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Yahoo Deletes Journalist's Pre-Paid Legacy Site After Suicide

Posted by Soulskill on from the failing-at-a-last-request dept.

New submitter digitalFlack writes "Apparently Martin Manley has been a popular blogger and newspaper journalist for many years. For his own reasons, no indication of illness, he decided sixty years on this planet was enough. He designed a 40-page website with sections such as: 'Why Suicide?' and 'Why Age 60?.' Martin planned his suicide meticulously, but to manage his legacy, he picked Yahoo. He even pre-paid for five years. After he left this mortal coil on his 60th birthday, Yahoo decided they don't want his traffic, so they took the site down. Sorry, Martin."

4 of 403 comments (clear)

  1. Fuck Yahoo! by ShaunC · · Score: 5, Informative

    In the meantime, there is a mirror located here.

    --
    Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
  2. Re:Mirror? by dmbasso · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.zeroshare.info/

    --
    `echo $[0x853204FA81]|tr 0-9 ionbsdeaml`@gmail.com
  3. Re: They didn't know he also... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Some facts that people who fault Yahoo for taking the site down overlook:

    • The journalist disclaimed all rights to the site's content and released it into the public domain. Thus there is no content to inherit. His estate has exactly as much claim to the content as anybody else: None. Yahoo can not violate anybody's right to the content, as there is no such right.
    • The Yahoo terms of service clearly state that their hosting contracts are non-transferable and end upon death. With the contract ends Yahoo's obligation to keep publishing the content. His estate does not have grounds to sue for contract violation, as Yahoo is not in breach of the contract. The contract ended. His estate can enter into a new contract, but...
    • Condoning self-harm is against Yahoo's terms of service. The site contains information about suicide methods and makes an argument for killing oneself before old age sets in. Thus the site is clearly in violation of Yahoo's terms of service, and Yahoo would be within their contractual rights if they had chosen to remove the site even before he killed himself.

    Also, "-1, Troll" is not an acceptable expression of disagreement.

  4. Re: They didn't know he also... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Linked from the first paragraph of the index page is the following text (copied from a mirror of the site): "I, Martin Manley, being the creator and owner of all information on the site "MartinManleyLifeAndDeath.com", neither hold nor retain any claim or copyright on any part of this web-site. I do not grant these rights to any individual person or entity either in life or upon death. Rather I release all rights to this work -ï making it public domain. Anyone can do with it whatever they wish. Martin Allen Manley August 15, 2013"

    From the general Yahoo terms of service: "You agree that your Yahoo! account is non-transferable and any rights to your Yahoo! ID or contents within your account terminate upon your death."

    From the Yahoo web hosting terms of service: "You agree that you will not: [...] promote physical harm or injury against any group or individual".