Nova
Is that a Caanoo in your pocket or are you just ha
"Earlier this month, gamer named Mitchell S. with the online screenname "Kuja105" who posts on a few online videogame forums (including GameFaqs.com and MetalGearSolid.org) committed suicide. On January 2 he posted a message in both forums detailing his intent to end his own life, citing overwhelming complications with school and finances.
A very brief period of initial disbelief was followed by a barrage of replies from fellow forum members pleading that he not take his life, trying to talk him out of it.
For days, no word was heard from Mitchell. Fearing the worst, members and administration from metalgearsolid.org began searching for contact information, spending hours on the phone trying to get in touch with him. Finally on January 4, Ryan K., an administrator at metalgearsolid.org, got him on the phone and spent hours desperately trying to talk him out of it.
Sadly, Mitchell soon ended his own life by consuming antifreeze and painkillers.
Later, members from the site contacted Mitchell's family to find out the grave news. They reported it to their online community, and posted a tribute to their passed friend on the front page of metalgearsolid.org.
This is where the story turns.
The story was picked up by AFP, an international newswire service and has been carried by Yahoo!, CNN, and more. The story reported by AFP is almost completely erroneous to a sad and morbid degree.
The story authored by the AFP writer stated:
" ...[T]he gamer switched on his web cam and swallowed a large amount of motor antifreeze and pills [...]
Other forum members thought the man nicknamed "Kudjo" was joking even though he rambled for six hours about the effects of the substances and disappeared from view several times."
This is untrue. Firstly, his nickname was Kuja, not Kudjo; but more seriously, Mitchell did not broadcast himself over the internet via a webcam. No forum members thinking he was joking, no rambling for six hours. This is a complete fabrication.
The article also claims that the site was Bulgarian, which it isn't. The company that designed the website is based on Bulgaria, but it is hosted and maintained in the US.
The story also claims "After he failed to appear at regular meeting spots, gamers went to his home and learnt he died in hospital on January 7." There were no "regular meeting spots", and gamers never went to his home - they contacted his family over the phone.
Because of the allegations that the suicide was prompted by and broadcast by metalgearsolid.org, it has been pulled offline by the web host at the request of an unspecified Government agency.
"Our organization is being smeared," Ryan K, an administrator from MetalGearSolid.org told Gaming Horizon. "Truthfully, we are all saddened over this loss and offer our sincerest condolences towards his family. We do not, however, appreciate having our reputation slammed across the internet by news organizations that have clearly failed in their journalistic duties. We would greatly appreciate it if they would solve this matter."
[update: We've just learned that Boyan Georgiev, the man quoted in the AFP story as a "forum administrator" doesn't even work for metalgearsolid.org; he is a web designer that works at the same design studio as the designer of metalgearsolid.org.]
It is terrible that this gamer has ended his life, but this kind of misreporting does nothing but make things worse. Gamers do not appreciate being cast as unstable or the type of person who would taunt a fellow human being who obviously was in the middle of some serious trauma. This dedicated group of friends tried so hard to save this young man's life and they're made out to be cruel savages by the media. We at Gaming Horizon are very saddened by this death, and offer our prayers and condolences to the boy's family and loved ones.
A request to the AFP to correct these errors has been filed by metalgearsolid.org administration, and no reply has yet been hear"
Source: news.gaminghorizon.com
Mr. Jack Thompson then sent in the following letter regarding the situation to MetalGearSolid.org, one of the forums frequented by Mitchell, where he was known well:
"Your "gamer friend" will find peace through the Lord, Jesus Christ, but sadly it's too late for that.
There is a void in every heart. You can fill it up with the things of God, or the things not of God. This unfortunate soul chose to fill it up with combat games. The playing of these video games is masturbatory activity, meaning senseless self-stimulation. If you gamers could use a dictionary you would know that that term is not necessarily a sexual one.
The real tragedy here extends beyond the life and death of this one fellow. There are literally millions of young people and young adults whose despair is deepend by turning to the things of this world and then finding them meaningless.
All of you gamers need to put down the controllers and get a life. The utter inanity of the vast majority of postings here shows how vapid "gaming" really is.
You are one of the cheerleaders for this wasting of time and the wasting of lives. Do you feel any remorse for having contributed to this "culture of death?" Of course not. Hey, let's all play MORE games, and ignore all the really productive things to do with our lives.
Let's pretend to be shocked that a gamer might descend into deeper depression, as his gamer "buds," knowing he was killing himself, couldn't figure out how to call 911 themselves for him. That would have involved leaving their computers I guess.
Sad. Sad for all of you."
EDIT:
An article written by friends and peers.
A very brief period of initial disbelief was followed by a barrage of replies from fellow forum members pleading that he not take his life, trying to talk him out of it.
For days, no word was heard from Mitchell. Fearing the worst, members and administration from metalgearsolid.org began searching for contact information, spending hours on the phone trying to get in touch with him. Finally on January 4, Ryan K., an administrator at metalgearsolid.org, got him on the phone and spent hours desperately trying to talk him out of it.
Sadly, Mitchell soon ended his own life by consuming antifreeze and painkillers.
Later, members from the site contacted Mitchell's family to find out the grave news. They reported it to their online community, and posted a tribute to their passed friend on the front page of metalgearsolid.org.
This is where the story turns.
The story was picked up by AFP, an international newswire service and has been carried by Yahoo!, CNN, and more. The story reported by AFP is almost completely erroneous to a sad and morbid degree.
The story authored by the AFP writer stated:
" ...[T]he gamer switched on his web cam and swallowed a large amount of motor antifreeze and pills [...]
Other forum members thought the man nicknamed "Kudjo" was joking even though he rambled for six hours about the effects of the substances and disappeared from view several times."
This is untrue. Firstly, his nickname was Kuja, not Kudjo; but more seriously, Mitchell did not broadcast himself over the internet via a webcam. No forum members thinking he was joking, no rambling for six hours. This is a complete fabrication.
The article also claims that the site was Bulgarian, which it isn't. The company that designed the website is based on Bulgaria, but it is hosted and maintained in the US.
The story also claims "After he failed to appear at regular meeting spots, gamers went to his home and learnt he died in hospital on January 7." There were no "regular meeting spots", and gamers never went to his home - they contacted his family over the phone.
Because of the allegations that the suicide was prompted by and broadcast by metalgearsolid.org, it has been pulled offline by the web host at the request of an unspecified Government agency.
"Our organization is being smeared," Ryan K, an administrator from MetalGearSolid.org told Gaming Horizon. "Truthfully, we are all saddened over this loss and offer our sincerest condolences towards his family. We do not, however, appreciate having our reputation slammed across the internet by news organizations that have clearly failed in their journalistic duties. We would greatly appreciate it if they would solve this matter."
[update: We've just learned that Boyan Georgiev, the man quoted in the AFP story as a "forum administrator" doesn't even work for metalgearsolid.org; he is a web designer that works at the same design studio as the designer of metalgearsolid.org.]
It is terrible that this gamer has ended his life, but this kind of misreporting does nothing but make things worse. Gamers do not appreciate being cast as unstable or the type of person who would taunt a fellow human being who obviously was in the middle of some serious trauma. This dedicated group of friends tried so hard to save this young man's life and they're made out to be cruel savages by the media. We at Gaming Horizon are very saddened by this death, and offer our prayers and condolences to the boy's family and loved ones.
A request to the AFP to correct these errors has been filed by metalgearsolid.org administration, and no reply has yet been hear"
Source: news.gaminghorizon.com
Mr. Jack Thompson then sent in the following letter regarding the situation to MetalGearSolid.org, one of the forums frequented by Mitchell, where he was known well:
"Your "gamer friend" will find peace through the Lord, Jesus Christ, but sadly it's too late for that.
There is a void in every heart. You can fill it up with the things of God, or the things not of God. This unfortunate soul chose to fill it up with combat games. The playing of these video games is masturbatory activity, meaning senseless self-stimulation. If you gamers could use a dictionary you would know that that term is not necessarily a sexual one.
The real tragedy here extends beyond the life and death of this one fellow. There are literally millions of young people and young adults whose despair is deepend by turning to the things of this world and then finding them meaningless.
All of you gamers need to put down the controllers and get a life. The utter inanity of the vast majority of postings here shows how vapid "gaming" really is.
You are one of the cheerleaders for this wasting of time and the wasting of lives. Do you feel any remorse for having contributed to this "culture of death?" Of course not. Hey, let's all play MORE games, and ignore all the really productive things to do with our lives.
Let's pretend to be shocked that a gamer might descend into deeper depression, as his gamer "buds," knowing he was killing himself, couldn't figure out how to call 911 themselves for him. That would have involved leaving their computers I guess.
Sad. Sad for all of you."
EDIT:
An article written by friends and peers.
The community did everything that they could and Jack Thompson is annoying. He doesn't even know what games are about. I could go into an explanation but im tired. I just think that God sure isnt gonna let him into heaven!
