[jjacob]

A 14-year old player of the MMORPG RuneScape hanged himself in Utrecht, Netherlands after a friend hacked into his account. Minutes before he had posted a message on a RuneScape forum but the post was immediately deleted.

R.I.P. you fool! Anyway I think it's time something was done to prevent these kinds of acts, as they're becoming far too common, especially in Asia. I'm not saying I have a perfect solution but for starters some of these games should perhaps be made M-Rated, on account of the (apparently) very severe danger of extreme addiction, resulting in these kinds of acts. It's not perfect but it is a start. Or perhaps these games should be time-locked so people won't be able to get too addicted to them - also far from perfect but perhaps this might not have happened had he not become so addicted. If you have a better idea I'd love to hear it. I know there were probably other circumstances that contributed to his suicide, but still all current evidence is pointing in the direction of his MMORPG addiction.

edit: Oh perhaps this ought to be in Chit-Chat, thought I posted it there, whoops sorry mods.

[avatar_58]

RUNESCAPE???

Ok now this getting out of hand. I've heard about Everquest, WoW and all the fancy pay-to-play MMO players going suicidal, but RUNESCAPE? I sincerly hope he was a paying customer because there is basically nothing to do in that game. Why was he so devestated by loosing a character?

I may sound evil but this actually makes me laugh. Its obvious the kid has some serious issues that do not stem from this game at all. Unfortunately I can hear the shouts of one Mr. Thompson who would argue otherwise

[Melanie68]

Do you have a source for this story to even know it's true? You hear about this but I get very cynical that they are even true. Even then, you have to wonder about the mental health of that poor kid if it is true. Depression and bipolar disorder are often not diagnosed in kids that age. Using video games as a means of escape (or even as a form of self medication) could have happened and didn't have anything to do with the game itself.

If you talk about 'common,' what percentage of video game players commit suicide or kill someone?

I'm just being a devil's advocate here.

[jjacob]

Originally Posted by Melanie68

Do you have a source for this story to even know it's true? You hear about this but I get very cynical that they are even true. Even then, you have to wonder about the mental health of that poor kid if it is true. Depression and bipolar disorder are often not diagnosed in kids that age. Using video games as a means of escape (or even as a form of self medication) could have happened and didn't have anything to do with the game itself.

If you talk about 'common,' what percentage of video game players commit suicide or kill someone?

I'm just being a devil's advocate here.

Well I have it from a Dutch news site but I figured that's probably not going to help anyone here much (except for the few Dutch forumites):
http://frontpage.fok.nl/nieuws/62653

The message was just updated a few minutes ago since someone managed to find his last forum message (in english):


I haven't even read it myself yet - doing so know, that'll probably tell us a lot (and I agree about the undiagnosed depression/bi-polar disorder), although the sheer fact it was posted at the RuneScape forum does tell a lot already.

[Melanie68]

Those forums may have been a place he felt 'comfortable' baring his soul vs. telling someone in person. It's this day and age. There are people at the forums but at the same time a degree of anonymity.

But yeah, someone will blame the game which is stupid.

[tabacco]

And, assuming he hears about it, that someone will probably be Jack Thompson.

[fov]

How sad.

But if it is true, from the note it doesn't seem to have anything to do with his account being hacked.

[tabacco]

Originally Posted by fov

How sad.

But if it is true, from the note it doesn't seem to have anything to do with his account being hacked.

Yeah, it sounds like he was more upset that his friend screwed him than the fact that his account was hacked in any way.

[Stoofa]

I doubt he committed suicide purely because his account was hacked. I'm sure he was a seriously depressed individual. Whether or not the game contributed to his depression I have no idea. The real question that should be asked is why no one noticed his mental state and got him help. Teachers, parents, all sorts of adults must have had contact with him. Even the person who deleted his post didn't try to get this kid help (as far as we know).

[jjacob]

Originally Posted by tabacco

Yeah, it sounds like he was more upset that his friend screwed him than the fact that his account was hacked in any way.

Well, considering it was his friend that hacked his account - I'd say it was deifnately atleast partly game related. Upon reading his last message though (how sad ) it seems he had a lot of problems, was and probably suffering from depression. I'm not blaming the game, but I stand by my view that it might not be an entirely bad idea to make some of these games m-rated due to the addictive nature. I recently saw a gaming documentary on Dutch television, and one of the segments was also about a young teenage boy who's entire life revolved around WoW - it was really saddening, even if he didn't think so. He'd get home from school, play WoW, eat dinner, play Wow and then go to bed, every single day, and played it virtually non-stop on weekends - he didn't seem to realise entirely it was unhealthy that he had no real life friends, or that he had no other interests. No doubt such a kid would be in ruins if he got his account hacked. That's just my opinion though, and don't get me wrong, I *hate* Jack Thompson and how he will no doubt exploit this boy's suicide for his own cause.

edit: oh and thanks for moving the thread.

[Stoofa]

Originally Posted by jjacob

He'd get home from school, play WoW, eat dinner, play Wow and then go to bed, every single day, and played it virtually non-stop on weekends - he didn't seem to realise entirely it was unhealthy that he had no real life friends, or that he had no other interests.

But what about his parents? Why didn't they see anything wrong with the game? It disgusts me that society is so "Children are our most precious commodities" (barf) and then children are ruined by outrageous spoiling (with objects, not parental care) and parental neglect. Television and computers are used as pacifiers and unhealthy food is used as a tool to make neglected children feel loved by their busy and incompetent parents.

[[toj.cc]Phantom]

May sound cold, but that kid was an idiot...

[Melanie68]

Originally Posted by [toj.cc]Phantom

May soun cold, but that kid was an idiot...

That kid sounded mentally ill, that does NOT make him an idiot. Have some f*&@ing sensitivity.

[jjacob]

Originally Posted by Stoofa

But what about his parents? Why didn't they see anything wrong with the game? It disgusts me that society is so "Children are our most precious commodities" (barf) and then children are ruined by outrageous spoiling (with objects, not parental care) and parental neglect. Television and computers are used as pacifiers and unhealthy food is used as a tool to make neglected children feel loved by their busy and incompetent parents.

His parents seemed pretty normal but then again they were OK with his WoW addiction - they actually thought it made him smarter for some reason if I recall correctly (they seemed like total idiots when it comes to computers), also because he got pretty decent grades at school. I totally agree with you though, too often everything BUT parents are blamed when children have problems/commit suicide/etc.

[Melanie68]

Originally Posted by Melanie68

That kid sounded mentally ill, that does NOT make him an idiot. Have some f*&@ing sensitivity.

That was harsh, I'm sorry but I get a little defensive when mental illness is dismissed (it that's the right word).

[Jatsie]

Originally Posted by Melanie68

That was harsh, I'm sorry but I get a little defensive when mental illness is dismissed (it that's the right word).

Will you help me in my quest to destroy Tom Cruise?

[[toj.cc]Phantom]

Originally Posted by Melanie68

That kid sounded mentally ill, that does NOT make him an idiot. Have some f*&@ing sensitivity.

Well, then maybe his parents should have been watching if he was that 'mentally ill'. Not trying to be mean, and I do realize some people have real mental illnesses, but some people use it as a convenient excuse to not take any blame for themselves.

[Dasilva]

I guess I wont be getting WoW, then.

[Starflux]

Melodramatic kids who think they have problems that can't be solved, ever... It's pitiable and also very tragic. If he had chosen to live on and grown up, most likely a lot would have just solved itself out on its own. Thought I don't know any specifics of course.

As chance would have it, I saw the documentary about the Dutch WoW kid. It seemed to me he was indeed fleeing from his scary neighbourhood. But he didn't seem stressed or anything. I don't think it's unhealthy parsé. But combined with other, existing problems like bullying or agressive parents, it would become problematic.

[Maquisard]

Runescape? So it's not my 14 year old cousin, oh good.