter-Strike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not sure how you come out of college and immidiatly profit. it's more like
      4) $profit--

    9. Re:Counter-Strike by Andrewkov · · Score: 1

      Maybe he just got it wrong..

    10. Re:Counter-Strike by British · · Score: 2

      It's no surprise. I played Team Fortress Classic for 3 hours straight and went to bed. Of course my dream took place in one of the TFC maps.

    11. Re:Counter-Strike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe you are a idiot.

    12. Re:Counter-Strike by Andy+Smith · · Score: 2
      I had pissed myself and didn't notice for an hour
      If you didn't notice when it happened, how do you know it was an hour? :-)
    13. Re:Counter-Strike by kenp2002 · · Score: 1

      Two words:

      Holy Shit

      --
      -=[ Who Is John Galt? ]=-
    14. Re:Counter-Strike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My record is about playing 15 hours quake2. After that i needed some food so went to the supermarket (that was a saturday morning) and i felt like i had a big hangover. My eyes tunneled like hell and i walked like a zombie trough the store. No problems further but i do now know a little bit what gaming can do to your body. To much gaming gives the same feeling as drinking much alcohol/smoking and partying without proper sleep.

  55. "Kim" from South Korea?... by still_sick · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... I think I know him!

    --
    ...Also, I didn't know Buggalo could fly.
  56. WTF? by SamMichaels · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What does this have to do with gaming? If I sat infront of a TV, computer, or alone counting bumps in paint for 86 hours straight, the same thing would happen to me.

    Another lame attempt to take a stab at videogames and how EVIL they are...

    1. Re:WTF? by _marshall · · Score: 1

      Well, the way I read it, it wasn't meant to blame gaming for his death, but mainly to find the humour/sadness in the fact that someone would die for 86 hours of nonstop gaming =).

      YMMV of course

    2. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "What does this have to do with gaming?"

      Geez, I dunno.. perhaps he was gaming for 86 hours?

      That just may have something to do with it.

      IDIOT!

    3. Re:WTF? by protohiro1 · · Score: 1

      I don't know. Reading some of the posts here some people really do have a problem. I see enough anecdotal evidence to justify a study of some kind, because a lot of these stories are indicitive of real addictive behavior (failing out of school, neglect of basic needs, etc). So what would be interesting to see is how often this happens, whether this also happens with other forms of entertainment, etc. If some thing MAY be going on I think someone ought to find out if something IS going on. Just my opinion. Anyway, back to UT...

      --
      Sig removed because it was obnoxious
    4. Re:WTF? by evilviper · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What other hobbies do you know of where the person is compelled to sit still in one place for long hours at a time?

      At least TV has commercials, and the shows change regularly, giving you something that marks the time...

      Not to say that video games are evil, but it might be good to have some message pop-up after someone's been playing for 8 hours straight that says "Hey d00d. Take a walk. It'll be here when you come back."

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    5. Re:WTF? by kyletinsley · · Score: 1

      What does this have to do with gaming? If I sat infront of a TV, computer, or alone counting bumps in paint for 86 hours straight, the same thing would happen to me.

      Not really. Playing a video game is FAR more mentally intensive than just watching TV/paint/etc. Just watching the TV, you have no control over what happens on it (apart from a very crude and non-specific choice based on what channel you pick), it's just a 1-way stream, and you can stop paying attention and zone out at any time and it doesn't really matter, you can usually pick back up later on and figure out everything that's happened in-between.

      With a video game, it requires your constant attention, everything you do or don't do affects what happens next. You're making split second reactions to events that are happening, while simultaneously planning your strategy seconds, minutes, or even hours into the future. I've gone for about 8-10 hours straight of gaming and those times I only stopped because I couldn't physically concentrate or keep my eyes open anymore. And as soon as you stop, you realize how exhausted you are and have an overwhelming dysphoria and urge to sleep. I have NEVER encountered that situation from TV watching or any other activity for that matter...

      Another lame attempt to take a stab at videogames and how EVIL they are...

      Well I don't think that was the intent of the article, and from about 90% of the comments posted on this page, nobody else seems to think it was either. But on the off chance that that WAS the intent, I would have to agree with it to some extent. There is no other casual non-drug-related entertainment activity that millions partake in that has this kind of addictive power to it. Now I don't think anyone has ever gotten 'the shakes' from video game withdrawl, but sometimes it can be VERY hard to stop playing.

    6. Re:WTF? by BgJonson79 · · Score: 2

      Porn.

      --

      There are four boxes used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order.

    7. Re:WTF? by gnovos · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What other hobbies do you know of where the person is compelled to sit still in one place for long hours at a time?

      Reading

      --
      "Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
    8. Re:WTF? by evilviper · · Score: 2

      For one thing, there are typically chapters... a good point to take a break. Secondly, I would say, a good 90% of books could be read in less than 48 hours.

      Books have a natural limit that video games don't... With a book, as soon as you start getting drowsy, it becomes difficult to continue. Neither TV or video games are more difficult to watch when you are drowsy.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    9. Re:WTF? by Reziac · · Score: 2

      Actually, that's not true. Heavy readers will often consume a complete 400+ page book at a single sitting, and if the book is really good, it will keep you awake into hours when you'd normally be dead to the world -- far better than TV can.

      Other hobbies where you could sit still for excessive hours? Needlepoint. Knitting. Tatting. (Limited only by the size of your yarn and thread baskets.) Writing. I imagine there are others that don't come to mind (me not being much of a hobbyist).

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    10. Re:WTF? by evilviper · · Score: 2

      Heavy readers will often consume a complete 400+ page book at a single sitting
      True... but that's mainly because heavy readers can read 400+ pages in a day or less.

      I've never heard of a single instance where someone has actually stopped bodily functions for a book... Books are not in a form that compells you to continue... you can slow down or stop at any time you wish.

      Besides that, I can't thing of a single book, off the top of my head, that a decent reader could finish in under 80 hours. Even in the case that a large number of people are compelled to read it, I stand by my point in the last paragraph... Everyone would make time for what's important.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    11. Re:WTF? by Reziac · · Score: 2

      While readers generally don't get so fixated on a book that they neglect EVERYTHING else (because it's fairly easy to eat and drink while reading, since normally you have one hand free) -- it is indeed common to neglect sleep in favour of reading. A good book leads you from word to word just as compulsively as a good game leads you from level to level, and despite chapter divisions (the equivalent of going to the next level in a game) there is no real stopping point until you reach the end of the book.

      BTW, what do you mean you "can't think of a single book that a decent could finish in under 80 hours" ?? Or did you mean "couldn't finish"?? In 80 hours, at my fiction-reading speed of about 800 wpm, and given an average of 1000 words per page, I could read an AWFULLY thick book. :)

      Tho I think the point was, ANYTHING can become an addiction to the level that a person totally neglects to take care of themselves. I know someone who got into coding that way and would often stay up for 3 days straight, doing nothing else. Eventually he went round the bend, and no wonder.

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    12. Re:WTF? by evilviper · · Score: 2

      Yes, I meant "could not finish".

      Yes, sleep is often neglected, but I've never heard of things such as bathroom breaks neglected.

      Besides that, a lot of people have been reading large books for a very long time, and I've never heard of a single death due to it. Video games are new, and a relatively small number of peoeple do it...

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    13. Re:WTF? by Reziac · · Score: 2

      And it may be that gaming is itself more appealing to obsessive or addictive personalities that don't know when to stop.

      Back in the olden daze, there were tales of people who would spend 2 or 3 days straight at the roulette wheel or the blackjack table, not stopping for anything until they ran out of money and credit.

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
  57. something similiar by 0ddity · · Score: 1

    Way back when FF7 first came out I played it for 3 days straight. If it wasn't for my buddies bringing me pizza and beer I might have died too.

  58. What's that, food? by __aafkqj3628 · · Score: 1, Funny

    You think it might be that he didn't EAT OR DRINK or maybe a prior medical condition that he knew about want wanted to spend his last few days blasting some ass.

    1. Re:What's that, food? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      maybe a prior medical condition that he knew about want wanted to spend his last few days blasting some ass.

      Okay, that sounds reasonable. But when it's my time to go, and I get one last chance to "blast some ass", it ain't gonna involve no computers, baby!

    2. Re:What's that, food? by __aafkqj3628 · · Score: 0

      Well, if he didn't know the exact time and if he actually blasted the ass the old-fasioned way, then he would have been arrested on Firday and spent his last days in a jail cell.

    3. Re:What's that, food? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought the cause of death was blasting out his ass..

  59. Lesson for Slashdotters by MisterSquid · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's a hard lesson to learn, but that's what happens when you don't take enough bathroom breaks while gaming.

    I mean, what a way to "go" . . .

    (Was it number 1 or number 2?)

    --
    blog
    1. Re:Lesson for Slashdotters by Ozymandias_KoK · · Score: 2, Funny

      The real question is of course this: did he get to fuck Caitlyn Bree after he died?

    2. Re:Lesson for Slashdotters by Hal-9001 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, don't want to die from a ruptured bladder like Tycho Brahe did... :-p

      P.S. I know that the ruptured bladder theory is now considered an urban legend, as is explained here

      --
      "It take 9 months to bear a child, no matter how many women you assign to the job."
  60. I bet he didn't see that one coming by papabear1 · · Score: 1

    Wow, what a frag huh! Gee, I've heard that the new counter strike was pretty lifelike, but this is rediculous!

    Either that or someone left a floatie in the toilet ... Remeber in shared facilities always flush twice ...

  61. Had to be said... by BTWR · · Score: 1, Funny

    Game Over man.

  62. Glory is mine!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    He died? Really?

    YES!!!! I won!!!

    He owes me 20 dolla.....hnhuigfuhvwieuh

  63. Game Over by vvenka1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Gives a different meaning to the phrase "Game Over"

    1. Re:Game Over by legoleg · · Score: 1

      I'm hoping this isnt being taken to an extreme if the psycho sniper-guy in DC turns out to be a CS junkie who went overboard for head shots. This would be a major blow to gaming in general, though I'm not sure how I'd respond. Unfortunatly, I bet he's an unemployed college grad kid with rich parents who has nothing better to do.

    2. Re:Game Over by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do not, I REPEAT, DO NOT read Kafka! You may find yourself stuck in 2 feet of snow... and you know what snow does to your mind, don't you?

      Come on... do you really believe that?

    3. Re:Game Over by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gives a different meaning to the phrase "Game Over"

      should be modded (Score:5 Morbid).

    4. Re:Game Over by bsane · · Score: 1

      I'm hoping this isnt being taken to an extreme if the psycho sniper-guy in DC turns out to be a CS junkie who went overboard for head shots. This would be a major blow to gaming in general...

      I have the same thought everytime I hear about him....

  64. Oh well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

    Well, maybe he can at least say he died happy. :)

  65. Was he playing Gauntlet? by flogger · · Score: 5, Funny

    Young Korean needs food...badly.

    --
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "First things first -- but not necessarily in that order"
    -- The Doctor, "Doctor
    1. Re:Was he playing Gauntlet? by Isldeur · · Score: 3, Funny

      >Young Korean needs food...badly.

      Young Korean is Ab-OUT to die...

    2. Re:Was he playing Gauntlet? by gheidorn · · Score: 1

      Young Korean needs food...badly. That's the funniest post I've ever seen! I spit out my drink when I read that. Good ol' Gauntlet.

    3. Re:Was he playing Gauntlet? by Guppy · · Score: 1

      >>Young Korean needs food...badly.
      >Young Korean is Ab-OUT to die...

      Young Korean, your life force is running out!

  66. You don't say.... by Crocuta · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The capacity for human ignorance never fails to amuse me.

    Kids, this is what happens when you have a society that lets people become so self-centered that the thought of actually being a responsible productive resident is considered a joke. And here I thought only the US was so encumbered. Apparently we're contagious.

    I don't know what the legal system is like in South Korea, but if it's anything like here, the dude's family will probably bring a lawsuit against the gaming room, the game manufacturer, the government, and anyone else they can bilk money out of because they raised a kid with no self control who grew into a man with no self control. After all, it's already happened here.

    This whole thing reminds me of the classic experiment by Olds and Milner in which they wired tiny electrodes into the limbic system of rats. The rats could give themselves a jolt of electricity by pressing a little lever. The stimulation of the limbic system was so pleasurable that some rats would press the bar thousands of times an hour for up to 20 hours at a time until they collapsed from exhaustion. When the rats recovered, they'd go right back to pressing the bar. I have a feeling that if we could do that for people, we'd find that some (like this mental midget in South Korea) would push the bar until their heads exploded.

    Really people, take a break from /., turn off the computer, and get some sun, will ya? ;-) It's just not worth dying on the crapper in some internet cafe.

    Crocuta

    1. Re:You don't say.... by tg_schlacht · · Score: 1

      So people using a droud would just sit in orgasmic bliss until they died?

      Duh!

      Tha't s why it shuts off after a preset period of time and will not turn back on until another preset period has passed.

      Read some Niven.

    2. Re:You don't say.... by odin53 · · Score: 1

      Kids, this is what happens when you have a society that lets people become so self-centered that the thought of actually being a responsible productive resident is considered a joke. And here I thought only the US was so encumbered. Apparently we're contagious.

      I'm sorry, but your attack on American culture is mindbogglingly stupid. Your "witty" comment ignores the fact that Americans work more than citizens of any other Western country, and of most other countries -- therefore seeming MORE productive. There's this thing called the work ethic that we have here, which means we don't have standard 6 weeks of vacation a year and 35 hour work weeks. I really, really hate stupid attacks on American culture, like yours. I certainly can criticize it like anyone else, but I don't make throwaway attacks that are purely for rhetoric (er, mod points) but have no substantive basis whatsoever.

    3. Re:You don't say.... by mindstrm · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yes, if Korea was like the US, they probably would do that.

      But it's not like the US at all. You just made that whole thing up.

      if we hooked you up to the same experiment, you would probably do the same thing, as would many, many mammals.

      Same thing as drug addiction. Do you think people get addicted to cocaine or heroin because they are simply "stupid" or "self centered" or weak minded?

    4. Re:You don't say.... by Wavemaker · · Score: 1, Insightful
      Americans work more than citizens of any other Western country, and of most other countries

      Dude, wake up. I live in Holland (probably the country with most unproductive people per square mile in the world) and I don't know anyone who has a full time job and works less than 40 hours, with 4 weeks of vacation a year. However I do know many people who work more than 50 hours a week.

      That 'work ethic' of yours is pure fantasy. The japanese work way harder than any donut-eater ever will.

    5. Re:You don't say.... by Craig+Davison · · Score: 1

      You're mostly right, but most Americans don't get 4 weeks of vacation a year - more like 2.

    6. Re:You don't say.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're wrong. There's almost no difference between Americans' and Canadians' per capita hours at work. Especially now as jobs are abundant in both contries. Sure we only have about 10% of the workforce that you do, but that's not insignificant.

    7. Re:You don't say.... by AVryhof · · Score: 1

      Arrgh! Don't you listen to Dennis Leary? Crack came along cause Cocaine wasn't blowing people's brains up fast enough!

    8. Re:You don't say.... by ShadowBlasko · · Score: 1

      Louis' droud only did that because he modded it to turn off after a certain period. He had noticed how much his health had gone downhill and decided to include a period of "daily maintinence" in his routine.

      Thats why he started his exercise routines etc, and kicked the Hindmosts' agents asses so quickly.

      Sorry, not trying to be picky, I just re-read "The Ringworld Engineers" for the umpteenth time last week.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order- Ed Howdershelt Via Tass
    9. Re:You don't say.... by Dog+and+Pony · · Score: 2

      Interesting idea that the number of hours you put in (and is forced to put in) should somehow equal "work ethics".

      Or, for that matter, productivity.

      Being at work more does not mean you actually work more, for one thing, and experience shows us that if you work for less hours, say 35 per week, you get more done. Possibly this does not apply to mindless assembly at some factory, but if it is such a simple job it will not be affected by how fast and effective you work, chances are robots are already doing that job, right?

      I can understand you want to defend your country, but that argument is both wrong, and well, kinda naive if not outright stupid.

    10. Re:You don't say.... by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 2
      Kids, this is what happens when you have a society that lets people become so self-centered that the thought of actually being a responsible productive resident is considered a joke. And here I thought only the US was so encumbered. Apparently we're contagious.
      I prefer a society where people have the right to mess up their own lives, as opposed to a society that babysits its members. I should have the right to be an irresponsible unproductive member of society, as long as it is me bearing the consequences. The alternative is a society that forces us to be productive and responsible, which may sound nice but places far-reaching limits on ones personal freedom. Besides, being self-centered has nothing to do with being either productive or a slothful no-good.

      I saw some movie once about that experiment with the limbic system being done on people, as some secret military project. Can't remember the title of the movie though, anyone help me out here?
      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    11. Re:You don't say.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      s/Dennis Leary/Bill Hicks/g

    12. Re:You don't say.... by evilviper · · Score: 2
      Kids, this is what happens when you have a society that lets people become so self-centered that the thought of actually being a responsible productive resident is considered a joke. And here I thought only the US was so encumbered. Apparently we're contagious.


      Apparently, you are so self-centered, that you believe your country invented being self-centered... I hope the irony is not lost on you.

      Taking a 4-day vacation is not ground breaking. There's no evidence that he wasn't a productive member of society up until his death.

      But I suspect, you don't care about the facts that much. You just saw an opportune time to expound your personal philosophies, on a story that might have fit in with your point. Do you feel better now that you got your chance to say "I told you so"?
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    13. Re:You don't say.... by odin53 · · Score: 1

      But even the "productivity" statistics that are put out put the US at the top. I'm sorry, but Americans do have the best work ethic of any Western country. Europeans and less stick-in-the-mud Americans often point out how Americans are so bent on working; that they can't takea break, enjoy life; that the American attitude towards achievement at their jobs replaces much of what's truly valuable in life. Now, you're telling me that Americans aren't productive? They don't work hard? So what's the truth? Do Americans work too hard and hate their lives, unlike Europeans, or are they lazy bums who spend most of their time lolling around, not being productive, unlike Europeans? You can't have it both ways.

    14. Re:You don't say.... by odin53 · · Score: 1

      MOST, if not all full-time working Americans, work at least 50 years a week, from factory workers to bankers, most of them with 2 weeks of vacation a year. ALL my European friends complain that Americans work too much, that in Europe, they generally have 35 (France) to 40 hour work weeks, with at LEAST 4 weeks of vacation. You tell me why Europe is closed all of August and why banks are open from 9-11 am and 1-2 pm, Monday through Friday. American culture is decried by Western Europeans as work-work-work, all the time. Is it not? What is the perception of American people? Perhaps my experience is a bit biased -- most of my European friends are well-off people, so their experience is probably a bit skewed, but from everything I've read, that perception prevails.

  67. Can it be prevented by game makers? by trueaveragejoe · · Score: 1

    Can it be prevented by game makers? Maybe they can add some sort of warning screen after 16 hours and disconnect after 24 hours. THIS GUY was playing NON-STOP for over 86 HOURS!!! Over-gaming with no sleep or food causes death, will damage your health. Too bad not too many people realizes it.

  68. silly guy by hpavc · · Score: 1

    silly guy he should have '/cast makebread' or '/train fishing' more and he wouldnt have those problems.

    --
    members are seeing something, your seeing an ad
  69. So what game was he playing? by Mustang+Matt · · Score: 3, Funny

    I want in!

    Empire earth's 13 hour marathon was the longest I've gone non-stop I think.

    --
    The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
  70. Man dies ... how? by jamesl · · Score: 0, Redundant

    The man was found dead in the bathroom but the headline says he died from playing computer games. I think he expired from a difficult defecation.

    At least they didn't blame the Internet.

  71. Good thing by G00F · · Score: 4, Funny

    Good thing we Americans are made of stronger stuff.

    --
    The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive
    1. Re:Good thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, stinkier feces.

  72. Yeah, it kills kids too. by sailor420 · · Score: 1

    GameToo Much...... And Die!

    It hurts any future kids you may have, too.

    Everyone knows that amount of time spent computer gaming is inversely proportional to amount of time porking.

    I mean, geez....

  73. Urban legend? by Pseudonymus+Bosch · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I think I saw a similar story with a Korean here some months ago. Are you sure this is not an urban legend?

    --
    __
    Men with no respect for life must never be allowed to control the ultimate instruments of death.
    GW Bu
    1. Re:Urban legend? by ickyfreak · · Score: 0

      i've never read a truer sig :)

      --

      ---------------
      100% Australian

    2. Re:Urban legend? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No its just that Koreans take their gaming very seriously.

    3. Re:Urban legend? by AVryhof · · Score: 1

      Nahh, with Slashdot, it's probably just another repeat story.

  74. How's about a more creative title?! by Nathdot · · Score: 1

    While I admit there is a certain salacious element to a title like "GameToo Much... And Die!", why not go hogwild:

    * Gaming proven to drive you into zombie-like quasi-coma and kill you on the toilet.
    * Death plays Quake!!!

    or

    * Playing online games causes people to commit suicide.... ...Oh wait! You've already had one like that.

  75. Between us Cowards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Saw this down below (in the thread), so I can't rightly take credit for it.

    If someone's really hopped up on synthetics and then uses the John, that person can induce a massive pH imbalance into their system, one large enough to cause death.

    Apparently this is how Elvis died.

    msq

  76. Handle with care... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unfortunately, I think it's just that Koreans just must die really easy. Take the whole Fan Death thing for example. You can't really blame video games - it's more like those moths that live only for a few days - only they usually don't spend the time playing Quake.

  77. The easy way to get into SMB1 minus world by yerricde · · Score: 1

    the negative worlds were

    Actually, the minus world was world 36-1, which consisted of world 2-2 repeated over and over. The "36-1" was displayed as " -1" because character 36 in the SMB1 font (most NES games didn't use ASCII) was a space.

    You go to level 1-2, which is underground, and go to the very end of the level, but not through the final pipe, if you stand on top of the pipe and knock out all the blocks to the left of it (but not to the right) and jump backwards a special way, you can walk through the wall and jump in one of the warp zone pipes before they list worlds

    Or just apply a patch to your copy of Super Mario Bros. According to an E2 writeup (here), the Game Genie code GXNAGY is rumored to work. It changes the world "2-1" pipe into a world " -1" pipe.

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  78. Re:that's nothing by Ishkibble · · Score: 0

    a little incensitive but funny non the less

  79. impressive. by Kyrn · · Score: 1

    I am impresses, very impressed.......perhaps for the supidity.

  80. Now he's living in a WarCraft III Game by Kalak · · Score: 5, Funny

    He's probably either:
    1.riding on the meat-wagon
    or
    2.has been resurrected by the Necromancer.

    --
    I am, and always will be, an idiot. Karma: Coma (mostly effected by .hack)
    1. Re:Now he's living in a WarCraft III Game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >He's probably either:
      >1.riding on the meat-wagon

      For a second there I thought that this was some sort of a perverted, lewd comment....and then I read the post's title and it made sense :)

  81. It wasn't a game he was playing... by pyman · · Score: 2, Funny

    He was sitting at a browser endlessly refreshing slashdot!

    --
    a ^= b; b ^= a; a ^= b;
    1. Re:It wasn't a game he was playing... by diesel_jackass · · Score: 2

      he just couldn't get an FP to save his life. ;-)

    2. Re:It wasn't a game he was playing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That must've been a disappointment; sitting behind the machine, hoping your marathon makes slashdot, and then, when it does, not being around to see it. It's the age old toilet problem; the minute you go, something interesting happens while you're away...

  82. WANK ASS MODERATORS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The parent is FUNNY. It is not off-topic. It makes light of the fact that there are very few surnames in Korea, period. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 16.

    I am Korean, so I'm not some insensitive racist.

    Perhaps you moderators are topic-impaired?

    Someone give still_sick a break. I would have but I decided to post (a presently unmoderated) comment. That'll learn me.

    msq

  83. You see... by Herkum01 · · Score: 2, Funny

    It is all these darn new games. You see, they keep requiring faster and faster hardware to run them but not everyone can keep up. Take this internet cafe, I bet it was a machine that was at 2 years old.

    I doubt that he died playing anything, I think he was still waiting for it load up past the introduce cinematic, or he was trying to see some booty on a Flash web site, the load times on something like that would kill anybody.

  84. Geez.... by mao+che+minh · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...this is horrible. Why the hell didn't someone stop him?

  85. They all died by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Aren't all Koreans named KIM?

  86. Probably mania by SexyKellyOsbourne · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...that's probably it. Your heart can just stop during manic episodes due to extreme physical/mental stress.

    I'm bipolar myself, and wasn't medicated at the time, so that's probably why I played cstrike for 97 hours, which is posted below:

    http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=41928&threshol d=-1&commentsort=0&tid=127&mode=thread&cid=4421106

    1. Re:Probably mania by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your heart can just stop during manic episodes

      Must have been one hell of a crap.

    2. Re:Probably mania by ShadowBlasko · · Score: 1

      You know, I was sitting here pretty much thinking the same thing. I am also bipolar. However, because my psych was an idiot(or just did not care) I was essentially continually misdiagnosed for 5 years as having AD/HD.

      What do the usually prescribe for that? Anyone??

      Thats right kids... Amphetamines.

      And any decent central nervous system stimulant will (or can, but in my case did) induce a manic state. It was not uncommon at all for me to sit at my machine for 72 hours. Being awake for 100+ hours was also not uncommon at all.

      When unreal first came out I finished the game in one sitting. Mechwarrior2 (and Mech3) the same. 86 hours in one place doing one thing does not sound like a life threatening thing to me.

      Then again, when you are running manic for 100 hours at a pop, you don't really have a life to threaten. You think you do, and well, you actually may, but you are damned well not as productive as you might think you are.

      I'm all better now... Honest .. (looks at watch) . umm .. damn. Well... I'm getting better. I slept yesterday for awhile.

      Seems my body as gotten used to sleeping when it falls down. Always been nocturnal though.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order- Ed Howdershelt Via Tass
  87. Did anyone go through his pockets?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There might have been some loose change in there,
    no?

  88. Lineage MMPORPG by djupedal · · Score: 1, Interesting

    They only play one game over here that seriously....'Lineage', and then ofcourse the old favorite, StarQuest.

    Lineage is MMPORPG (Massive-Multiplayer On-line Role-Playing Game) where the players from different countries can enjoy the game through the Internet

    This is just being sensationalized due to the video game hook. We've lost at least one engineer due to overwork, and that was kept out of the papers.

    1. Re:Lineage MMPORPG by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Off topic? I mention the game that the guy was playing, over here in Korea, when he died, and you score that off-topic?

      And what, pray tell, would qualify as 'on topic' in a thread such as this :)

    2. Re:Lineage MMPORPG by Boronx · · Score: 0

      Mod parent up, not off topic. Lineag is played by millions of Koreans and dwarfs everquest in number of subscriptions.

    3. Re:Lineage MMPORPG by Boronx · · Score: 1

      Uhhmm, lineage is only the biggest MMORPG in the world, and has millions of followers in korea. Mod parent up please.

  89. Nobody noticed? by sssmashy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The real story here is not how this man died, but where he died. This man was in an internet cafe, surrounded by other people.

    People die like this more often than we realize. We don't notice because they they die as shut-ins at home. Most of them are obsessive compulsive or mentally ill, and usually takes a while before their bodies are even discovered.

    This man, however, had been playing computer games in a busy public place, nonstop for 86 hours. If any of the staff or fellow users noticed, none of them saw fit to intervene. Since he was paying to use the computer, the staff must have had some idea how long he had been there. Also, I imagine he must have looked quite haggard and ill before he finally died.

    The police have ruled out murder, but I hope that they investigate the staff for negligence. Mr. Kim was ultimately the victim of his own actions. However, the staff had a basic responsibility to ensure his health and safety while he was on using their service on their premises, just as a bartender might be liable if he continue to serve an extremely intoxicated customer who later died of alcohol poisoning.

    The fact that no-one noticed or cared for four straight days is appalling. Such a pathetic and easily preventable death in a public place reflects poorly on South Korean society, both in and anywhere else that it occurs.

    1. Re:Nobody noticed? by Dixie_Flatline · · Score: 2

      Y'know what? No, they didn't. The problem that we have today is nobody takes responsibility for their actions. The US is a place where criminals can sue because they were hurt while they were doing illegal things on your property! In your house!

      Stop passing the buck. If the guy wants to be there and die, let him be there and die. If you want to stay home and suck on the tailpipe of your running car, you shouldn't expect the people in your neighnourhood to be investigated for negligence because they didn't stop you.

      Now common courtesy and basic humanity would compel me to ask the dude if he were okay if I saw him there for 4 days straight and looked like hell. People aren't negligent if they don't feel they should see if he's okay, though.

    2. Re:Nobody noticed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Negligence? how were they negligent? Because they let the man use the computer for 86 hours?

      I can't claim to have been up for 86 hours. but I've definatley hit the odd game for a good 30 in my time.

      The man did not die FROM THE VIDEO GAME, or FROM THE PLACE. In fact, we don't know why he died. A bartender serving someone toxic chemicals to the point of death is hardly an accurate analogy.

    3. Re:Nobody noticed? by V50 · · Score: 2

      But the guy probably didn't want to die. He was unemployed, and probably depressed. He probably wandered in their in hopes of happiness, got "zoned", and didn't see any reason to leave, as he thought he was having fun. I've been like that, only to a much lesser degree. I'm always very happy when my parents kick me off my computer, and I do something productive with my life, instead of wasting it.

      If I ever get into a state like this poor man was (God forbid), then I would be extremly happy if anyone shut my machine down on me and kicked me off. I would thank God, whoever kicked me off, and really look at how pathetic I was, and try to change.

      I should hope no one wants to die addicted to a computer game.

    4. Re:Nobody noticed? by splorp! · · Score: 1
      Also, I imagine he must have looked quite haggard and ill before he finally died.
      Not to mention stinky.
      --
      Please don't humanize the morons around me. It makes me very uncomfortable.
    5. Re:Nobody noticed? by D4rkm1lk · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's a nice theory that the staff should have done something, but how would they have noticed how long he had been there- even an extremely hard working staff member would not have been there for more than a quarter of this time continuously!

      By the sounds of these places it would be quite common for staff to see the same people each day, with no idea as to whether they'd been anywhere else in between.

    6. Re:Nobody noticed? by tbarrie · · Score: 1
      Y'know what? No, they didn't. The problem that we have today is nobody takes responsibility for their actions. The US is a place where criminals can sue because they were hurt while they were doing illegal things on your property! In your house!

      Sure. The US is a place where anybody can sue anybody for anything. I believe that's the case in most countries whose legal system is descended from the British common law. But outside the realm of urban legends there's no chance of anybody ever winning a suit like that, so it doesn't seem like it's worth getting worked up over.

      Now common courtesy and basic humanity would compel me to ask the dude if he were okay if I saw him there for 4 days straight and looked like hell. People aren't negligent if they don't feel they should see if he's okay, though.

      I agree with this. The failure of anybody to notice his condition wasn't something that should be criminal, but it's still pretty sad.

      (Well, assuming that this incident actually occurred.)

    7. Re:Nobody noticed? by Dixie_Flatline · · Score: 2

      Sure. The US is a place where anybody can sue anybody for anything. I believe that's the case in most countries whose legal system is descended from the British common law. But outside the realm of urban legends there's no chance of anybody ever winning a suit like that, so it doesn't seem like it's worth getting worked up over.

      I dunno. I've heard pretty terrible stories about cases that are actually won. I read 'News of the Weird.' :)

      And in any case, I don't think that's true. The Canadian legal system sees a lot fewer cases than the US one, and we're both descended from the same British system. It could be that you're right, and it's actually just a societal thing.

    8. Re:Nobody noticed? by Danse · · Score: 2, Funny

      He was obviously just trying to get out of paying his bill. Seems he was quite successful in that respect.

      --
      It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
    9. Re:Nobody noticed? by Beliskner · · Score: 2
      But the guy probably didn't want to die. He was unemployed, and probably depressed. He probably wandered in their in hopes of happiness, got "zoned", and didn't see any reason to leave, as he thought he was having fun. I've been like that, only to a much lesser degree
      The more interesting question is should Internet cafes kick out whinos as a matter of policy? I think this would be bad as then nothing stops you from kicking people out of your store because they're Black/Chinese/Whatever.

      Unemployed people aren't depressed, the depression rate is only 20% (Warwick University PDF, link lost) which is only 5 times higher than the working population.

      If whinos played Quake instead of getting drunk in the street we might see a better America "Will Frag for Food"

      I'm always very happy when my parents kick me off my computer, and I do something productive with my life, instead of wasting it
      Oh my God, you're a sadomasochist!
      I would thank God, whoever kicked me off, and really look at how pathetic I was, and try to change
      And what would you do if you had no house to go to and had to sit outside in the cold? When the hell did Americans become so anti-Socialist? Doesn't your own Bible say, "Do not covet what thy neighbor has" right next to "Thou shalt not kill"? I think this implies Jesus wants a Socialist Government.
      --
      A caveman dreams of being us, the incalculable power and riches. We dream of being Q, then what?
  90. No, but the OS Makers by jasonditz · · Score: 4, Funny

    Failsafe against 86 hour fatal gaming runs is built into Windows, its called BSODs.

    Microsoft intentionally put them in there to make you go get a snack while rebooting, or conversely take a nap.

    This fellow was clearly using Mac OSX or Linux.

    1. Re:No, but the OS Makers by trueaveragejoe · · Score: 1

      Maybe, but too bad he isn't living to show us his experiences with alternative oses. I feel sorry for such a person. He probably had much future ahead of him. I hope more people learns the lessons of common sense and avoid this terrible tragedy.

      if (game == life)
      cout "Get a LIFE!!!";

    2. Re:No, but the OS Makers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      So what you're saying is that they should now be called BSOL.

      -cmh

  91. Urban Myth by Cirrius · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You know, I have heard other stories similiar to this recently...sometimes there is a specific name of the game, but they always seem to be "identified only by their first/last name", and its always around the 80 hour mark. Did the Sydney Morning Herald report a growing urban myth, or is there anything to substantiate this?

    1. Re:Urban Myth by autocracy · · Score: 2

      Well yeah. 3 days people start to get really wonky, 4 days they're hallucentating, and 5 days they're dead. 3.5-4 days seems to fit nicely to me, especially if it's not an effort solely to stay up late.

      --
      SIG: HUP
    2. Re:Urban Myth by pyman · · Score: 2, Informative

      I heard about this on 92.9 FM, a local radio station in Perth, Western Australia, yesterday morning.

      --
      a ^= b; b ^= a; a ^= b;
    3. Re:Urban Myth by ShadowBlasko · · Score: 1

      5 and they are dead?

      Ummm. No.

      I've gone longer than that myself. And there are quite a few (scary as it is) truckers who do it on a regular basis.

      Folks on crystalmeth can go *literally* for more than 10 or 15 days without sleep.

      It is CERTAINLY not good for you, but 5 days without sleep will not kill a fairly healthy human. (ask any new parent!)

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order- Ed Howdershelt Via Tass
  92. gametoo? by vermicious · · Score: 1

    Is that a new linux distribution?

    "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."
    -HHGTTG

  93. So sad by Comrade+Pikachu · · Score: 2

    That's a shame...

    Hey, QIII V1.32 just hit the servers yesterday! Let the killing begin!

    Uh, I mean fragging.

  94. Lineage by djupedal · · Score: 1

    Lineage is MMPORPG (Massive-Multiplayer On-line Role-Playing Game) where the players from different countries can enjoy the game through the Internet

  95. Wow. by The+Innocent+Dot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Browsing at threshold +3, 37 comments into the discussion so far, and... I can't spot a single sympathetic comment. Most of us are all laughing at this guy's death in some kind of cynical Darwinistic smugness.

    The games probably aren't killing anyone, but they've sure done a good job of de-sensitizing a few people...

    1. Re:Wow. by Disevidence · · Score: 1

      So we should all feel sorry for some person none of us know, who's an idiot for staying that long without getting foor or water? Thousands of people die every day. In africa from aids, starvation and war. From heart attacks, accidents, cancer, murders and suicides all over the world. Are you saying that should stop and feel sorry about some idiot korean, when you haven't expressed your sympathy for african children starving to death?

      You obviously don't know much about the big wide world. Yes its heartless. Get used to it.

      --
      Think nothing is impossible? Try slamming a revolving door.
    2. Re:Wow. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The article isn't about him getting fragged with a railgun.
      Last I knew there weren't any videogames where you watch people sit in front of copmuters and die.
      Why should we feel sorry for someone who chose his own death?

    3. Re:Wow. by fferreres · · Score: 2

      Some misc reasons in no particular order of importance (just some pointers):

      1) Compasion
      2) Charity
      3) Putting yourself in somebody elses shoes
      4) Caring

      In general, all things that you would not like to happen to yourself, and that happen to others, are likely candidates (including children starting to death).

      I am sure you will apreciate help if you were in their situation, but I am not hoping you will understand this (unless you experience it youself). And probably the one offering you help won't ask nothing in return (and you will be amazed (at that moment, not now thinking you could conceive the situation).

      (sorry for the misspellings)

      --
      unfinished: (adj.)
    4. Re:Wow. by apt142 · · Score: 1

      So we should all feel sorry for some person none of us know, who's an idiot for staying that long without getting foor or water? Thousands of people die every day. In africa from aids, starvation and war. From heart attacks, accidents, cancer, murders and suicides all over the world. Are you saying that should stop and feel sorry about some idiot korean, when you haven't expressed your sympathy for african children starving to death?

      I don't know if you know this or not, but Nobody makes it through life with a little bit of help. Help from friends and help from strangers. And, While I'll admit that I might have chuckled a few times at the comments above, I feel sorry for the poor guy. He spent 86 hours in a coffee shop playing games. Nobody cared enough, not his friends, family, other customers, or even the shop owner, to tell him to stop long enough to get something to eat or to take a nap.

      If you can't see feel bad about that, then I feel sorry for you.

    5. Re:Wow. by Dread_ed · · Score: 1

      This guy made his own decisions. They led to his death. No one shot him, no one stabbed him, no one did anything to him. He did this of his own volition. To himself.

      You want me to be sorry for someone who kiled himself throgh bad decisions and stupidity?

      My apologies, but my sympathy is all used up on the people in this world who legitimately deserve it.

      --
      When the only tool you have is a claw hammer every problem starts to look like the back of someone's skull.
  96. Hoax? by Andrewkov · · Score: 2
    Anyone notice the detective's name was Oh My something or other? I read that and thought this has got to be a hoax.

    A dead gamer in the bathroom, oh my!!

  97. What He Needed by spudwiser · · Score: 2

    Quoting witnesses, police detective Oh Myong-sik in Kwangju said the man had been virtually glued to the computer since late last Friday and had no decent sleep and meals.

    All he needed was a mountain dew IV drip and he would have been fine.

    --
    .cig - what you do after winning a good flame war
  98. A Korean named Kim by cjsnell · · Score: 4, Funny

    The jobless man, identified by police only by his last name Kim

    A Korean man named Kim...that certainly narrows it down!

    1. Re:A Korean named Kim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought the same, but figured that in this PC world it would get -1 trolled. :)

    2. Re:A Korean named Kim by nick_davison · · Score: 5, Funny
      A Korean man named Kim...that certainly narrows it down!


      Well, the odds are one smaller, now.

    3. Re:A Korean named Kim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's just it. It's sort of like saying 'The victim was female' in North America and Europe.

    4. Re:A Korean named Kim by Licensed2Hack · · Score: 1

      A Korean man named Kim...that certainly narrows it down!

      But when you consider this line from the article:

      "He then went to the toilet where he later was found dead..."

      I'll bet his first name is Elvis...

    5. Re:A Korean named Kim by Beliskner · · Score: 1
      A Korean man named Kim...that certainly narrows it down!
      Full name: Kim Chi

      Yummy

      --
      A caveman dreams of being us, the incalculable power and riches. We dream of being Q, then what?
  99. Re:Game? me too! me too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A man died here.

  100. Re:Game? me too! me too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    dude, I'm giving that the AC's Award for comment of the year. I'm drunk though.

  101. You've got it all wrong... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I kill people.

    Sincerely,

    The Grim Reaper aka Death

    P.S. - Your grandma is next!

    1. Re:You've got it all wrong... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guns don't kill people, the Government does.

      - Admiral Rusty Shackleford

  102. So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How's it going, Kim?

    Mind if I call you that?

    1. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ms. Kim, if you're nasty.

  103. This is quite sad actually by V50 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't see why everyone is acting like this is a big joke or something. The guy was unemployed, and likely depressed, and he spent the last 86 hours of his life playing a pointless game, that he coudn't escape from. This isn't funny, it's very sad. That's his 24 year life gone, just like that. You don't know what he did, or who he was. Think about what his friends and family must feel like right now.

    I'll probably be modded down as a troll or something, but I don't think death is a joking matter. If someone you knew died, even in a pathetic manner like that, you would not be joking about it. I think all the jokes here are completly tasteless.

    And I do think the games are _partly_ to blame. (Note that I said partly, not completly.) Some games are very addictive, and can trap people in for hours. I've had my school mark drop because I've wasted my time on pointless games.

    Just my thoughts.

    1. Re:This is quite sad actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      he spent the last 86 hours of his life playing a pointless game, that he coudn't escape from

      I think he escaped, and rather permanently. If only I could stop smoking so well.

      BTW. quit moaning about it people die everyday, if I have to worry about every moron that get's killed or blows their brains out or just drops dead, I'd have no time for /.

    2. Re:This is quite sad actually by V50 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Every death is a tradgedy, and you should care. People not caring about others dying is why wars happen, genocides happen, and many other bad things happen. Do you think that the Maryland sniper cares about his victims or their lives, or their families? How would you like it if you were killed and no one cared, or worse, people made endless jokes about your death?

      Every death is a tradgedy, show a little respect.

    3. Re:This is quite sad actually by Alpha_Nerd · · Score: 0, Troll

      Yes, it may be sad. But why should any of us care?? There are over 6 billion people on this earth, and millions die everyday... I don't have time to care for everyone.

      And there's nothing wrong with finding some humomr is somthing that is tragic =/

    4. Re:This is quite sad actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      he spent the last 86 hours of his life playing a pointless game, that he coudn't escape from.

      Actually, he spent the last 24 years of his life playing a game no-one can escape from. Or rather, you can (as he did).

    5. Re:This is quite sad actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      You're addressing the same crowd that celebrates the darwin awards every year, what do you expect?

    6. Re:This is quite sad actually by V50 · · Score: 1

      I already replied to an AC asking the same question, but just to sum it up:

      When people don't care about the deaths of others, wars, genocides and murders occur. Do you think Hitler cared about the Jews he killed? Or the Russians that were killed by his army?

      You should care about everyone who is killed. Every death is a tradgedy.

    7. Re:This is quite sad actually by alcmena · · Score: 3

      How would you like it if you were killed and no one cared, or worse, people made endless jokes about your death?

      Seeing as how I'd be dead in that case, I'd probably not really have an opinion on the matter.

    8. Re:This is quite sad actually by V50 · · Score: 1

      When I saw the article, I knew everyone would be making jokes. A little over a year ago I would've too. A year ago I was just like most of these people, playing FPSs and laughing at the Darwin Awards. However, in the last year I've given up FPSs, and most other violent stuff, and actually cared about people. Although I doubt there's a big link between violence and FPSs, there does seem to be a link between compassion and FPSs.

      My experience, and what I observe, seems to support this. Most of the people I know who play FPSs laugh at Palestinian deaths and other violence, while those who care, hate FPSs. This doesn't mean that FPSs make people incompassionate, there just seems to be a link. The compassionate people may just not play FPSs because they hate violence and death on prinicple.

      Just my observations.

    9. Re:This is quite sad actually by V50 · · Score: 1

      You don't seem to belive in life after death, but how would you feel knowing that after you died, no one would care?

    10. Re:This is quite sad actually by vegetablespork · · Score: 1
      You should care about everyone who is killed. Every death is a tradgedy.

      Get back to me on that when Jack Valenti croaks. I'm likely to need a reminder.

      --

      Call (206) 338-5780 COLLECT for information about a genuine BA, BS, MA, MS, MBA, or Ph.D.

    11. Re:This is quite sad actually by PaganRitual · · Score: 2, Insightful

      i think the main reason everyone is making jokes is mainly because this is yet another 'blame it on computer games' article ... 86 hours of nearly anything straight would probably kill you if you didnt have sufficient eating/sleeping breaks ... heck, 86 hours of straight sex would kill nearly anyone, but no one blames sex on all the dodgy sex related crimes around, no, they blame sex in computer game or something. whatever, all the ignorant peeps will believe it anyway, so i couldnt be arsed arguing the point anymore anyway ... ... if you are so worried/obsessed with death, then you are probably either highly relgious (its the only pasttime obsessed with what happens after you die instead of what you do with your life), or you are going thru one of those stages like most of us did when we gained some sort of self-awareness at age ~8 when we suddenly realised that we all were gonna die one day ... get over it ... come to realisation that you are just another animal like all the others that you [baseless assumption] probably look down on as inferior [/baseless assumption] and that you will die, and probably

    12. Re:This is quite sad actually by PaganRitual · · Score: 1

      ... damnit, wrong button ... and that probably nothing will happen when you do ... so smoke, drink, shag and be merry ... dont dwell on the inevitable ...

      (ive just had three panadol because im getting a migrane and havent eaten all morning, so my comments are probably something i will look back on and regret tomorrow, but who cares)

    13. Re:This is quite sad actually by Kashif+Shaikh · · Score: 1

      Some games are very addictive, and can trap people in for hours. I've had my school mark drop because I've wasted my time on pointless games.

      Yeah, I tend to agree. I bought Final Fantasy X for PS2 about a month ago, and I have been playing it non-stop until the end. I was literally playing it for 4 to 5 hours from 8pm to 2am, after I came home from work. I've never played games for that long per day since my pre-teen years. I'm 24 now.

      FFX is truly a mesmerizing game--awesome story(like watching a live drama) & action--enough to suck me in. I din't realize how absorbed I was in the FFX world until I finished the game. I felt like I was in a another world, another time...and the withdrawal effects with FFX memories...caused me to feel depressed and gave in to false hopes.

      BUT, who cares! It was an amazing game! One of the best things about humans is that THEY FORGET AND GET BORED! As soon as I realized I was hooked, I went 180 degrees in the opposite direction trying to forget about Ffx and the enchanted story...I knew in a week or two my mind would be somewhere else.

      That's when I met UnrealTourney2003! Awesome game! Twitch style play! But I would never get addicted emotionally, because a) its pick-up style and b) has no enchanted-make-u-go-to-la-la-land story. And it sure as hell made me forget about Ffx...

      Only time when I give up games is when I get married...women are dignified and honourable individuals...you have to be a man to feel the humility vibes you get from a woman.

    14. Re:This is quite sad actually by pyman · · Score: 1
      I totally agree with you, I'm a hobby game developer and I have a strict rule of only working on non-violent games.

      It amazing the amount of creativity that can be unleashed when moving away from the 'kill or be killed' genre. Unfortunately the indifferent attitude many people have toward other's suffering and the tendency to respond to violence with violence is deeply ingrained in most of society, and is a problem that men will never solve.

      --
      a ^= b; b ^= a; a ^= b;
    15. Re:This is quite sad actually by Stalyn · · Score: 1

      No, it'd be sad if he was advancing a character on Everquest and planning to sell it on Ebay with the intention of using the money to get his grandma that operation she needs.

      This guy was just being stupid or his intent was to kill himself. Hey, if he wants to go out by playing some game 86 hours straight without food, sleep, bathroom time, then its up to him. He basically killed himself. No one pointed a gun to his head and forced him to play until he collapsed in the bathroom.

      --
      The best education consists in immunizing people against systematic attempts at education. - Paul Feyerabend
    16. Re:This is quite sad actually by Have+Blue · · Score: 3, Funny

      I intend to die in a highly amusing manner, thank you very much. Not sure exactly which way yet, but I don't want to just throw my death away like that.

    17. Re:This is quite sad actually by theLOUDroom · · Score: 2

      Some people don't believe that every death is a tradgedy. And no, that doesn't mean they don't care about anyone.
      Everyone doesn't have to have the same philsophy as you. Show a little respect living by not berating those who don't share you view.
      If I died playing videogames, I would expect and want people to joke about it. If there is an afterlife, you can bet I'd be laughing too.

      --
      Life is too short to proofread.
    18. Re:This is quite sad actually by V50 · · Score: 2, Offtopic

      I'm a devout muslim, and I don't obsess about death. I just want to make the most of my life, and not waste it with alcohol, drugs, fornication, adultery, etc. And I do not fear death, as I know Allah is all-just.

      I just get saddend when people show so little compassion. Many of the kids at my high school laugh when I tell them about the atrocites Israel is comitting against the Palestinians, or vice versa.

    19. Re:This is quite sad actually by neksys · · Score: 2

      Do you think George W. Bush cares about the deaths of those Taliban soldiers? They were just fighting for what they believed in - they have families and mothers and cousins and pets as well. Here's a concept for you: EVERYTHING DIES. I loved my dad, but he's dead. I can joke about it because it makes me feel better. I know damn well he wants people to joke about his death, because it makes *them* feel better as well. After all - often times your only legacy lives on in the memories of those you love, and who loved you. I'd rather people felt good - laughed - about me and my life, and even my manner of death, than have people feel down every time my memory crosses thier mind. Don't be an idiot - I'll take happy memories over sad any day. Every death is not a tragedy - every death is a perfectly natural piece of the life cycle. You cry when someone dies because you miss the person, not because their body doesn't move any more - those tears are the exact same tears one sheds when moving away from friends, never to see them again.

    20. Re:This is quite sad actually by Guppy06 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      "The guy was unemployed, and likely depressed, and he spent the last 86 hours of his life playing a pointless game, that he coudn't escape from."

      That he consciously chose not to escape from. When people don't leave their homes, 99+ times out of 100 the reason is that they didn't feel like leaving, not because they were physically locked in.

      "Think about what his friends and family must feel like right now."

      Obviously not a whole heck of a lot if they allowed this to happen to begin with.

      "I'll probably be modded down as a troll or something, but I don't think death is a joking matter."

      There are schools of thought that suggest that perhaps you don't have a sufficiently developed sense of humor.

      I'm probably shooting myself in the foot for bringing this up but I think Heinlein had a point in Stranger in a Strange Land: All humor revolves around the misfortunes of others. If anything laughing at something can be described as a human coping mechanism. In a world increasingly hostile to those of us who partake in electronic gaming, everybody here now has an example they can point to and say "At least I'm not this guy!"

      "If someone you knew died, even in a pathetic manner like that, you would not be joking about it. "

      If one of my friends died in such a manner I'd be laughing if for no other reason than I know my friend would be laughing at themselves for dying that way.

      "I think all the jokes here are completly tasteless."

      But jokes about hypothetical deaths are alright? Or what about jokes about people getting genuinely angry at each other? What about a particular person's sexual tastes? Or how about the way you mock something hundreds of people have been working on for dozens of years? Where do you get the moral high ground to decide for everybody else what is "tasteless" and what isn't?

      "And I do think the games are _partly_ to blame. (Note that I said partly, not completly.)"

      No, not even. Nobody can say that until there is solid scientific proof demonstrating a link. But in several decades of research on the subject, nobody has yet to publish "games=death" without somebody else soundly refuting it. These aren't cigarettes we're talking about here.

      If there's anybody else beside the gamer that bears any of the responsiblity for this, it is the people directly around him and ignored the way he collapsed unconscious several hours before. Especially the owners of the property.

      "Some games are very addictive,"

      Some people are more susceptible to addictions to just about anything than other people. And until someone can solidly publish "games=addicting," I cannot and will not hold the games responsible for flaws in the gamer's personality and psyche.

      "I've had my school mark drop because I've wasted my time on pointless games."

      Thanks for demonstrating my "increasingly hostile" comment above. We're supposed to believe that you'd have done much better if it weren't for the games? Do you know for a fact (or can you at least say with a straight face) that you'd have done better in school if there were no games in your life? Why are we to believe that you wouldn't have found some other external vent? You're one of those people that wants to sue gun companies over murder rates, aren't you?

      I've tried it both ways: School with and without games. Guess what: Without games, I just ended up finding another vent anyway (and they're called "internet chat rooms"). The problem wasn't Nintendo's, it was mine and my inability to cope with the world around me without a crutch.

      And on the other hand games have actually helped me find better ways to cope. I wouldn't have all the friends I have now if it weren't for those C&C Red Alert and StarCraft LAN parties.

    21. Re:This is quite sad actually by Dexx · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm guessing I'd feel a bit squooshy..

      --
      Feel the fear and do it anyway.
    22. Re:This is quite sad actually by PaganRitual · · Score: 1

      I'm a devout muslim, and I don't obsess about death. I just want to make the most of my life, and not waste it with alcohol, drugs, fornication, adultery, etc. And I do not fear death, as I know Allah is all-just.

      who is to say that any of those things that you listed are life 'wasters' anyway? its merely your perspective. alcohol and drugs are merely man-made combinations of pre-existing (in most cases) natural substances that happen to affect body or brain function or something. that doesnt make them inherently evil or wrong or anything.

      and fornication and adultery are regarded as evil purely as a by product of the want to believe that we are more than simply 'self aware squirrels' (phrase (C) oldmanmurray.com) that actually live by morals. and we spend our entire lives trying to keep ourselves believing this, and other, lies, and trying not to break this fabricated moral code that we believe makes us special.

      i get saddended when people devote their lives to organised religion.

    23. Re:This is quite sad actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You really should at least try alcohol and fornication. They're often better than the video games you waste your time on now.

    24. Re:This is quite sad actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They're laughing at your lies, not the so-called atrocities.

    25. Re:This is quite sad actually by Kaz+Riprock · · Score: 1

      Jumping off the catwalk in America's Army: Bridge level is pretty fun to watch from the queue.

      --
      Mordor...a magical, mythical land where women are more rare than dragons--but where every man would rather find a dragon
    26. Re:This is quite sad actually by chhamilton · · Score: 1

      How would you like it if you were killed and no one cared, or worse, people made endless jokes about your death?

      I'd be pissed if people didn't laugh about my death! I'd rather my life be remembered for its good times (those generally include humor), than for people to only think somber thoughts of me. Not to mention that it's pretty selfish of you to require everyone to "care" about your death by reflecting quietly on it.

      As theLOUDroom pointed out previously, making light of a bad situation is an effective, and I'd say necessary coping mechanism. If you've ever known anyone in a particularly morbid field (and I mean gruesome deaths), such as firemen, paramedics, aircraft crash investigators, coroners, etc..., then you will realize that most of them share a very dark and black sense of humor... or they drink heavily.

      There are times when jokes are disrespectful, and certain jokes here have crossed the line. However, the fact remains that it's not up to you to decide what coping mechanims are and are not appropriate, nor is it up to you alone to decide what is and isn't funny to others.

    27. Re:This is quite sad actually by spakka · · Score: 1
      I'm a devout muslim, and I don't obsess about death. I just want to make the most of my life, and not waste it with alcohol, drugs, fornication, adultery, etc. And I do not fear death, as I know Allah is all-just.

      Umm. You don't have a pilot's licence, do you?

    28. Re:This is quite sad actually by ShadowBlasko · · Score: 1

      "You should care about everyone who is killed. Every death is a tradgedy."

      Look. I'm sorry to dissapoint you, but life is terminal okay?

      Senseless slaughter is a tradgedy. War is tragic, but sometimes the end justifies it. My spelling is tragic.

      It is dissapointing that someone who rather obviously needed a good samaritan to pat him on the shoulder and say "Dude, you look like hell, and I just killed you six times in a row before you got a single shot in. Get some sleep. The game will still be here when you get back."

      It is NOT a tradgedy. It may be on a personal basis to those close to him. But not to the rest of the species.

      I'm not gonna start quoting George Carlin or anything, but people die. People kill people.

      The real tragedy comes when people die who never lived. (Not an abortion thing. Think Braveheart..)

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order- Ed Howdershelt Via Tass
    29. Re:This is quite sad actually by bkirkby · · Score: 3, Funny

      "It's funny because I don't know him"
      --Homer Simpson

    30. Re:This is quite sad actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe because he is Korean and died so far away. If I remember correctly there werent as many jokes when the depressed Everquest guy killed himself.

    31. Re:This is quite sad actually by taernim · · Score: 1

      If you need any ideas, check here. ;)

      --
      "PC Load Letter? What the $@#% does that mean?!"
    32. Re:This is quite sad actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      do you have a torture rack or a burning cross?
      asshole.

    33. Re:This is quite sad actually by caveat · · Score: 1

      That he consciously chose not to escape from. When people don't leave their homes, 99+ times out of 100 the reason is that they didn't feel like leaving, not because they were physically locked in.

      you obviously don't know much about agoraphobia. agoraphobics aren't physcially locked in their houses, but many of them might as well be, the compulsion to stay inside is that powerful...the definitely don't just "not feel like leaving". it seems what you're missing here is with mental illness, you /can't/ consciously escape - otherwise all we'd have to do would be tell depressed people "oh, come on, cheer up" and schizophrenics "*smack* get a grip, dude!".

      --

      Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley
    34. Re:This is quite sad actually by alcmena · · Score: 2

      ...how would you feel knowing that after you died, no one would care?

      Again, since I'd be dead I'd probably feel no different if the entire world grieved my passing than if no one did. I believe in living life in a way that I enjoy and a way that doesn't do harm to others. But once I'm dead, then I'm not going to be feeling much of anything, 'cept maybe some worms before all my nerves die off. :)

    35. Re:This is quite sad actually by Winterblink · · Score: 2
      And I do think the games are _partly_ to blame. (Note that I said partly, not completly.) Some games are very addictive, and can trap people in for hours. I've had my school mark drop because I've wasted my time on pointless games.

      Playing GTA3 did not make me want to go out and bang a hooker, then shoot her to get my money back. It's a game, and if people have a shred of self-control or any kind of grasp on reality they don't let the game affect their lives. Certainly not to the extremes the man in the story did. There was a LOT more at work there than a gaming addiction.

      Regarding apathy towards other people's deaths, welcome to planet earth. People are dying all over the world right now and nobody really cares until it's someone they know. Regarding this particular guy, in effect he committed suicide, something which is cowardly and does NOT deserve a single shred of respect.

      Just my 2c worth.

      --
      "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
      -Hoban Washburn
    36. Re:This is quite sad actually by fferreres · · Score: 2

      "If one of my friends died in such a manner I'd be laughing if for no other reason than I know my friend would be laughing at themselves for dying that way."

      Really? Maybe you could have tried helping him? If my sister or a driend dies from this, I'd be very unhappy and sad for quite a long time. And I am not easily moved or sentimental.

      --
      unfinished: (adj.)
    37. Re:This is quite sad actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      "I think all the jokes here are completly tasteless."

      Guess you can laugh at anything, just not with anyone...

    38. Re:This is quite sad actually by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      Not wanting to leave the house doesn't automatically make one agoraphobic just as sneezing doesn't automatically mean you have a cold.

  104. Your .sig by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The best way to corrupt a youth is to tell him to hold in a higher regard those who think alike then differnet -Nietzhe

    s/then differnet/than different/

    s/Nietzhe/Nietzsche/

  105. Finally! by __dtrance · · Score: 5, Funny

    Finally, proof that I'm not as addicted to the computer as my wife claims!

    Thank's Slashdot!

  106. Misinterpreting this event by Azothoth · · Score: 2, Redundant

    This was basically a suicide. He chose an odd way to do it, but that's probably all it was.

    It's unlikely that he got "hooked" or didn't know any better.

  107. Wow! by trotski · · Score: 2, Funny

    Man, can you say "Darwin Award"?

    If anyone deserves it it's this guy!

    --

    "Entropy is the bad-guy, and he is everywhere"
  108. no lan parties for him! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Only 86 hours!? lightweight

  109. record by bicho · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Could it be he was trying to impose some Guinnes record?
    Anyone knows if there is such record out there?

    --

    errera hunamum ets
    1. Re:record by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the record for period without sleep is something like 10 days...I wouldn't recommend trying to break it, though... :-p

    2. Re:record by alaeth · · Score: 1

      I doubt it, probably just a heavy gamer.

      I'vedone close to 80 hours myself...

      get up to work a Thrsday night shift, get off from work Friday morning, grab my rag and head over to the LAN site... play until Sunday afternoon.

      My wife had to drive me home because I was in terrible shape. I fell asleep around 7pm Sunday with my eyes open.

      That amount of sleep deprivation does really weird things to your senses too... I remeber hearing and seeing things that friends said were never there :)

      Maybe it was the amount of alcohol I consumed that weekend ;)

      --
      Sig goes here.
  110. Discussed this at work... by pixel_bc · · Score: 1

    We were talking about this at work... a co-worker had a good take on it. It wasn't the games that killed the guy -- it was the fact he stopped and went to the bathroom.

    That's the message we want users to get -- Stop playing our games and you'll die. :)

  111. Last name of 'Kim' - that narrows it down by Racine · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I mean, how many Koreans have that last name? What happened to withholding identity until the family is informed?

    --
    Tcl my Pico! There are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
  112. Respawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He's probably waiting for a respawn.

  113. Very Tragic...but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ..did he forget you only have one life to live instead of three?

  114. Man you moderators are SICK by AgentTim3 · · Score: 5, Funny
    *when the doctor had to manually extract the feces from his colon.

    HOW IN THE HELL?!?! does that get modded Interesting?!

    What, are you curious about the precise methodology of feces extraction that was used?
    How many of you would have clicked through if there had been a link "Would you like to know more?"

    Sickos.

    1. Re:Man you moderators are SICK by macrom · · Score: 2

      Well, I can understand the "Funny" mods, but the "Interesting" one got me as well. :^)

      Karma is a fickle thing...

    2. Re:Man you moderators are SICK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    3. Re:Man you moderators are SICK by rampant+mac · · Score: 1
      How many of you would have clicked through if there had been a link "Would you like to know more?"


      What's that link again... www.goatse..

      Ah, nevermind.

      --
      I like big butts and I cannot lie.
    4. Re:Man you moderators are SICK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This may be the one time that link wasn't "Offtopic".

  115. Heart attack (sheer speculation on my part) by sam_handelman · · Score: 4, Informative

    If he died on the toilet it was probably a heart attack - if you have a weak heart, constapation can kill you; stimulant drugs are also a possibility.

    Sudden death syndrome maybe, although I don't think they ever diagnose that it anyone unhealthy/obese, if he was, though there is a teat for it.

    Until recently (barring drug overdose, genetic or developmental abnormalities) 26 year olds did not have heart attacks. So, looking into my crystal ball, this will be used as ammunition for the argument that videogames reduce your level of physical activity, and are somehow responsible for the recent rise in cardiovascular disease among the very young - I can't find the ref. on google, can anyone else?

    If you want to avoid having heart attacks:
    1) Get exercise. This is NOT the same as don't game, and I myself utterly reject the notion that videogames are somehow responsible for droping levels of physical activity.
    2) Try not to be angry all the time. I know this can be difficult if you are a member of an oppressed minority group or work in tech support. Depression and overuse of simulants = also bad.

    --
    The good and new comes from no quarter where it is looked for, and is always something different from what is expected.
    1. Re:Heart attack (sheer speculation on my part) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
      He should have been playing DDR. Imagine how buff he would have been, and likely alive, too!

      ~~~

    2. Re:Heart attack (sheer speculation on my part) by DjMd · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Until recently (barring drug overdose...) 26 year olds did not have heart attacks

      Two things first, why would you rule out drug overdose? 86 straight gameplaying? Can you say stimulants? I would almost bet on that being positive. And Stimulants can cause strokes, sudden arthymias, and heart attacks...

      And I wouldn't rush to heart attack as cause of death, a Pulmonary embolis can kill suddenly and anyone can get one from sitting/not moving for long times. Rhabodmyolysis can cause kidney failure, and in extreme cases shock I think...
      He could died of lots of things, almost no actually caused by video games...

      --
      DJMD - The fourth man - Planetary
    3. Re:Heart attack (sheer speculation on my part) by istartedi · · Score: 2

      I tried not being angry and my blood pressure rose 50 points. So now I cuss people out all the time and occasionally smack them around. I feel a lot better.

      Seriously, if you are a natural "type-A aggressive" personality, how is doing the Hank Hill clench going to help you? I think it's dangerous to give people advice like "don't be angry". They need to do some studies on these type-A aggressive people that show yoga/exercise/boxing etc... will help them. Then, instead of saying "don't be angry" you can give them positive advice like "punch the bag for a while".

      I forget who said it, but "you can't motivate somebody with a negative". IIRC, it was some famous baseball player who said that.

      --
      For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
    4. Re:Heart attack (sheer speculation on my part) by Fnkmaster · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Dude, try regular, moderate-to-intense cardiovascular exercise. I joined a gym about a year ago, and actually started going regularly (5-6 days a week) about 3 months ago. I try to do 35-45 minutes on a stairmaster or elliptical machine. Gives a nice, relatively easy to control workout that you can stick to. You will not only feel better physically and mentally, but if you are anything like me and suffer from anxiety attacks when you are under a lot of stress or are prone to losing your temper and uncontrollable rages, you will definitely feel better and be more even keeled.


      I don't think exercise is a cure-all for serious mental disorders, but for a lot of us who have experienced common, moderate neuroses, a solid exercise regime will greatly reduce your symptoms. Then you won't need to curse people out all the time and smack them around (well, sometimes people deserve a little bit, and that's okay). I lead a much happier life this way, and I've lost weight and look better, leading me to get more dates with the ladies, and thus get laid more. Which makes me even more mellow. Life is great. And I still play half hour to an hour of games a day.

    5. Re:Heart attack (sheer speculation on my part) by Kalak · · Score: 1

      Until recently (barring drug overdose, genetic or developmental abnormalities) 26 year olds did not have heart attacks. So, looking into my crystal ball, this will be used as ammunition for the argument that videogames reduce your level of physical activity, and are somehow responsible for the recent rise in cardiovascular disease among the very young - I can't find the ref. on google, can anyone else?

      Think of the tragic sports related deaths in the last few years. Most are related to heart conditions. I recall a (college/high school?) basketball player (but not his name) who died on the court from a heart-attack. He was in organized ball, and I doubt he suffered from a lack of physical activity. Dehydration is more likely to be the underlying problem, if not a physical defect that was exaggerated by the basketball game.

      Obesity is on the rise in developed countries. Video Games have been blamed, but so have junk food, fast food, and education on health and wellness. All are probably contributing factors.

      --
      I am, and always will be, an idiot. Karma: Coma (mostly effected by .hack)
    6. Re:Heart attack (sheer speculation on my part) by StrawberryFrog · · Score: 1

      Uh, I think you misread it. I would read that as '26-year-old people with out any drug overdose, genetic or developmental abnormalities do not have heart attacks.' and draw the same conclusions: 86 straight hours gameplaying is a clear indication of ....um.... genetic abnormalities ... yeah, musta been some kinda mutant.

      --

      My Karma: ran over your Dogma
      StrawberryFrog

    7. Re:Heart attack (sheer speculation on my part) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you for acknowledging the fact that tech support is stressfull ;D

      But you're right on the fact that people nowadays blame everything except themselves. There are always people that will find a reason why walking in the sun, rain, ... playing foorball, videogames, ... is harmfull and was responsible for their misfortune.
      If you know that you get easily addicted to things, then don't play videogames/lottery/drink beer/...
      But of course this is too hard :/

      (Hmm, looking back at the above I guess you're right, tech support people do get angry ;)))

    8. Re:Heart attack (sheer speculation on my part) by TheAwfulTruth · · Score: 2

      Actually, it doesn't matter if he was on stimulants. In fact, if he was, that's just more damning evidence. WHY was he on stimulants? So he could stay up for 86 hours playing on line? That's even worse than the original story! "Gaming addict takes speed to stay up 86 hours to play games, then dies of heart attack".

      The immediate reason he died (Embolism, heart attack , whatever) is less important than the circumstances that caused it.

      --
      Contrary to popular belief, coding is not all free blow-jobs and beer. Those things cost MONEY!
    9. Re:Heart attack (sheer speculation on my part) by Syncdata · · Score: 1

      Try not to be angry all the time.
      Here Here! The ammount of anger/rage that surfaces in your average persons daily life today is thoroughly unhealthy. Yelling at people when driving, yelling at campers, AWPers, et all. Take a deep breath. Understand that that shooting the bird at the guy that cut you off won't undo it, and most people carry that anger throught the course of the entire day. We live in a society where physical activity is limited, and as such, a person having a heart attack at 24-26 is not unheard of (but thankfully, still rare). Life is good. Enjoy it. And stop camping spawns. Be a part of the solution.

      --
      "Inattention makes clowns of us all" -Bean
    10. Re:Heart attack (sheer speculation on my part) by DjMd · · Score: 1

      The immediate reason he died (Embolism, heart attack , whatever) is less important than the circumstances that caused it.

      Stupid actions (taking stimulants, sitting for 86 hours) are the fault of people who make stupid choices. If he died of a natural or diease (not caused by his actions) causes then it was the process that killed him. So it cause of death is important.
      Eitherway I don't see how the computer Or video games did it. Unless he died of an electrical shock from the computer. Normal people don't play games for 86 hours, (hell normall people dont do ANYTHING for 86 hours, come on 3 days 14 hours?)

      And no I dont think this is the same thing as "Guns don't kill people kill" crap. Why?
      Because computers _don't_ kill.

      --
      DJMD - The fourth man - Planetary
  116. weak by 2ms · · Score: 1

    ur supposed to drink large-mouth-bottled mountain dew so you dont have to get up to "go to the bathroom". Anyone else here have like 10 bottles of mountain dew full of not-quite-as-fluorescent-yellow-as-it-should-be mountain dew on their desk?

  117. The big question is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What game did he play and is it available in the US?

  118. Re:Game? me too! me too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ok, so you are a diesel for putting your phone and plate numbers on /..

    Rochester
    585.581.2549
    NY BLJ 3040

    How about a SSN too, or does Mr. Ellison already have that?

  119. Re : Boots ... Isn't it actually ... by PaganRitual · · Score: 1

    ... auto-erotic asphyxiation ???

  120. 86 hours? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Police officials identify the man as Mr. HO LEE SHIT.

  121. Could be... by Rui+del-Negro · · Score: 2

    Yes but, depending on the game, he may have to wait for everyone else to die. That could take some time.

    RMN
    ~~~

  122. I just gotta say.... by theLOUDroom · · Score: 4, Funny

    Game over man!

    --
    Life is too short to proofread.
  123. Clearly not a bug by zuggy · · Score: 1

    Here's a link describing them as an intended feature of the game:

    http://www.smbhq.com/~mysteries/minusworld2.htm

    And no, this is not like the old joke "it's not a bug, it's a feature!"

    1. Re:Clearly not a bug by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      this "i beat the minus world" smacks of a hoax

  124. Games didn't kill him... bathroom did. by mike3411 · · Score: 1

    The article clearly states that he survived the video gaming, it was only when he went to the bathroom that he died.
    In response to tragic events like this, Prez. Bush is calling for a "war on toilets," which will entail ad campaigns targeted towards teens to drastically exaggerate the dangers posed by toilets and bathrooms.

    --
    Mod me down, and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
  125. Not according to this site by wass · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Maybe it's a cleverly-forged troll, but this
    site says otherwise.


    Also mentions how to get to -2. I read about the minus world back in 1987 or so in Nintendo Power (or was it the Nintendo Fan Club at that time?) at a friend's house, and was only able to make it to Minus world once. All subsequent attempts failed. Maybe I'll try again with tuxnes or nestra.


    On a side note, what's people's favorite linux NES emulator?

    --

    make world, not war

    1. Re:Not according to this site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Did you even look at the pictures? It doesn't take much sense to see how much bullshit it is, the guy just blew up a goomba and drew a crown on it. You think nintendo actually was going to put something drawn like that in there?

    2. Re:Not according to this site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well for the technical minded here is the answer
      http://nintendope.iodized.net/minusworld/m inus.php
      (paraphrased, "If the magicians had a problem with frogs the last thing they would do is go look up a book on amphibians, that would be cheating." from the last hero Terry pratchert)

    3. Re:Not according to this site by ChrisN79 · · Score: 2, Informative

      I know we are getting off topic here, but this -2 stuff is definitely a hoax. It even says so elsewhere on that web site. Some sort of April Fool's joke or something. Here is the link: http://www.smbhq.com/new.htm Scroll about a third of the way down and read the message for 4/3/02.

    4. Re:Not according to this site by hswerdfe · · Score: 1

      Its a hoax....
      Scroll down to the bottom of the page....

      high light the text after the email....

      low and behold
      text that is the same color as the background....

      it says
      "HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY! "

      but hey it was a good attempt

      I wish it were true...

      --
      --meh--
    5. Re:Not according to this site by AVryhof · · Score: 1

      Hmm, I remember when Mario All-Stars was released. Electronic Gaming Monthly (or was it Video Games and Computer Entertainment?) had an article detailing how it was intentionally added in to All-Stars. Perhaps it's not so much of a hoax as it is an Easter egg in All-Stars.

    6. Re:Not according to this site by wass · · Score: 2
      Man, how did you find the 'secret' message?

      Oh well, I would have believed it. I vaguely thought, back in 87 when I read the article about minus world, that they put a 'few' minus worlds in the game, and there was a trick to get to each one.

      Actually, the only fishy thing about the original article was the (1 in 2002) chance of going to -2. other than that i totally fell for it. guess i got schooled by the hardcore nintendo gamers!

      --

      make world, not war

    7. Re:Not according to this site by wass · · Score: 1
      You think nintendo actually was going to put something drawn like that in there?


      Actually, I wouldn't doubt it at all. Remember Zelda 2 where at the final board a GIGANTIC one of those animated blue Hershey Kiss guys falls on you. I vaguely remember that guy being pixellated to hell (although it's only visible for like 1 second, and this is recalling 13 years ago or so).

      --

      make world, not war

    8. Re:Not according to this site by WWWWolf · · Score: 1
      Also mentions how to get to -2.

      The site says the way to get to -2 is to go to the end of level -1...

      This would probably be interesting, except that I heard that level -1 is endless. How am I supposed to get to the end of level -1 then? =/

    9. Re:Not according to this site by FortKnox · · Score: 1

      It is not endless in that you just scroll forever, its just when you reach the pipe at the end it returns you back to the beginning of minus world. The 'end' they speak of is the pipe that returns you to the beginning.

      --
      Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
    10. Re:Not according to this site by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 2

      Maybe it's a cleverly-forged troll, but this
      site [smbhq.com] says otherwise.


      It's clearly a troll, and a pretty obvious one if you ask me. The NES hardware simply did not have the ability to display a sprite as large as the 'Goomba King'.

      Sure, some NES games used trickery to implement extremely large moving characters (Guts-Dozer in the Wily stage of Megaman 2 comes to mind), but in these cases the character WAS the background. Behind the character was a solid color so you couldn't tell it moved as the character did.

    11. Re:Not according to this site by wass · · Score: 1
      The NES hardware simply did not have the ability to display a sprite as large as the 'Goomba King'.


      i ain't got the NES internals knowledge...so i pitifully didn't see the troll as obvious.


      i figured they couldn't do big sprites, which is why i would have believed it was merely a blown-up sprite, using the same memory, just some kind of different processing.

      --

      make world, not war

    12. Re:Not according to this site by WWWWolf · · Score: 1

      Ah, my apologies. Since getting to this world is somewhat challenging, I've never seen it personally, so I was just guessing =)

  126. Detail the article missed ... by PaganRitual · · Score: 3, Funny

    if he was gaming for 86 hours straight without a break he couldnt have been running a windows game then, thats for sure ...

  127. Re:Game? me too! me too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Word. That foo is a jackass, yo.

  128. He ruined it for everybody. by rhodesbe · · Score: 1

    I never would have thought in a million years that Guinness would refuse any further attempts at THAT record because of danger to human life.

  129. SOMEONE MOD DOWN THIS JERK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Giving this a +5 Funny is an insult to the concept of humour.

    1. Re:SOMEONE MOD DOWN THIS JERK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, just cause you have no sense of humour... I thought it was halarious. Yeah some dude died.. I didn't know him, and it's not like he got hit by lightning.. seriously man 80+ hours? If I felt sad for everyone that died it would be hard to get much else done durring the course of a day. We're not saying, hahah, dead guys are funny, it's more to the point of if this were are cartoon (and who's to say it's not) this would be a pretty funny story line.

    2. Re:SOMEONE MOD DOWN THIS JERK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's irrelevant if the man died; the message is simply not funny. It wouldn't be funny even if you added canned laughs. There are plenty of very funny messages in this thread and they dont' deserve to be in the company of this one.

  130. Maybe this could be the plot for Speed 5...? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're playing NFS and you can't drop below 80 Km/h.

  131. How could this happen? by Psx29 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    How could any establishment allow someone to do this to themselves? Shouldn't someone have reported what his person was doing so they could get him help? I just don't understand how anyone could watch as someone deteriorates over a period of several days until they die.

  132. His last thoughts... by Stalyn · · Score: 2, Funny

    just another 3 million experience points and I'll be level...

    --
    The best education consists in immunizing people against systematic attempts at education. - Paul Feyerabend
  133. Fruit?? by stackdump · · Score: 2, Funny

    Um, last time i checked, fruits make you go. What kind of fruit are you eating? (ketchup on fries doesn't count)

    1. Re:Fruit?? by macrom · · Score: 2

      Well, true, but eating a ton of apples and a ton of grains (breads, rice, etc.) will back you up. One would think that the 2 would balance out, but not when you keep stopping your body from naturally releasing waste.

      Just try it and hold back the urge to poop for 2 weeks. Don't say I didn't warn you, though. :^)

    2. Re:Fruit?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      The first time my back went out, many many years ago, my doctor gave me muscle relaxants and codeine, and prescribed bed rest. Every time I'd wake up, I'd drop swallow the pills and pass back out. I didn't get out of bed for about a week, so when I finally did I was so dried out and constipated that it took another week of stool softeners before anything worked. Even then, it was like passing crushed bricks. No kidding, it even sounded like brick as it hit the porcelain - not a happy sound.

      Moral of the story: poop early and often.

  134. 2003 Darwin Awards candidate? by slashdot_commentator · · Score: 1

    ...the article didn't mention him leaving offspring...

    --
    There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, General Electric, and Exxon
  135. Hmm... by di0s · · Score: 1

    He then went to the toilet where he later was found dead,

    Maybe it was the stink in the bathroom that killed him...

  136. Sleep Deprivation is VERY bad for you. by alchemist68 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Dude, do you have any idea the brain damage you inflicted on yourself? Sleep deprivation is very bad for you. Go to a Medical College Library and look up a book called "Principles of Sleep Medicine, Vol.1 & Vol.2". What you can read in there will scare the shit out of you so much that you'll go to bed every night for the rest of life consistently on time if you don't want to be either dead at 50 or drooling and smiling at a wall when you're 65. Sleep deprivation is very VERY bad for you.

    Why?

    Sleep not only controls our circadian rhythms, but also apetite control, immune system function, and cognitive performance. I think you can see where this is going.

    1. Re:Sleep Deprivation is VERY bad for you. by Licensed2Hack · · Score: 1

      That would explain Thomas A. Edison, no?

    2. Re:Sleep Deprivation is VERY bad for you. by madenosine · · Score: 1

      lets not forget the story of peter tripp

    3. Re:Sleep Deprivation is VERY bad for you. by Won+Ton+Hammer · · Score: 1

      Edison actually took long naps throughout the day. So he probably did get about the normal amount of sleep per day, just not all in one chunk.

    4. Re:Sleep Deprivation is VERY bad for you. by Reziac · · Score: 2

      Sleep deprivation... Very very bad. Not good. A couple decades back, sleep research demonstrated that you can *kill* a dog by keeping it awake for 3 days straight. Humans are more flexible in their sleep requirements, but even so, the warning is plain.

      A weird thing about sleep deprivation (even without stimulants) is that after a certain point it can become DIFFICULT to go to sleep, as if the brain "forgets" how to sleep. I've personally experienced this, and I know other people who've been caught by it. I expect this is akin to the state gamers and other obsessives can work themselves into -- exhausted but nonetheless wide awake.

      Who, me? I was driving cross-country to a funeral. (Not mine. :) 1200 miles straight (400 of that at 30mph during a blizzard). Never again!

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    5. Re:Sleep Deprivation is VERY bad for you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm suprised there were any posts after this one... f*ck this, I'm going to bed!

  137. Yep, Americans do. by Grincho · · Score: 1

    Aye, Americans typically do. "Physician" has a more formal connotation here and is rarely heard in spoken language.

    1. Re:Yep, Americans do. by Angry+Toad · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It seems to be getting worse, too. My Ph.D. not infrequently generates an attitude of "Oh, so you're not a real doctor, then?" I blame it all on medical TV dramas.

  138. This is probably a lie article by vmalloc_ · · Score: 2, Interesting

    China regularly releases news reports like this to try to scare their population into getting off the internet, where they have better access to speech-related items

    This article is probably another one of those B.S. articles.

  139. Do console gamers live longer? by shadowengr · · Score: 0

    A nice couch can help with circulation.

  140. Elvis by DigiBoi · · Score: 1

    Must have been an unemployed Elvis Impersonator.

    --
    I put on my robe and wizard hat.
  141. Counterstrike? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wonder how many rounds he was AFK...

  142. I guess Red Bull really does give you wings.... by dameron · · Score: 1

    angel wings...

    -dameron

  143. And Sadly... by Un1v4c · · Score: 1


    He had the bomb the entire time...

    --

    I gave myself to Jesus, but now he never calls
    1. Re:And Sadly... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      This is a real string of messages from when I was playing CS last night
      Plant
      plant!
      Plant it!
      Plant the bomb!
      PLANT THE BOMB YOU DUMB STUPID BASTARD!!!

      I wonder if it was him?

  144. Hoax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    police detective Oh Myong-sik

    Detective "oh my young sick", yeah right.

  145. Re:Game? me too! me too! by diesel_jackass · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    i'm flattered that you took the time to look at the car. know anyone who needs one? i have that info there because i'm so desperate to sell it. i'm just short on dough and i have to sell that car :-(

    paypal is accepted in case you're interested ;-)

    btw: how'd you like the super-secret bonus pic?

  146. Many things are sad by theLOUDroom · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Death happens. Get over it. No one tied him to the computer.
    Jokes are funny. They lighten our mood and help us deal with the lousier shit in life.
    If everytime something lousy happend I couldn't joke about it, life would be even more lousy.

    I've had my grades affected by lots of things. I accept that and take responsibility for doing those things. If I forgot about all my classes and just played games all day, I would fail out of school. I wouldn't be able to work as an engineer, but then I wouldn't be a resposible enough person to make important decisions anyway.
    I don't really consider the way he died "pathetic". I think it's kinda funny and also kinda cool. It sure would beat dying of hunger or a belly wound.
    Hey, at least he died doing something he loved :)
    Joking about death doesn't mean you don't give a shit whether people live or die. Being unable to handle jokes about death, suggests that they and therefore death itself makes you uncomfortable. Death is coming for you. There's nothing you can do to stop it. If you think that's sad, ok. Just don't try and act like that puts you on some sort of moral highground. People deal with death in different ways.
    I'm not saying that death is great, just that people comfortable/uncomforable enough with the idea to joke about it, aren't necessarily uncaring, and that perhaps every death isn't tragic.

    --
    Life is too short to proofread.
  147. Please. by jwinter1 · · Score: 1

    Just don't let my girlfriend see this.
    Thanks Mr. Kim, you jackass.

    --
    Anything you can do, I can do meta.
  148. This is quite factual actually by alchemist68 · · Score: 1

    The guy's death was not the game's fault or the game's maker. Just as he had a genetic predisposition for depression, he had a predisposition for THAT addiction. And, knowing that depressed people often have very poor concentration, I don't see how this man could have played the game 86 hours consecutively unless there were other factors to consider such as drugs or genetics (some weird neural feed back loop). I'm not trying to be insensitive, but Darwin's theories of natural selection are at work here, TODAY, in our society, in many forms (economics, employment, social pecking order, education, etc...). This is just one more person who didn't have the abilities to adapt to his changing environment. Survival of the fittest.

  149. I wonder if a new Windows virus did it. by Zapdos · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wonder how long until the Weekly World News carries this story. "Man catches Computer Virus and Dies"

    1. Re:I wonder if a new Windows virus did it. by dark_panda · · Score: 2

      Way ahead of you...

      http://monster-island.org/tinashumor/humor/virusma n.html

      Well, close enough.

      J

  150. a plan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think on friday, I'll give this a shot. starting with 15 million Meph runs. and ending with a 24 hour Kael raid/camp, If I don't die, I'll sell all the stuff on ebay and celebrate.

  151. And what will your epitaph be? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck all of you who will (doubtless) follow this article with snide witticisms. Someone died. Save your mockery.

  152. Found on Blizzard's web page... by long_john_stewart_mi · · Score: 3, Funny
    I actually found this on Blizzard's web site:

    Game Awards - Warcraft 3
    • Best CG Cinematics (tie) - Gamespy's Best of E3 2002 Awards
    • Editor's Choice (10 out of 10 rating) - Game Chronicles
    • First game to actually kill somebody
    Hey! Who put that last one in there!
    --
    ...oOOo..'(_)'..oOOo...
  153. adjusting spin controls by Rild · · Score: 3, Insightful

    no,no you see most people seem to be missing the point .
    you see he quit the game and then died

    It's really quite simple quitting ( not playing ) is what killed him

    this is excellent news for sony and microsoft , once your hooked it's play or die .

    1. Re:adjusting spin controls by ThaReetLad · · Score: 1

      I agree. I think that the cause of death is obvious. It was the severe anxiety of being away from the computer that caused a heart attack because he was afraid he might miss something important.

      --
      You can't win Darth. If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine
  154. Waaah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There, feel better now?

  155. Prompting the question... by Devil's+Advocate · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    ...if one doesn't have a life, can that life truly be lost.

  156. I used to love Q3A. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Especially all the mods for it. Then I got hold of UT2003. Now it's like "Quake 3? What's that??" I bet the new UT is what he was playing when he brought it. Me, I have enough sense to get some sleep and dream about cooking my fellow fraggers with the electric sniper gun. ^_^

  157. What has our professional scolds so worried by Zhe+Mappel · · Score: 5, Interesting
    From the Times piece by Howard French:

    Critics say the burgeoning industry is creating millions of zombified addicts who are turning on and tuning into computer games, and dropping out of school and traditional group activities, becoming uncommunicative and even violent because of the electronic games they play.

    Tsk tsk. Unlike TV, of course, which promotes intimacy, critical thinking, and feelings of peace and contentedness.

    It's not hard to see what has the cultural police so alarmed: at last, a form of electronic engagement even more powerful in its spell than TV has arrived to offer young people a reality of their own shaping. And while it's hardly arguable that playing Counterstrike all day is better for you than sitting in front of a TV, there is a key difference.

    Counterstrike -- or almost any online game -- can't really be used to indoctrinate. Not yet, anyway (although you might argue that running around with guns killing others for round after round is a type of indoctrination, the fact is that it's largely devoid of political context, and experientially it's all for self-aggrandizement, anyway; however, cf. the US Army's recent slippery entry into this market as the progenitor of the politicization of the FPS game).

    The main problem is that you can't use Dan Blather or Brit Spume to convey the wishes of the oligarchy just when the kids have been left perfectly mollified by hours of braindead sitcoms. Cocooned digitally with only pixels and urges to guide them, they're neither being told how to think or what to buy. Online gaming is too much beyond the control of our masters.

    That's intolerable to a nation that regards workaholism as the ideal state of being. It also offends our puritan traditions; next to serving your boss, only God is supposed to suck up so much of your devotion. Watch for more efforts at social control coming from such kissing cousins as Joe Lieberman and Jerry Falwell in the near future. The first step will be to apply the social definitions of addiction, whereafter, as long as the present administration is in office, you may see a faith-based solution offered for your Quake jones...

    1. Re:What has our professional scolds so worried by Nomad37 · · Score: 1

      I think more than emphasising what's bad about TV, it's important to emphasise what's good about gaming (disclaimer: I rarely play computer games and then it's usually for short periods of time):

      1. increases reaction times
      2. is actually interactive rather than making you unilaterally consume (oops, is that a good thing? depends on perspective i guess) ...

      There must be heaps more - anyone else?

      --
      Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will! - Antonio Gramsci.
  158. Modded up scores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Man the moderators must be drugs.... Ive never seen so many 5+ before.

  159. This wouldn't have happened if by clovis · · Score: 2, Funny

    he had spent those 96 hours doing "one-handed typing"; using the Internet as it was intended to used as a vehicle for healthful physical activity and not frozen in some endless game.

  160. Actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ms. Kim is exactly right! Though I do prefer Doctor Kim.

    msq

  161. you're making that up, I'm afraid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "fruits and breads, stuff that backs you up real good"

    Fruits and breads contain fiber and make you more "regular", not less.

    Also, for just about anything that went in at the top end, manual intervention is not usually needed at the bottom end. Maybe you are confusing this with the rubber items that doctors needed to extract from your bottom end.

    1. Re:you're making that up, I'm afraid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Fruits and breads contain fiber and make you more "regular", not less."

      Doesn't matter how much fiber you've eaten, if you have no water in your system, your poo will be hard and bricklike.

  162. Final Words by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Man, I haven't had corn in, like, 6 days"

  163. if you wait long enough... by g4dget · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you wait long enough, almost any event "B" will follow almost any event "A" in close succession. That doesn't mean that "A" caused "B".

    1. Re:if you wait long enough... by PMuse · · Score: 2

      Post hoc, ergo procter hoc? Yeah, right.

      And where, BTW, is the stat on how many peole die each week after watching 86 straight hours of TV? You know they're out there.

      --
      "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." --The American President (20.1.2009)
    2. Re:if you wait long enough... by pogen · · Score: 2
      If you wait long enough, almost any event "B" will follow almost any event "A" in close succession. That doesn't mean that "A" caused "B".

      If only slashdotters could recognize that the same argument applies to p2p and the RIAA's profits...

  164. reminds me of the movie "Wargames" by vandelais · · Score: 2

    ..."He's still playing the game.".....

    --
    Game: Player 'Donald J Trump' now has AI skill level 'experimental'.
  165. StarCraft by turpie · · Score: 1

    Did anyone else notice the link provided for StarCraft?
    Instead of linking to Blizzard or Vivendi, it gives a link to a stock market report for the StarCraft corporation who customise vans. Though even this business report includes a link to the StarCraft:Ghost announcement.

  166. 3 days straight by HanzoSan · · Score: 2


    Ive spent 3 days straight playinng games, sometimes going days with no food, just drink.

    --
    If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
    1. Re:3 days straight by frenetic3 · · Score: 3, Funny

      You are a huge nerd, assembled from parts of lesser nerds

      --
      "Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?"
    2. Re:3 days straight by The+Fred · · Score: 1

      Humm.. I don't know if anyone get's the reference to the Triumph at Starwars video piece that was aired on TV making fun of all those Star Wars geeks who wait in line for weeks on end for the next given movie.

    3. Re:3 days straight by Beliskner · · Score: 2
      Ive spent 3 days straight playinng games, sometimes going days with no food, just drinkYes, that's why you are my friend.
      --
      A caveman dreams of being us, the incalculable power and riches. We dream of being Q, then what?
  167. one question by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    But did he win?

  168. Dedication by amdg · · Score: 1

    Wow! Those South Korean's are dedicated!

    At least this he didn't set himself on fire.

  169. Conspiracy!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Knowing the reputation of Kwangju as I do, I suspect (a little) that the police did it! Someone better check and see if this dead guy was a dissident or some other undesirable. Okay, okay, I'm just kidding .... mostly.

  170. "Game over" or "The End" by kofox · · Score: 5, Funny

    Personally i hate games in which you completely defeat them and you get a nice big dick in the ass "Game over". That is what happens when you die from not being good enough at the game. "The end" is a reward from mastering the game and not being able to go any farther, hence "the end". Not to say this person reached the end of the game, and not to say he didn't deserve a "game over", but i am venting my frustrations with such games such as final fight for snes, or super smash brothers

    1. Re:"Game over" or "The End" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's right, the real issue is how games end, not that this sad and pathetic man died from self-induced sleep deprivation.

      Way to keep it in perspective.

    2. Re:"Game over" or "The End" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      That is what happens when you die from not being good enough at the game.

      Are you saying he died because he wasn't good enough? <eg>

    3. Re:"Game over" or "The End" by vicviper · · Score: 2

      Way OT here, but I dissagree. IIRC, in Final Fight you do get an "Ending" so to speak, although it's not the flashy FMV type endings you may see in today's consoles, you do get to see credits (not to mention a cripple wielding a crossbow being tossed out of a plate glass window!) If I understand your frustration, you'd rather see the words "The End" or something like it rather than "GAME OVER" (which may imply that you suck ass.) With the exception of Karnov most games do have a decent ending. The game over screen is probably just a function called to eventually bring the code back to the title while at the same time letting those that haven't gotten it by now that they can get up and shower, eat, etc. Now, if this man had a decent game over screen, it just may have saved his life!

  171. thats what I do by khold · · Score: 1

    Every time I game too much, I die too....... In Warcraft 3 that is. I think I have something like 6 losses and no wins.

    --
    rm -rf sig
  172. Damage Studios should not let chrisd do PR. by transiit · · Score: 3, Funny

    Funny how chrisd lets this one through the submission queue right around the same time Wired runs an articleabout him leaving VA to go start up a gaming company.

    This is not what I would call a good way to start the publicity.

    -transiit

    1. Re:Damage Studios should not let chrisd do PR. by AVryhof · · Score: 1

      Hott damn! When's the first game coming out? I got to get me one of those!

  173. akjfdlj by rice_burners_suck · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Hey, this ain't no joke. One time, I had the house all to myself (I'm 32 and still live with my parents) when my folks went to Mammoth, and instead of bringing girls over, I played video games almost nonstop. Oh yeah, and I drank a LOT of alcohol. By the third day, I started shaking, feeling REALLY dizzy, and at some point, my left arm started to hurt--BADLY. I'm serious... I ain't making this up. So anyway, I was almost SURE I was going to have a heart attack, so I went to some restaurant and ate some stuff. I felt really sick for the next two days, and then I got over it. I now think it was caused by boozing too much without eating properly, and didn't have much to do with the video games.

    (I'm not really 32 or living with my parents though. I made that part up. I'm actually 19 and I share a 10 room mansion with 20 really cute women.)

    1. Re:akjfdlj by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      (I'm not really 32 or living with my parents though. I made that part up. I'm actually 19 and I share a 10 room mansion with 20 really cute women.)

      Too bad you're the odd man out stuck living with 10 lesbian couples, eh?

    2. Re:akjfdlj by longhairedgnome · · Score: 0

      if i could mod shit, this would be the first one i'd vote for

      --
      GENERATION O98346: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig and remove a random number from the generation. T
    3. Re:akjfdlj by Dynedain · · Score: 2

      That would be alcohol poisoning

      --
      I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
  174. Re:Game? me too! me too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, thankfully, it was only Korea.

  175. not(Urban Myth) by diesel_jackass · · Score: 2

    OK, i know quality != quantity, but...

    news.google has 6 other articles (not including this one of course) with a similar story.

    (it's nice to see someone questioning authority though)

  176. You, insensitve fool .. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    .. he was jobless ! He could not afford "required dosage of Montain Dew and Pizza" !

    1. Re:You, insensitve fool .. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He had to pay to be in an internet cafe, so he must have had some money, moron.

  177. Nope. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He died while dumping core.

    Truly the way to win your way to a glorious afterlife in.. Stova'core.

    Ah shit, two geek references in one post!

  178. no way man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    everyone knows script kiddies go to hell..

  179. We lose. by Banjonardo · · Score: 1

    We finally lost. Too much video games IS bad for children! (and adults)

    --

    -----

    Score 3? For what? Being wrong, at length? - smirkleton

  180. "virtually" glued to the computer... by footility · · Score: 1

    yeah, right....pfft! modern torture techniques!!!

    --
    What f*ing box!?!?
  181. I'm not quite dead yet! by bluhatter · · Score: 5, Funny

    86 hours at the computer? That's nothing! I used to watch windows defrag!

    --


    bluHatter
    1. Re:I'm not quite dead yet! by marauder404 · · Score: 1

      Damn, you're one bored mofo!

  182. His 24 year life gone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Hate to break it to you, bud, but when you're 60+ and kick the bucket, no one's going to know who the hell you were either. And aside from a pathetically few (when you consider the population of the world) souls, no one will care to find out who you were, either.

    You should be modded down as a troll. Here's a newsflash - life kills. Better get used to it, considering how little time you have.

    Shit, when I go, there'll be more Guinness floating around than in a book of world records. I want people to laugh. I want them to get piss fscking drunk and then have a few good laughs at my expense, recalling various stupid things I've done.

    I'll be dead, it's not like I'll care. And it's better than wishing friends and relatives sit around sobbing pathetically.

    1. Re:His 24 year life gone? by PaganRitual · · Score: 1

      i agree with you totally ... but how the hell can you drink guinness? ill have a cafferys for you, if it makes you feel better ;)

  183. he couldn't remember the code by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    up up down down left right left right -- SHIT!

  184. he was just... by squarefish · · Score: 2

    following in Elvis' footsteps

    --
    Creationists are a lot like zombies. Slow, but powerful and numerous. And they all want to eat our brains.
  185. Police wonder.. by MoriarGryphon · · Score: 5, Funny

    Police later searched for the closest respawn point in hopes of getting more answers to no avail.

  186. DDR!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I bet the game he was playing was Dance Dance Revolution. 86 hours of that would definately kill.

  187. Darwinically by blackwizard · · Score: 1

    Nope; this guy beat you to 'darwinically'. Google also turned the word up in a number of 2001 publications. Strangely enough, the last six sites turned up by google are porn sites. (To your credit, there were only two pages of results in google, and it wasn't in the dictionary.)

    1. Re:Darwinically by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Would you say darwinistically or darwinically?

  188. This story must be true.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow this is serious...but just imagine a Beowulf cluster of these...

  189. God damnit! by billybob · · Score: 1

    Why'd you have to link to e2??? My night is ruined! I'll never escape!!!

    --
    Joseph?
    1. Re:God damnit! by Ctrl-Z · · Score: 2


      Just make sure you know when to draw the line, or you could end up having a bad toilet experience too.

      --
      www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
  190. I wonder... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...if he remembered to save his game?

  191. so... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    if i sit in front of my computer, playing UT2k3, and somebody shoots me in the head with a magnum, does that mean i died from playing video games?

  192. Re:asdf by saskboy · · Score: 1

    "asdf"

    I like the person who moderated this insightful. For an urban legend like this article, it is certainly so.

    --
    Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
  193. Would you like to know more? Re:Man you moderators by PsychoKiller · · Score: 2, Informative

    What, are you curious about the precise methodology of feces extraction that was used?
    How many of you would have clicked through if there had been a link "Would you like to know more?"


    It's a scissoring motion with the fingers.

    Ah, the joy of having a girlfriend that's a nurse. I know all kinds of things about colons should not be known.

  194. Apples to Oranges by theLOUDroom · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Come on now. Some guy choosing to sit in front of a computer until he dies should not be compared to organized murder.
    The atrocities committed by both sides in the middle east are truely tragic ongoing events.
    See my other post for some enlightenment about this 'nobody has any compassion' thing.
    Tragic problems arise when religous types think that because others do not believe as they do they are sub-human, emotionless animals, etc. Look to the tradgedies in the whole Isreal/Palestine conflict for an example.
    If you really want to make the most of your life try to understand others. Try to accept that others may view life differently and that those people are not necessarily bad. Try to promote understanding instead of jumping to conlusions and judging people.
    For example: If you choose not to do all those things you listed in you post, fine. I don't consider you a lesser human being because of it. If I choose to drink and get laid, I should not be labeled an infidel. People who don't do certain things because they think it makes them a better human being don't usually brag about it. The people who brag are the ones who think not doing these things somehow makes them better than other people.
    I'm not trying to accuse you of this specfically, but your statements about abstinance from whatever don't really tie into this discussion. And your assumption that we have no compassion doesn't make you look good either.

    --
    Life is too short to proofread.
  195. Irony by e8johan · · Score: 1

    It was ironc to see how the Swedish newspaper 'Aftonbladet' put this article on the same page as the ads for the latest games...

  196. Hmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sounds like an enlightened AC to me.

  197. Game Genie code by Otto · · Score: 2

    I was able to do it once. *Once*.

    After that I found this game genie code to make it easier. GXNAGY. This will change the warp to world 2 at the end of 1-2 into a warp to the minus world.

    I also read that completing the loop 8 times will send you to the final level. But in order to do that I think you'd need to put in the Game genie code to disable the clock as well.

    --
    - Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
  198. Whats the big deal? by Ironpoint · · Score: 3, Insightful


    Geez... One guy out of 6 billion drops dead on the other side of the planet and everybody's talking about it.

    If you don't think you can just drop dead at any moment, I got news for you. You may die tomorrow.

    Theres a million ways to die, the easiest for young people would probably be asthma or choking or drugs. This article is worthless without an autopsy.

    1. Re:Whats the big deal? by JDBrechtel · · Score: 1

      "You may die tomorrow."

      Or worse yet...you might die TODAY! Right after you read this post!

  199. If you're religious... by Kaz+Riprock · · Score: 2

    You should know, this is God's way of saying:
    U R 0WN3D, D00D!!1!

    --
    Mordor...a magical, mythical land where women are more rare than dragons--but where every man would rather find a dragon
  200. Slashdot Effect is Real! by femto · · Score: 1
    Looking at the list of most read articles on the front page of the SMH (bottom right), it's interesting to note that the most viewed article in today's edition of the SMH is:

    "Man dies after playing computer games non-stop"

    Guess more people must read Slashdot than the SMH.

  201. A Fight Club corellary by Winterblink · · Score: 2

    Given a long enough time frame, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.

    --
    "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
    -Hoban Washburn
  202. Old news... by The_Real_MrRabbit · · Score: 1

    Posted previously...old news...

    =8-)

    1. Re:Old news... by scientific2503 · · Score: 0

      thats because it have nothing to do with news its a tail.

  203. old!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    this story is like over a year old.... c'mon, guys... i'm sure there are better submissions than this

  204. The REAL Story by TheDreamDragon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think the most amazing thing about these stories is that people are at these internet cafes for DAYS at a time and noone notices or cares.86 hours is literally half a week.I guess the managers who run these internet cafes will happily let you wallow in your own filth as long as they get paid by the hour.

    1. Re:The REAL Story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right on spot.

  205. The only thing ... by LoudMusic · · Score: 2

    The only thing that won't kill you if you do it for 86 hours straight is LIVING.

    ~LoudMusic

    --
    No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
  206. I call bullshit by Dynedain · · Score: 4, Insightful

    While in architecture school I did 70 hours nonstop working in studio on my project, and I haven't suffered any nahhh naaaaahhhh nhaahaha any side effects. I would have done longer if I hadn't finished my project. I know other people who did longer.

    I don't doubt that he died after a long bout of not sleeping, but I don't believe that the lack of sleep is what killed him. I'm more inclined to think a heart attack from all the caffine is what did him in.

    --
    I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
  207. I once had a cock! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I once masturbated for 86 hours and my cock fell off.

  208. Hailstorm sessions by Ektanoor · · Score: 2

    Well, frankly I can sincerly suspect that this guy could have made a suicide session.

    My record at the keyboard is nearly 92 hours non-stop. And this is probably too little a record. And if you take small snaps 2/3 hours a day, you can hold up a week or two (I hold nearly 9 days). But frankly I would not recomend anyone to do this.Because it is damnly stress to your body and mind. The risks are very high and you get out of this with some damage. At least I know that some of these longterm sessions, partially, were the cause for landing in the hospital for spine treatment (but not the main reason, I once broke a disc on it).

    However playing games for long is stupid. First because you may get a good dose of "astronauts ilness", for the fact that you run, jump, shoot and keep your body nearly static in a chair. Besides you can get a good dose of headaches caused by osteochondrosis or what this ilness is called. The more you play for long, the best the chances these headaches become chronical. In the end, no pills and no siroups will help you. Only some weeks in the hospital being tortured every day to put your spine back in place.

    If you have problems with your hearth, then a few hours is enough to have him reminding to get some rest orelse (good I don't have such problems). People with brain problems (I mean physical, not psychological), should avoid taking more than a few hours at the screen, or they can call for their coffin at once.I had one friend that unfortunately passed out because he stressed himself too much and his brain ilness killed him working at night. He was only 33 btw.

    However if you are healthy and you really have a serious need for a hailstorm session, then take my advice. Eat well, very well and regularly, and don't delay that trip to the toilet when you get the need. Every hour stand up and walk a little. Every disconfort should be take into account and one should try to care for it. Sit in a big chair, the more ergonomic the best. From time to time try to make some gyms to avoid stress. Try to work in the dark, at least the ceiling lights will be a mess in the third day. The monitor brightness should be smooth to avoid eye stressing. Every time the workload goes down, try to take a snap or, if you have some practice on it, go into "suspend" mode :) . This is not a joke, many hailstormers are capable of coming into a half-sleep state while working for days at the computers. But note that this cannot fully replace a real good sleep.

    Once you get out of a hailstorm session, go eat some BIG meal, take a walk and only a few hours later go to sleep. And forget about hailstorms for a few days...

    If you regularly play with your health 24-48 hours at the screen then take into account that you can hold up for a few monthes. Then you should take a brake if you don't wanna get old at 35...

  209. what really happend. by term_0z · · Score: 0

    Kim: I am just going to the toilet. brb CS-friend: Yah, k. 30 minutes later CS-friend: stop idling l4m3r. 15 minutes later - Kim was kicked by console

  210. Ragnarok Online? by Kyrn · · Score: 1

    it's Korean.....

  211. A bit ironic by mypalmike · · Score: 1
    Actual quote from this nytimes article:

    "Broadband's killer application -- the one activity that dwarfs all others -- is online gaming"

    -_-_-

    --
    There are 0x40000000 types of people: those who understand 32-bit IEEE 754 floating point, and those who don't.
  212. And so do the British by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You might occasionally see 'physician' written here, but we're with the Americans on this one.

  213. Mod parent up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is seriously the most genuine post I've ever seen on slashdot. I am seriously going to follow this advice!

  214. PC Bong's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was coughing up a lung-full of smoke reading this, not because of laughing or that I found anything amusing about the story, but because I'm reading this in one of the mentioned korean PC-Bongs (PC-Cafe). And I am coughing up smoke.

    I quit going to them as much because of my health, I have never been in such a smoked filled environment in my life. Absoulutly no ventilation in most of them with no or little AC. Im not sure about the PC-Bong where this guy died in but there can be other factors in consideration here. I liken the environment here similar to working in a less then standard factory.

    But, hey, maybe I'm wrong.

  215. Return of Ganon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (nt)

  216. Destroy all bridges by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    More people have died jumping off bridges than playing computer games. They are obviously a hazard to society! We must destroy all bridges and make it illegal to build any more!

    After that, we should ban all use of cars, guns, knives, electricity and fire.

  217. The Perfect Soldiers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's about time the gov't gets hip to the perfect army it has in its own borders. In the USA, millions train everyday on various systems in the electronic art of FPS. It IS an art, it IS a skill and most importantly it IS addictive. Today's youth drafted would fair poorly on an actuall battleground, but controlling robots through various familiar and popular games as their GUI and they would be unstoppable. Imagine the teamwork of CTF Quake or Counterstike fully realized on a battlefield while the controllers sit back comfortably smoking bongs, drinking soda and ordering pizza.

    1. Re:The Perfect Soldiers by mattblanchard · · Score: 1

      If you haven't done so already, go read Ender's Game and it's sequels by Orson Scott Card. You'll love 'em...

    2. Re:The Perfect Soldiers by Kaz+Riprock · · Score: 2
      Most of these people play for hours and hours, using thousands upon thousands of "lives" in their quest to know every inch of a map and what it's particular nooks and crannies are.

      On a battlefield, driving a gui tank, you get one life and you have little to no idea what the terrain around the corner will have in the way of nooks or crannies...and the enemy don't respawn from the same point for you to camp...

      --
      Mordor...a magical, mythical land where women are more rare than dragons--but where every man would rather find a dragon
  218. Doing what he loved... by kakos · · Score: 1

    Well, I guess his parents can truly say, "He died doing what he loved."

  219. Bipolar? by FyRE666 · · Score: 2

    Isn't this a symptom of bipolar disorder. I have cycles like that, though not so often. I'll stay awake for 2 or 3 days and feel great, then suddenly want to sleep for like 36 hours or something... It's not that much fun, actually...

    1. Re:Bipolar? by nuxx · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes... It is... And I eventually couldn't help her anymore because she wouldn't understand that she had problems. It'd always get chalked up to something else. There's a reason she's an ex. I couldn't deal with the irresponsibility anymore. (With this and other things...)

  220. 86 hours playing games? by chegosaurus · · Score: 5, Funny

    He needs to get a life. Oh, err... sorry...

  221. Oh well. by Pyrion · · Score: 1

    That's one less ling rush + disconnect that I have to endure. ;)

    --
    "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." - Bertrand Russell.
  222. Sympathy? by BIGstan · · Score: 1

    I can't spot a single sympathetic comment. Most of us are all laughing at this guy's death in some kind of cynical Darwinistic smugness.

    These comments are nothing but sympathetic. (with a few exceptions, most of which are -1 Troll)

    Look a little deeper. Behind the humor and sarcasm is the thought "There, but for the grace of God, go I."

    --

    BIGstan!
    1. Re:Sympathy? by Kalak · · Score: 1

      This is a poster that understands the value of humor in dealing with tragedy. While i haven't heard any 9/11 jokes, I can remember quite a few Space Shuttle jokes from when I was a kid.

      I'm a gamer, and I have been so stupid/depressed/obsessive compulsive as to ignore my bodys own calls for help, and not just with games Heck it's now 5am and I haven't gone to bed yet, for no apparent reason (I'm home recovering fromsurgery so I can get away with it now and sleep to recover from it.)

      My joke (above) was with a bit of sympathy, irony and wonder as to the afterlife. Was it worth it? Was is a good way to go - thinking abbout no troubles but finishing that last level? Will I ever get that depressed and escape into gaming (again) and go too far?

      I have much sympathy, and a bit in common with this man, and I help he's playing what he wants to now, on a comuter, in some afterlife, or will be reborn in time to play Doom IV when it comes out.

      --
      I am, and always will be, an idiot. Karma: Coma (mostly effected by .hack)
    2. Re:Sympathy? by Beliskner · · Score: 2
      What do you get when you cross an Arab terrorist with a skyscraper?
      Rubble

      Hmmmm, this is more difficult than I thought, I'll try again

      Kid: Mommy, why did binLaden destroy twin towers?
      Mom: He made a giant firefighter kebab to feed us

      Kid: Uncle Osama, you have struck a great victory to unify the worldwide Muslim nation into an Ummah so that the Kalifah could return to Earth and destroy the American Kaffir like he promised. You must be proud of your achievement!
      Osama: Nope, I just wanted my own TV show, but Tom Green and Jackass stole my idea, so that was the best thing I could come up with. The moral of the story is that sometimes the backup plan really sucks. Now let us reunite. At least I got a few old buildings around Kabul demolished yeeeehaaa. It wasn't me, it was Allah and Jesus!

      --
      A caveman dreams of being us, the incalculable power and riches. We dream of being Q, then what?
  223. 86 Hours by pmasters · · Score: 1

    Blimey - my machine wouldn't have stayed up that long =(( Home built PC's - you build them, but do you really control them?

  224. Insert Coin to continue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Never heard of this?

    CHeers.

  225. Hmm, let's see... by The+Fanta+Menace · · Score: 1

    No food, no sleep, brain constantly active for a number of days... of course you're gonna die! They did tests on rats a couple of years back, depriving them on sleep for days on end. The poor little things just rolled over and dropped dead.

    --
    -- Even if a god did exist, why the fsck should I worship it?
  226. Re:Game? me too! me too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Probably Duke Nukem, which would explain why he went to the toilet to regain health; thank God I never made that mistake in real life (though, after too much over exposure, I could be found hitting the walls, muttering "where is it?" in public places, and erroneously referring to cops as pigs (wait a minute...)).

  227. No you didn't!!! by squaretorus · · Score: 2
  228. Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's gonna be plenty of dead people when George W. Bush starts to play his computer game, yet none of you seems bothered.

    Yes, the dead person will not be Dubya himself. Do you think that makes a better game?

  229. Games should only let you play for 16 hrs per day by MR_Flaimbait · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I have the solution to this problem.
    Onlines games should only let you login and be online for at most 16 hours a day. This would force you to snap out of it, and get something to eat and some sleep. This would also be pretty easy to implement, and would have prevented this tragedy.

  230. What a great way to die! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    Till today I thought the best way to die is just
    after having an orgasm. Now, considering you need a woman for that, death to "over gaming" is such a better idea... oh baby.

  231. drugs by snugge · · Score: 0

    >died after playing computer games nonstop for 86 hours

    yeah yeah, and drugs didnt have anyting to do with it?

  232. Re:This wouldn't have happened if by spakka · · Score: 1

    No, he would have come to a sticky end

  233. He must have been an obsolete version by kongstad · · Score: 1

    My body comes equipped with failsafes, to counteract these situations. Once I played Civ for 48 hours, after about 30 hours my right arm stopped functioning - I simply couldn't move it. I then switched the mouse to the left hand and continued.

    After 48 hours I simply couldn't focus my eyes eny more (and my left arm was in serious pain) - so I was forced by my body to go to bed.

  234. Slashdot Talk? by qrash · · Score: 0

    EatToo much and die
    SleepToo much and die
    SmokeToo much and die
    DrinkToo much and die

    Notice the pattern?

    --
    you may find the Higgs in this signature.
  235. Not a genuine BOOG by evilviper · · Score: 2

    It's not likely a bug... Most bugs don't result in a nice jump to the final level.

    While we're taking about Game Eeggs,

    Seems like the tricks are too EASY now. Now you stick on a chip, and can do anything... During the Genesis/SNES days, we at least had to learn some keystrokes.

    For instance, sticking Sonic The Hedgehog 1 on the Sonic & Knuckles cart, then holding A+B+C then "Start" gives you inifinite (I believe) 3D levels (where you try to capture the emeralds in Sonic 3). That's something that'll literally hook you forever. I know I've played that for hours at a time.

    Then there's the extremes of the 8-bit days, where, to get a level-selection screen in Shinobi, you had to wet your finger, and place it on the top-right of the expansion connector... They sure don't make 'em like that anymore!!!

    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  236. Similar but worse.... by Etrigan_696 · · Score: 2, Informative

    I knew a guy that was almost this stupid. He took his student loans from college, didn't pay tuition and didn't go to class...Well, he took his big wad of cash and bought a Playstation and ALL the games on the market for it.
    He then went back to his trailer (he lived in a trailer with ratty carpet and wall-to-wall fleas)and hooked up his Playstation. His fiance had left town to visit her family, so he spent the next 72 hours playing playstation games.

    Here's the terrible part. His fiance had just got a teeny little kitten. It was barely weened. The guy got to playing games and completely forgot about the kitten. 72 hours later, it was dead in the bathroom behind the toilet from dehydration. He didn't notice for another couple days... when it started smelling like...well...a rotten kitten.

    So now, when my son plays video games too much, I tell him the story of the guy that played so many video games, his cat died.

  237. Whatever.... by John+Pfeiffer · · Score: 1

    Yeah yeah yeah... And staying up till 10am modelling something in lightwave'll-- Hnngrk! *Dies*

    --

    Friend: "The NIC is misconfigured..." Me: "No prob, I'll just telnet in and fix it." *Silence*
  238. Sad, but... by docbrown42 · · Score: 1

    ...how many points did he rack up playing minsweeper?

    --
    Ed Wedig
    Graphic design services
    docbrown.net
  239. red bull? pussy. by caveat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    what is it with you people and these halfass sugar-water caffeniated drinks? double-strong black drip coffee is the One True Way, it's got loads more caffeine than sodas/energy drinks, and nothing else of any nutritional value - which lets you tailor your nutritional intake entirely through food.
    it's useful - eat complex carbs (bagels, buscuits, whatnot) in the morning to stock up on glycogen, then switch to sugars (junk food, dew) as you get more and more tired and need simpler carbs, maybe a good whack of protein midday (mmm...red meat...) to keep your muscles from self-digesting. of course, it's got so much caffeine in such a small volume of liquid i find it usually ends up dehydrating me, but that's why i keep a big nalge of plain old H20 next to my triple-size mug.
    'course if you really wanna hurt, get a 100g bottle of USP sublimed caffeine...bet you didn't know that 2grams at once makes you hallucinate (and vibrate in place, and throw up, a lot...)

    --

    Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley
  240. 86 hours and you die on an x86 by marko123 · · Score: 1

    Shit man. That means I can only play for 68 hours on my old mac.

    --
    http://pcblues.com - Digits and Wood
  241. Cost of the Session by cravian · · Score: 1

    One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the sheer cost of spending 86 hours at the computer. I read that you're talking something like 10 dollars/hour, that's 860 dollars (i can still multiply without xcalc!).

    How could an unemployed man afford that? More to the point, not having much money - it could been the shock that killed him when he realised how much he spent.

    --
    The obvious is blinding, that's why no-one sees it coming.
  242. i've tasted meth... by caveat · · Score: 1

    you could probably cover it up in extra strong coffee, or a super-rich oatmeal stout, but that's about it. tastes better than it smells though...i hate that burning plastic aroma and flavor...not as bad as crack, though (seriously)

    --

    Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley
  243. Whooa by OneArmedMan · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Dude, you look a little paler than usual

  244. Darwinism by Ghengis · · Score: 1

    Chalk this one up to survival of the fittest.

    --

    "The best laid plans of mice and men gang oft agley..." - ROBERT BURNS

  245. Obsession by KalenDarrie · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is just another case of obsession and poor judgment. The thing about obsessive personalities is that if games weren't there to obsess over, they'd just find something else and likely invent a new way to kick the bucket.

    It is a sad thing, however. And not the most comfy way to pass away.

    Especially if he didn't beat the game.

    --
    Kalen D'arrie
  246. He was lucky to survive 86 hours straight by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Most people can't live for more than 3 days without water. Yes, a few have survived longer by not doing anything, but most at least drank dew, rainwater (if they were trapped underneath something, for example), snow, or sometimes even their own sweat. If he truely was playing (which causes water loss through even that minimal activity) 86 hours nonstop without drinking anything, that is pretty good.

  247. Re:Game? me too! me too! by Psmylie · · Score: 3, Funny

    He was trying to get to the end boss in Tetris.

    --

    psmylie's dictionary: Godzillion (noun) Any number large enough to destroy Tokyo

  248. GHB not "safe alternative" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have treated 3 GHB overdoses in the emergency room in the past year. Don't fool yourself into thinking it's a "safe" alternative to alcohol (which causes many more ER visits, but think of how many people use/abuse it). Two of the three thought they were taking a "safe" dose of the clear liquid mixed with Coke (tm) and ended up unconscious in my ER vomiting activated charcoal and sorbitol all over themselves. Sometimes I wish I videotaped them so they could show everyone at their next little party. Luckily, all lived, but don't think GHB is without side effects or risks (especially when folks can't even figure out how much to take).

  249. Poor Randy by Jonny+Balls · · Score: 1

    I always wondered what happened to Mr. Kim, he was an avid gamer. He slept in my buick and i never saw him again, now i know... he gamed himself to death.

    --
    --JonnyBlog
  250. Jeff?!? by Unknown+Poltroon · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Is that you?!? And i only did that a couple of times!!!

    --
    All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
  251. You have got to be kidding! by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 3, Informative

    You mean to say you actually took something SERIOUSLY that you saw on answersingenesis.com? Sorry, try getting your information about evolution from a source that actually understands evolution. I have yet to find a single creationist who understands the basics of evolutionary science.

    Natural selection is one of the methods through which evolution works.

  252. Or related to the president by doublem · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Did Coke in College? No problem. Welcome to the White House!

    Caught with a Fake ID on a regular basis? You get unlimited "Get out of Jail Free" cards!

    Murder your pregnant secretary (who you knocked up) by driving off a bridge - Oh wait, you only get out of that one if you're a Kennedy.

    --
    "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
  253. Lying in bed is also dangerous (Mark Twain Story) by doublem · · Score: 2

    http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/lyi ng-bed.htm

    THE DANGER OF LYING IN BED
    by Mark Twain

    The man in the ticket-office said:

    "Have an accident insurance ticket, also?"

    "No," I said, after studying the matter over a little. "No, I believe not; I am going to be traveling by rail all day today. However, tomorrow I don't travel. Give me one for tomorrow."

    The man looked puzzled. He said:

    "But it is for accident insurance, and if you are going to travel by rail--"

    "If I am going to travel by rail I sha'n't need it. Lying at home in bed is the thing I am afraid of."

    I had been looking into this matter. Last year I traveled twenty thousand miles, almost entirely by rail; the year before, I traveled over twenty-five thousand miles, half by sea and half by rail; and the year before that I traveled in the neighborhood of ten thousand miles, exclusively by rail. I suppose if I put in all the little odd journeys here and there, I may say I have traveled sixty thousand miles during the three years I have mentioned. AND NEVER AN ACCIDENT.

    For a good while I said to myself every morning: "Now I have escaped thus far, and so the chances are just that much increased that I shall catch it this time. I will be shrewd, and buy an accident ticket." And to a dead moral certainty I drew a blank, and went to bed that night without a joint started or a bone splintered. I got tired of that sort of daily bother, and fell to buying accident tickets that were good for a month. I said to myself, "A man CAN'T buy thirty blanks in one bundle."

    But I was mistaken. There was never a prize in the the lot. I could read of railway accidents every day--the newspaper atmosphere was foggy with them; but somehow they never came my way.

    I found I had spent a good deal of money in the accident business, and had nothing to show for it. My suspicions were aroused, and I began to hunt around for somebody that had won in this lottery. I found plenty of people who had invested, but not an individual that had ever had an accident or made a cent. I stopped buying accident tickets and went to ciphering. The result was astounding. THE PERIL LAY NOT IN TRAVELING, BUT IN STAYING AT HOME.

    I hunted up statistics, and was amazed to find that after all the glaring newspaper headlines concerning railroad disasters, less than THREE HUNDRED people had really lost their lives by those disasters in the preceding twelve months. The Erie road was set down as the most murderous in the list. It had killed forty-six-- or twenty-six, I do not exactly remember which, but I know the number was double that of any other road. But the fact straightway suggested itself that the Erie was an immensely long road, and did more business than any other line in the country; so the double number of killed ceased to be matter for surprise.

    By further figuring, it appeared that between New York and Rochester the Erie ran eight passenger-trains each way every day--16 altogether; and carried a daily average of 6,000 persons. That is about a million in six months--the population of New York City. Well, the Erie kills from 13 to 23 persons of ITS million in six months; and in the same time 13,000 of New York's million die in their beds! My flesh crept, my hair stood on end. "This is appalling!" I said. "The danger isn't in traveling by rail, but in trusting to those deadly beds. I will never sleep in a bed again."

    I had figured on considerably less than one-half the length of the Erie road. It was plain that the entire road must transport at least eleven or twelve thousand people every day. There are many short roads running out of Boston that do fully half as much; a great many such roads. There are many roads scattered about the Union that do a prodigious passenger business. Therefore it was fair to presume that an average of 2,500 passengers a day for each road in the country would be almost correct. There are 846 railway lines in our country, and 846 times 2,500 are 2,115,000. So the railways of America move more than two millions of people every day; six hundred and fifty millions of people a year, without counting the Sundays. They do that, too--there is no question about it; though where they get the raw material is clear beyond the jurisdiction of my arithmetic; for I have hunted the census through and through, and I find that there are not that many people in the United States, by a matter of six hundred and ten millions at the very least. They must use some of the same people over again, likely.

    San Francisco is one-eighth as populous as New York; there are 60 deaths a week in the former and 500 a week in the latter--if they have luck. That is 3,120 deaths a year in San Francisco, and eight times as many in New York--say about 25,000 or 26,000. The health of the two places is the same. So we will let it stand as a fair presumption that this will hold good all over the country, and that consequently 25,000 out of every million of people we have must die every year. That amounts to one-fortieth of our total population. One million of us, then, die annually. Out of this million ten or twelve thousand are stabbed, shot, drowned, hanged, poisoned, or meet a similarly violent death in some other popular way, such as perishing by kerosene-lamp and hoop-skirt conflagrations, getting buried in coal-mines, falling off house-tops, breaking through church, or lecture-room floors, taking patent medicines, or committing suicide in other forms. The Erie railroad kills 23 to 46; the other 845 railroads kill an average of one-third of a man each; and the rest of that million, amounting in the aggregate to that appalling figure of 987,631 corpses, die naturally in their beds!

    You will excuse me from taking any more chances on those beds. The railroads are good enough for me.

    And my advice to all people is, Don't stay at home any more than you can help; but when you have GOT to stay at home a while, buy a package of those insurance tickets and sit up nights. You cannot be too cautious.

    [One can see now why I answered that ticket-agent in the manner recorded at the top of this sketch.]

    The moral of this composition is, that thoughtless people grumble more than is fair about railroad management in the United States. When we consider that every day and night of the year full fourteen thousand railway-trains of various kinds, freighted with life and armed with death, go thundering over the land, the marvel is, NOT that they kill three hundred human beings in a twelvemonth, but that they do not kill three hundred times three hundred!

    --
    "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
  254. Quake I Instructions About Too Much Gaming by saudadelinux · · Score: 1

    A friend of mine was done with his copy, gave it to me. I read the directions, and it said, "Take a break every hour so." I thought this was total hookum and mile-high hyperbole. Then I found out The Truth :0

    --
    I didn't think the house band in Hell would play this badly.
  255. Oh Christ, been moderating for around 85 hours! by Spiritwalker · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I'd better stop immediately!

  256. People die all the time by swagr · · Score: 2

    People die all the time doing all sorts of things:
    reading, baking a peach cobbler, yawning, scrathcing their head.

    I think this just goes to show what kind of sh*t journalists "report" nowadays. That goes for you too Slashdot.

    --

    -... --- .-. . -.. ..--..
  257. Marketing... by superpulpsicle · · Score: 0

    Ok I have been playing Return to Castle Wolfenstein for 40hrs straight now.

    If I die tomorrow don't give credit to another game. It's important for the cops picking my dead body up report the "correct game". I want to live for a cause you know.

  258. Folks, it's OK! by Avumede · · Score: 2

    He has two more lives left!

  259. HA! Windows Defrag is fast compared to- by doublem · · Score: 2

    In the day I had a parallel port ZIP Drive hooked up to a 386SX with 6 megs of RAM. The hard drive on the laptop went, so I used the ZIP drive as an external hard drive, booted off floppy and had everything running off the ZIP Drive.

    I had Stacker running (Forget the version though) and had the whole thing compressed with maximum compression.

    Did I mention that I used all this to Run Windows 3.1, IE 3.0 and Word 2.0?

    And one dull, long weekend I watched it chkdsk, scandisk nd run the special Stacker version of Defrag five times on five different ZIP DISK installs.

    Why five? Because I had a separate ZIP Disk and boot disk for different purposes.

    School Work: DOS, Windows, Word, Telnet software (For connecting to the VAX)

    A boot disk for Betrayal at Krondor

    A boot disk for Quake (PC Speaker sound, YUM!)

    A boot disk for, well, things my kids will never know about.

    A boot disk for playing with Linux.

    And installs for testing shareware.

    I forget what else.

    --
    "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
    1. Re:HA! Windows Defrag is fast compared to- by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      that's nothing -

      I played Fallout on a 100MHz mac with a 4x CD rom and minimum install (the minimum configuration). I'd say 96 hours was about the average load time, which I happily spent admiring the artwork of the load screens.

      heh - the Zip boot disks - I remember using those for hacking college computer lab computers. We had Foolproof on the macs and PC Sentry (I think that was the name) protecting the PCs in the labs and I kept going in and removing the protection and enhancing the machines with a few helpful tools (like Quake and Nukem 3D)... usually I'd clean the PCs of viruses while I was at it, so I wasn't all evil >;)

    2. Re:HA! Windows Defrag is fast compared to- by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      386SX with 6 megs of RAM
      A boot disk for Quake


      Doom, maybe. Quake can't run on a 386sx.

    3. Re:HA! Windows Defrag is fast compared to- by doublem · · Score: 2

      This was about nine years ago. My meory is kinda fuzzy on the specifics.

      Descent on a 386sx. *Shudder* Sooooooo Slowwwwwwwwwwwwww

      --
      "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
    4. Re:HA! Windows Defrag is fast compared to- by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your 'meory' is also kinda fuzzy on spelling, apparently.

  260. Just have to find something you like... by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 2

    Exercise can be wonderful stress relief. Even "nonviolent" exercise can blow off lots of stress.

    I think my least stressful/most healthy semester in college was the one when I went ice skating 1-2 times/weekend and sometimes on Wednesdays after lunch too. (I didn't have the time to do so in other semesters, mainly due to changes in the ice rink's public skating schedule - Leading to a nasty positive feedback cycle)

    Not hockey (I do use hockey skates, but just to *move*, not to go around and check people into the boards. :), just skating around in circles, sometimes pushing myself to the limits of how fast I could go without losing control. Good adrenaline rush, good exercise.

    As much as one might hate exercise, there is probably SOMETHING out there you'll enjoy. For me, it's ice skating and skiing. (Don't ask me to do anything else - I'll refuse or get bored/frustrated very quickly.)

    Unfortunately since I've graduated I'm temporarily back home. There are two skating rinks 10 minutes from my house that used to have evening/weekend public skating. Now, it's only early afternoon on weekdays. :( I miss skating. (Needless to say, I've gained weight since then. I may take up rollerblading, but the fact that I live on a mountain could be a problem here.)

    --
    retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
  261. What game was he playing? by UnhandledException · · Score: 1

    I want to know which game to stay clear of. Man, when are game developers going to learn the value of a fun cap? Making a game too fun kills people! They should pass a law limiting the amount of fun that can be incorporated into video games.

  262. Welcome to our society by gosand · · Score: 2
    Browsing at threshold +3, 37 comments into the discussion so far, and... I can't spot a single sympathetic comment. Most of us are all laughing at this guy's death in some kind of cynical Darwinistic smugness. The games probably aren't killing anyone, but they've sure done a good job of de-sensitizing a few people...

    Welcome to our society. That is kind of crappy, but honestly, what do you expect? Should I mourn for every death that I hear about? Do you know how many deaths I hear about on a daily basis? Should I feel sorry for this person, when there are thousands of other people dying every single day, for no fault of their own?

    This story made the news because it was sensational. Then it is posted to a bunch of online dorks. What the hell do you expect? Black banners on the front page? I don't think games have desensitized me, I think this world has desensitized me - and I don't necessarily think it is a bad thing. If I reacted honestly and openly to every single bad piece of news that I hear, I would be an emotional wreck and wouldn't be able to function on a daily basis.

    So this story was not posted, or even created, for sympathy. It was put here because it is sensational, and so people could say "wow". That is all. I don't feel sorry for the guy, he was someone halfway across the world from me, a nearly nameless person who died in an unusual way. So what? If you think that death itself is something that we should mourn, then you are going to be one very sad person your entire life.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  263. His Autopsy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How can one die from sitting in front of a monitor for 86 hours? Sleep deprivation? Exhaustion? The U.S. military deprives their new recruits of sleep on a regular basis, and sometimes they even deprive them for periods longer than 86 hours (ask your friendly U.S. Navy Seal about Hell Week), and they come out alive (despite the indescribable hell they must have went through). So the geek in me asks, "How can a man who probably couldn't even do a pushup in his life die from doing something sendentary as sitting in front of a monitor for eighty-six hours when there are others who have survived greater ordeals than just getting that next frag or attaining that next level?"

    1. Re:His Autopsy by P0lyh34) · · Score: 1

      Probably dehydration. Keep in mind with millitary persons they can go longer without sleep, food and water becuase their body's are in tip top condition. The fact the sob couldn't do a single pushup is probably the exact reason he expired in such a short time. I've still got my money on dehydration.

      --
      -Polyhead-
  264. Gauntlet... by wwwssabbsdotcom · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Warrior needs food, BADLY!"

    --
    Relive the BBS Past - One Byte at a Time! www.ssabbs.com
  265. GHB was our president by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I always found it funny that GHB has the same initials as one of our presidents, George Herbert (Walker) Bush (a.k.a. George Bush Sr.). Maybe that explains why GWB is around...

  266. Geese? by Hormonal · · Score: 1
    OK, I understand why they need computers in the bathrooms, but why geese?

    Geez, some people have got some strange tastes...

    1. Re:Geese? by VikingBerserker · · Score: 1

      I think the geese are there as a tutorial on what expletives to avoid, and how to use the three seashells.

  267. Just found out what the game was... by FatherOfONe · · Score: 1

    It was Pong.

    --
    The more I learn about science, the more my faith in God increases.
  268. he was .... by not_from_here · · Score: 1

    toiletfragged

  269. I'll bite by mekkab · · Score: 2

    I find red bull to be a nice balance if stimulation. I remember one day I worked from home (new washer and dryer coming in) and I drank a pot and a half of espresso (not necessarily more caffeine than coffee, mind you) and I was jolted! You know, shakes, that wierd, wire-y Jesus! WE're all on speed! feeling...

    while my normal morning routine is a nice cuppa joe and a diet MT dew (same caffeine as reg mt dew)- so even though I have a decent caffeine tolerance (I can drink strong coffee at night and go right to bed) too much coffee gets me jacked.

    Red bull is a good mix and gets me just jacked enough to be awake, but not so jacked that I get OCD and the shakes.

    I'll keep in mind your carb plan...

    --
    In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
  270. RED BULL gives you WINGS! by nxs212 · · Score: 1

    I guess they weren't kidding when the radio and tv ad for Red Bull says "Red Bull will give you wings!" Poor bastard's heart probably failed.

  271. I suppose ... by Trevin · · Score: 1

    that's one way to deal with my^H^Hhis unemployment problem.

    (Now where did I put my Atari...)

  272. 86? ironic.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    South Korean man 86'd after 86.

  273. Unemployed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck. I better get a job fast before I die! -Hasn't worked since Clinton was president

  274. The Nature of Man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Face it, people are getting weak. They think less and less and become more lemming-like every day. They listen to the same engineered musical crap, they are becoming FAT (not obese) LAZY (not suffering from chronic fatigue) NON-THINKING (not Attention Defecit) and thank God that fools can still be weeded out by death.

    STRENGTHEN HUMANITY SUPPORT NATURAL SELECTION LET THE DUMB-FUCKS DIE OFF!

    1. Re:The Nature of Man by kilfarsnar · · Score: 1

      You left out cynical, self-righteous and judgemental...

      --
      "What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
  275. OS by ScaryDeath · · Score: 0

    It was most likely the OS on which Hhe was playing the games on that killed him. Loki were killed trying to save the lives of millions...

  276. Glue is the culprit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A 24-year-old South Korean man died after playing computer games nonstop for 86 hours, police said yesterday. Quoting witnesses, police detective Oh Myong-sik-icky-poo-poo in Kwangju said the man had been glued to the computer since late last Friday. He had stumbled to the toilet where he later was found dead glued to the toilet with the computer stuck to his clothing, the police officer said. Initial investigation ruled out the possibility of murder, police said. An autopsy was planned but it will be sticky.

  277. Identification my arse.... by r_j_prahad · · Score: 2

    The jobless man, identified by police only by his last name Kim [...]

    For those of you who have never been to Korea, everybody's last name is Kim. No shit.

  278. Insiders Perspective... by Eidolon909 · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I'm a Canadian guy who lives and works in Seoul, Korea. I don't have a computer at home so I go to these Internet Cafes called "PC Bangs" here to do the bulk of my gaming.

    Gaming culture here is quite bizarre really, because there is no reason why these PC Bangs should be in business, but they are EVERYWHERE and they flourish.. despite the fact that home DSL is inexpensive (about $25 US/month) and computers relatively affordable. Yet, everynight people of all ages pack these PC Bangs. It has to do with collective Korean culture but... PC bangs are cheaper than their North American cousins.. where 6 hours will only cost you about $3 US.

    But still, this "unemployed" guy spent 86 hours in a PC Bang? That ain't cheap for someone with no-income...

    The most popular game in Korean PC Bangs? Starcraft: Broodwar. Still. Its semi-religious. A close second is Diablo II and a number of Diablo-esque clones.. there are alot of Korean-made diablo clones.

    There is a large number of female gamers in PC Bangs too, they range from high-school girls to middle-aged women. The younger girls come to these places to use IM Software the most popular being "Buddy-Buddy" in Korea.. the older women enjoy playing korean cards "Go-Stop" or a junvenile game called "Crazy Arcade", its a kids game but older women like to play it for some reason.

    Anyhow, back on topic, my guess is this guy was playing one of the many Everquest-esque games here.. none of them are anywhere near as good.. but they follow the same addictive pattern.. kill shit, gain levels, I see alot of guys mindlessly plugging away at such games.. they have a variety of names.. "Ragnarok", "Priston Tale", you may have heard of "Lineage: The Bloodpledge" which once boasted better numbers than Everquest... I've seen it in action and it sucks bigtime and its nowhere near as popular as reported in the medium, I hardly ever see anyone playing it anymore.

    I read Slashdot at work then go to the PC bangs to play Warcraft III.

  279. Gamed to death... by TerryAtWork · · Score: 1

    This guy is our new patron saint!

    --
    It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
  280. I wonder. by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

    Does anyone know what his 'final' score was?

  281. Untapped market? by rocnar · · Score: 1

    Internet cafes with drip IVs and catheters at every machine.

    Sign me up!!

  282. 'Nuff Said by 0x00000dcc · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Let's see if I understand how the world works lately... If a man cuts his finger off while slicing salami at work, he blames the restaurant. If you smoke three packs a day for 40 years and die of lung cancer, your family blames the tobacco company. If your neighbor crashes into a tree while driving home drunk, he blames the bartender. If your grandchildren are brats without manners, you blame television. If your friend is shot by a deranged madman, you blame the gun manufacturer. And if a crazed person breaks into the cockpit and tries to kill the pilot at 35,000 feet, and the passengers kill him instead, the mother of the deceased blames the airline. I must have lived too long to understand the world as it is anymore. So, if I die while my old, wrinkled butt is parked in front of this computer, I want you to blame Bill Gates...okay? 'Nuff said

    --

    -- (Score:i, Imaginary)

  283. If only... by llamalicious · · Score: 1

    If only he'd made it to 88 hours, he could have travelled back in time and told himself to get up to pee and have a snack every couple hours.

    oh wait...

  284. Be a total moron... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Get modded to +5

    Slashdot rewards stupidity, paranoia and any complete lack of critical thinking. Is this the future? Facts no more? All communities rallied around hind brain reactionary groupings?

    Fucking kill me now.

  285. Man by dirtsurfer · · Score: 1

    This guy didn't even wait for doom 3 to come out!

    But seriously, I think it's time for me to move to Korea. They obviously have a culture much more suited to my kinda lifestyle :)

  286. The saddest part of this story was when by harborpirate · · Score: 2, Funny

    The other gamers in the place looted his corpse.

    d00der: "Fake ID +5 to fool police? This guy sucks. I already have a Authentic Looking Fake ID +9!"

    3l337H4X0R: "Is there a blacksmith close? I need to repair these shoes before I sell them."

    MrKim224: "Stop stealing my stuff I'm only unconscious! Wait until I respawn, I'll get you bastards!!"

    SYSTEM: No one hears you. You are unconscious.

    --
    // harborpirate
    // Slashbots off the starboard bow!
  287. blow it out of proportion please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    no, I actually wasn't being sarcastic with that. I think that this could be used as yet more proof that humans can abuse and become addicted to pretty much anything. (speaking of pscy addiction of course) It would serve as a warning to the wise... or is that a warning from the wise? This has been predicted for decades by sci-fi writers when dealing with virtual reality and other interactive venues of entertainment or even work. While this could be called proof of the danger of games (and rightly so) it could also be a call about the dangers of any obsession and the lack of proper priorities being set.

    The ironic thing is that most of these highly addictive games are not really as much "FUN" as they are simply a contented passing of the time. I have yet to find any MMOG that is enthralling like sex, skydiving, scuba diving, etc. However I will find myself spending 12 hours (stopping only to poop, eat and have some sex) on a game that can even be infuriating at times. I then have to wonder if more "realistic" games will increase the potential of addiction or reduce it. My reasoning for reducing it could be explained best in terms of closure. Ever see one of those movies that was really good until the end when its plot seemed to just die and fall down quietly instead of rupturing into a volcanic maelstrom? Those seem to piss people off but yet they obviously care quite a bit as they CONSTANTLY talk/bitch about it. (Star Wars, ep 1 comes to mind)

    My definition of "realism" includes on one hand the sensory realism and on the other the situational realism. Example: A dragon breathing fire is impailed with a balistae bolt and tumbles 50 feet to the earth in a ground shattering boom. The knights rush in with the hopes of finishing it off before it recovers from the stunning shock it recieved. However, you look over your shoulder and realize that the sun is moving behind the mountains which will reduce your vision in order to not see the nasty creatures of the night that will come themselves into a feeding/killing frenzy from the smell of such rich blood as a dragons so nearby.

    Here I really didn't mention sound, touch or really sight except for the sun moving behind a cloud; which can be a pathetic set of 2d planes sliding over each other as is used now days) What I did approach was the tactical reality of the situation. Notice no mention of levels. Notice no mention of grouping rules. Notice no mention of completely out of place "group chat" or "area chat" which is out of place unless for example this were a modern or futuristic battle with radio transmitters and other C2 systems like that.

    Either way, to make a long point short now... would a "complete" game give a satisfactory feeling of well... completion? Wouldn't that make people come back more later, while taking more breaks in between? It does for me... it is like excersise... if you work out all the time you will not get as much benefit as someone who carefully times their PT (not to mention the addicted gym rat gets hurt)

    Put things in perspective...

  288. Snow Crash? by mooman · · Score: 2

    This smacks a little too much of something like Snow Crash to me... I wonder if he was staring at some white noise prior to collapsing...

    --
    In the Portland, Ore area and like card games? Check out: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/portlandgames/
  289. Hrm.. by windex · · Score: 2

    I bet he was playing DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION.

    86 hours of that game would kill anyone.

  290. Have sympathy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All you guys - this man has died are you all having a fun-fest over his body. Sick Bastards!

  291. He fragged the wrong northern brother by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No way he died from gaming. He probably pissed the wrong nothern brother and got he ass assassinated while he was in the toilet.

  292. Really? by SexyKellyOsbourne · · Score: 1

    I just made all that shit up :D

  293. Darwin award by xyrw · · Score: 1

    Sounds like a worthy candidate for a Darwin Award!

  294. MMRPG Players: Quit While You Can! by Chaltek · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've been warning my friends still hooked on EverCrack and DAOC that they're throwing their lives away... maybe this will convince them.

  295. mumbling... by dacarr · · Score: 1

    Man dies from sleep deprivation and dehydration. Film at eleven.

    --
    This sig no verb.
  296. *ahem* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    nethack... that is all...

  297. Pikers.. by Reziac · · Score: 2

    Who needs food and drink? I just inject my caffeine directly into a vein!!

    --
    ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
  298. Re:Game? me too! me too! by armb · · Score: 1

    > Anyone need a slightly used geek transport [servebeer.com]?

    > 2 studded winter tires
    > Florida car, very little rust

    Do you really need winter tires in Florida?
    Ok, I realize you can do the occasional out of state trip that really needs winter tires while the rust depends on it's overall lifetime environment, it still looked strange. Or maybe I just have totally the wrong idea about Florida winters. (I'm in the UK (where we don't generally use winter tires, we put a grit and salt mixture on the roads when it does snow, so rust is a real problem), so shipping would cost more than your car is worth, I was just curious).

    --
    rant
  299. Re:Game? me too! me too! by diesel_jackass · · Score: 2

    The car was owned in Florida for the first 10 years of its life. It has been kept in upstate NY for the rest of the time. The studded tires are a must because the car is RWD, and we get much snow and ice up here. They use plows and salt to get rid of most of the snow and ice, but usually only on the main roads. I found out recently that there is Zinc in the body panels of some Volvo's which explains why there is very little rust. (and also why the average lifespan of a Volvo is over 18 years)

  300. Athlon BTU's by byron150 · · Score: 1

    I hear that shit man.......I run four Athlons in my apartment in the winter and I DON'T HAVE TO PAY HEAT AT ALL!!!!!!!

    --
    -Never believe in the end of something great, send it to sub-committee for further study!!! - ME
  301. Doubt you're still reading this, but... by Hrothgar+The+Great · · Score: 2

    Nader's views on violent media

    A quote from that article:
    But a new coalition of parents and friends -- the Center for a New American Dream -- is moving to organize public opinion and offer stiffer resistance. In a poll of parents commissioned by the center, 70 percent of parents, with children age 2 to 17, say that marketing to kids is bad for their kids' values and world view, makes them too materialistic, and puts pressure on kids to buy things that are bad for them.

    Now, I will be the first to admit that Nader is not actually a Green, but many Greens have chosen him multiple times as their spokesperson, and his opinions are the most readily available. My knowledge of the views of other Greens comes largely from reading such far left media as Adbusters Magazine, where many, many readers have written in screaming about how violent video games should be banned, especially immediately following the Columbine incident.

    My responses are not meant to imply that there are only two points of view possible, but to reply to an earlier grandparent post stating that the idea that liberals and censorship go together is laughable. They do go together. Wake up. Most liberal ideology strives for greater government micromanagement - more rules, more laws, more restrictions. That IS in fact what the word implies at this point, and if you don't believe it, you're fooling yourself.

  302. What the fuck to do you know about drugs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What you said about GHB is total bullshit.
    GHB isn't a valid treatment for depression.
    GHB OD rates are pretty high, even after banning.
    GHB is used as a "date rape" drug (how's that for irresponsible?)
    Alcohol isn't a good treatment for anything, it's rec drug, and the gov't doesn't want to give people any more rec drugs.

    GHB IS used as a treatment for narcolepsy.

    Check your own propagranda.

  303. Last Post! by alpg · · Score: 1

    The rights and interests of the laboring man will be protected and cared
    for not by our labor agitators, but by the Christian men to whom God in his
    infinite wisdom has given control of property interests of the country, and
    upon the successful management of which so much remains.
    -- George F. Baer, railroad industrialist

    - this post brought to you by the Automated Last Post Generator...