[user104658]

Originally Posted by Niazareth

mmm it's not even just him though, the people replying are nearly more worrying

Well, it's 4chan... it's not the "normal internet" and really never has been (it's been around for a long time). I don't think it's a case of online use "doing this" to normal kids, more that it's a certain kind of person that's seeking out a community like 4chan in the first place.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Well, it's 4chan... it's not the "normal internet" and really never has been (it's been around for a long time). I don't think it's a case of online use "doing this" to normal kids, more that it's a certain kind of person that's seeking out a community like 4chan in the first place.

I've heard of 4chan but I don't know anything about it really

[King Gizzard]

it's morbid curiousity, wanting to see it in itself I don't think is so bad, but the ones treating it as some sort of joke/entertainment is a bit chilling

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Well, it's 4chan... it's not the "normal internet" and really never has been (it's been around for a long time). I don't think it's a case of online use "doing this" to normal kids, more that it's a certain kind of person that's seeking out a community like 4chan in the first place.

..is it some sort of 'suicide site' then..?..

[Jessica.]

Originally Posted by Ammi

..is it some sort of 'suicide site' then..?..

No Ammi, it's like a large database of forums/image boards relating to many topics such as travel, japanese culture, cooking, origami, each with a "forum" relating to them, although there are also adult themed boards. There are two boards which are most likely to have situations like this in the NSFW (Not Safe For Work) section, those are /b/ - Random and /soc/ - social. /b/ has no rules and it features a lot of people looking for images containing things such as nudity or gore and other things NSFW usually. When people talk about 4chan everyone automatically assumes that they are talking about /b/ which is unfortunate.

I might not be 100% correct but this is my understanding of it, I browse /int/ regularly.

[King Gizzard]

Most sites have their morbid/sick parts, even facebook

[Shaun]

yeah /b/ is pretty much all i ever hear about

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Jessus

No Ammi, it's like a large database of forums/image boards relating to many topics such as travel, japanese culture, cooking, origami, each with a "forum" relating to them, although there are also adult themed boards. There are two boards which are most likely to have situations like this in the NSFW (Not Safe For Work) section, those are /b/ - Random and /soc/ - social. /b/ has no rules and it features a lot of people looking for images containing things such as nudity or gore and other things NSFW usually. When people talk about 4chan everyone automatically assumes that they are talking about /b/ which is unfortunate.

I might not be 100% correct but this is my understanding of it, I browse /int/ regularly.

...like a large Pro Board thing, then Jess..?...I just can't see that it's any sort of natural curiosity to watch something like that, let alone encourage it..it's beyond my range of thinking and reduces my faith in humanity and the essential caring and good in it for a fellow human being and an extremely troubled one...I find watching anything like CCTV when someone is being physically hurt, disturbing/upsetting to the point of feeling physically sick...

[MTVN]

Whenever I've looked on there I can never really understand what's going on, it's all laid out so terribly

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Ammi

...like a large Pro Board thing, then Jess..?...I just can't see that it's any sort of natural curiosity to watch something like that, let alone encourage it..it's beyond my range of thinking and reduces my faith in humanity and the essential caring and good in it for a fellow human being and an extremely troubled one...I find watching anything like CCTV when someone is being physically hurt, disturbing/upsetting to the point of feeling physically sick...

yeah, same here

[King Gizzard]

Originally Posted by King Moonracer

Whenever I've looked on there I can never really understand what's going on, it's all laid out so terribly

yeah, can't get my head around theirs and reddit's layout

[Me. I Am Salman]

oh they do far more than that. they hack websites, make things viral around the internet etc

http://www.dailydot.com/news/4chan-9...controversies/

[Jessica.]

Originally Posted by Salman!

oh they do far more than that. they hack websites, make things viral around the internet etc

http://www.dailydot.com/news/4chan-9...controversies/

All of those things happened on /b/ pretty much.

[HD]

this is so ****ed up on many levels :/

[Livia]

So he didn't die... what a surprise. He's as big a fool at the people watching and encouraging him.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Livia

So he didn't die... what a surprise. He's as big a fool at the people watching and encouraging him.

Didn't he? I don't think anyone really knows whether he did or not?

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Niazareth

Didn't he? I don't think anyone really knows whether he did or not?

I was just going from this: "They wrote fire crews arrived on scene 20 minutes after 'Stephen' lit the fire and he is now injured in hospital."

I'd lay a month's salary he's still alive.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Livia

I was just going from this: "They wrote fire crews arrived on scene 20 minutes after 'Stephen' lit the fire and he is now injured in hospital."

I'd lay a month's salary he's still alive.

There were a few different reports on it, sounds like they don't really know:

YourAnonNews, a Twitter account associated with the hacktivist group Anonymous, reported that Stephen was the fatality in a Spring Garden, Pittsburgh, house fire, cited in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article.


Other users say he is an injured student from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

According to the Guelph Mercury, one person was injured in a dorm room fire on campus.

An anonymous user tonight posted their own account of the incident, claiming 'Stephen' had taken prescription drugs in his dorm room, cheated on his girlfriend, was disowned by his parents and 'in debt for useless degree'.

They wrote fire crews arrived on scene 20 minutes after 'Stephen' lit the fire and he is now injured in hospital.

[Livia]

If he meant to do it, he'd be dead. However, so few people who demand an audience, who make a phone call, who do it where they're going to be found, really intend to kill themselves.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Livia

If he meant to do it, he'd be dead. However, so few people who demand an audience, who make a phone call, who do it where they're going to be found, really intend to kill themselves.

Smoke inhalation can kill you in minutes and the room was apparently full of smoke, if he was sitting in a smoke filled room and it took the fire brigade 20 minutes to get there, there's a good chance it would have killed him

[smeagol]

he is still alive. he obviously didn't intend it properly as wasn't a proper fire. and no one does that if they want to die anyway.

happens all the time ,a guy done a similar online thing last month and died. with people telling him to hurry up and do it. but thats the mentality of most of people. its understood that people just aint no good

[Z]

Originally Posted by Ammi

..I have started to recently think that maybe the internet does desensitise people, not everyone obviously and it's probably a minority...but just the lack of thought that something is actually real and quite disturbing and upsetting..maybe it's a bit like watching an accident/tragedy and taking pics, rather than helping..?..I don't know and I think on forums/sites like this, we're kind of a 'village' and rather protected and isolated from the big 'towns and cities' of the internet...the larger sites where similar and awful things are less unusual...yeah, the story is just really disturbing and tragic..but also that he himself wanted to make 'death into a drama'....have an audience...

It's a weird competitive urge I think, some people want to out-do everyone else by doing the most shocking thing they can think of and keep trying to push the limit. Shocking story, can't believe people were encouraging him to do it or that people were even giving the guy an audience!