Slashdot Mirror
Your Data and Cyber Business After You're Gone
Reader Mountain Splash writes "The New York Times has a decent thought-inspiring article questioning what happens to our stored data and who owns the rights to it after we die. I have to admit that, while this dilemma had already crossed my mind many months ago, I've been rather slow to do something about handling it. While considering the same, though, what I did do was start a very detailed list of my many various emailboxes, IM monikers, cyber buddies, and yes, passwords (complete with encrypted hints to be stored separately). I have also already approached my roomie and my sister about following up with that list for me as a last wish if and when the inevitable should occur. Just wondering if everyone else has done the same or similar... Anyone gone so far as to have already filed their information along with their will with their family lawyer?"
Not really related to stored data and passwords, but a friend of mine has a deal with his sister, that if he unexpectedly dies, she will clean all porn out of his apartment and get rid of it so the rest of the family will never know.
I shall go and tell the indestructible man that someone plans to murder him.
is stored on a 40GB CF card, which stays around my neck, when I am creamated - it goes with me. All of the backups are on offbrand DVD-R's so they will be unreadable after 6 months anyway
(complete with encrypted hints to be stored separately)
"Wait, i'll read it out loud!"
"TO UNCOVER ALL MY PASSWORDS LOVE,
LOOK UP INTO THE STARS ABOVE!
THE CHEERING CROWDS GAZE WITH FUN
FROM LOCATION THIRTY ONE!"
"Stars above? What does it mean!"
"I've got it! To the Planetarium! The next clue must be under seat thirty one!"
"Man, i'm so glad Bill died. I'm having the time of my life!"
Last year I gave my supervisor a sealed, labeled envelope containing the various usernames and passwords I use, and the various ways that I change them from time to time, just in case something happens to me.
When I first gave it to her, she immediately ripped it open, not fully comprehending what it was. I had to snatch it out of her hands, exclaiming, "I'm not dead yet!" I sealed it into another envelope and she put it in her drawer, where it has remained untouched to this day (I assume).
You are in error. No-one is screaming. Thank you for your cooperation.
It is immortalized in duped articles on /.
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. -Frederick Douglass
If I look the wrong way crossing the road I'll just vanish from their sight.
You only look ONE way when crossing the road?
"This is Zombo Com, and welcome to you who have come to Zombo Com" - www.zombo.com
I mean, I'm going to be quite dead.
Everybody needs a porn buddy. Upon hearing about your death, said buddy goes to your house, ignores your wife, and proceeds to rip the harddrive out of your computer and leave.
Tools not necessary..
I have some good friends online that I value just as much as my real life friends. If I were to up and die today, I would never see them again (of course), and they would probably never know what became of me.
(Lawyer reading will:)
"And to Galadrian, my fine elvish friend, I leave you my crown of deception and my axe of slaughter. Don't weep at my passing. Try to rememeber the good times, like when we defeated the orcs during that GM event."
Oh no- all of the people on my Xbox Live friends list will have to do without me. Maybe I should wear a heart-beat monitor for realsies so my Rainbow Six 3 clan knows when I kick the bucket.
"Dude...Noodle must just be taking a crap, he's been AFK for 3 rounds"
"No man, I just checked. He is REALLY dead. Too bad he's hosting this server, otherwise I'd just kick him right now."
"Hey- call his wife, and have her change this to a dedicated server...we could use this forever!"
No reason to lie.
...I'm really concerned about trying to avoid leaving a lot of expenses for my survivors. If anyone knows how I can bypass the cemetery or crematorium and simply move me and my accounts to /dev/null, please share!
I have also already approached my roomie and my sister about following up with that list for me as a last wish if and when the inevitable should occur.
Buddy, believe me when I tell you this, it's not an if question, it's definately a when question.
i have written a script that i run of my cron that requires me to enter a password every week.
:)
if i do not enter a password, it sends out custom emails to all my friends, enemies, and loved ones, informing them of my death.
"I am sorry to inform you that has recently died. But thats ok! He's in a better place now
The files he wanted you to have are attached:"
It sends all emails, performs a few DOS attacks on people I didn't like, and launches a worm which pops up a window which say "RIP 1982-" to inform anyone who I may have missed, and then formats my hard drive.
according to yesterdays news. ;-)
I think I'd rather put plans into place to hide my death. Then I want my lawyer to keep track of how long it takes any of my "friends" to actually notice I'm gone. At a later date, he will get them all together (if they will even come) and berate them all with the information. My will shall award him a bonus for each person brought to tears. Then he is to kick them all out empty handed while laughing at them maniacally . He will then award everything to some reasonably intelligent (yet to be defined) low-income person who deserves (also yet to be defined) a break. He can then assume my online identity where it may benefit him as he so chooses.
More likely, it will all go to the government because I'll put off creating a will until I'm already dead.
"A man talking sense to himself is no madder than a man talking nonsense not to himself."
Saturday Night Live had a skit commercial on that years ago, featuring Will Farrell I believe. It was an insurance service that, upon your death, would swoop into your home and remove any and all "embarrassing" artifacts before your relatives arrived.
They showed the crew hauling out bongs, rather large marital aids, probably an inflatable goat or two from Farrell's apartment. Then a full cleanup to show that, even in death, you were a "good clean boy".
Actually this sounds like a rather lucrative business potential....
...is belonging to you.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
Posted them on Kazaa, DC++, Emule, Limewire, Edonkey, Shareaze, Xolox, WinMX. Along with a picture of myself. WE WILL LIVE FOREVER!!!!!
Chickens. Hordes of disease-ridden road-crossing chickens are on the other side. Just waiting.
No thank you. Life is safer on this side of the road.
Fine. At least I get the SUV.
Who in the world needs an attorney when there's this free legal service? Plus we all know that slashdot will outlive all of us, so you could even post your will here.
For business related death...
So you work for the mob?
This Like That - fun with words!
If you are a slashdot editor, just leave behind a script that creates random duplicates of old postings. Nobody will notice that you died. :-)
Your junk and pron isn't that important to anybody but yourself!!!!
And your porn-buddy.
Porn buddy: When you've died, a friend of yours has a key to your apartment/flat and they get to your place before your family and clean out all of the pornography. You're sad that your friend is gone, but there's a bright side.
(Stolen from the first episode of Coupling.)
Withdrawal before climax is very ineffective and those who try this are usually called "parents."
This reminds me of a joke that my six year old told me the other day (it's the first joke she's ever told me that qualifies as humour, so I'm allowed to be proud!)
As I remember, six was a happy time of my life too.
Cogito, ergo sig.