Death of a RL sl user

[Morgan Phelan]

My friend in sl died recently and his avatars are still in sl.  How do I go about having his avatars deleted?

[valerie Inshan]

You cannot ask that, I am sorry, unless your friend bequeathed his account(s) expressly to you before he passed away. His avatars will remain in the system even though they never log in again. 

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Death_and_other_worries_outside_Second_Life

ETA: sorry for the laughing smiley in this official link... It's the way the line was written. :smileysad:

[Rolig Loon]

Over the years, I have lost several friends in SL but their avatars remain on my Friends list.  To me, it's a comforting reminder of what we shared.  You are still alive while you are remembered.

[Lindal Kidd]

I think the smiley is a typo.  Someone typed a colon before the capital D.  But the typo is weirdly appropriate because, many times, the report of someone's death in RL is, as Mark Twain said, "greatly exaggerated."

Unless I know a person in RL, or have some corroboration of their death other than via the internet...say, a death notice in a newspaper...I disbelieve any reports of their death.  Many times, someone will use an alt or an SL friend to *say* that they have died in RL.  They do this to escape from relationships that have begun to bore them, to attract attention and sympathy, and to cause emotional upheaval.

It is a thoroughly despicable trick.

If you do know this friend in RL, then please contact their family and offer your assistance in settling your friend's SL affairs.  This is especially important if they had a business in SL or a Premium membership.  LL will continue to charge their payment method for dues and land fees until their land is sold and they are downgraded to a Basic membership.