Normally it falls to the next of kin to take care of the deceased's belongings and what not. The different interpretations of copyrights made it somewhat blurry though. The average EULA says that all content postet is automatically up for use how the corporation sees fit. If you upload images you willingly give them up for use by the respective platform. If you buy games online, using Steam or Origin or whatever, you still only get the rights to use the games, you don't own them in the normally understood sense, transferring accounts is not something they planned for or even want to see - so inheriting is practically out of the question.
It's more of a moral question than anything else, in my opinion. Some people would want the data to be deleted, others would like to keep everything like it is, others would rather take over the accounts. Looking at it from a technician's standpoint I'd like the data to remain where it is and just hide it from the enduser. If they change their mind you could just make it visible again. Then there is the EU's right to be forgotten law. I just hope some people way smarter than me can get to a consensus, I'm not that good of a philosopher.
I definitely agree with you that not all data should be removed. I don't want everything I ever thought to go to waste.
But the question comes, if you are a person like me who never shares their passwords with anyone, how will others be able to log into my social networking and messaging accounts and deactivate it? Do I leave a note in the drawer to my PC saying "IN CASE I DIE" with the password to my desktop computer, which then has a .txt document "IN CASE I DIE 2" on the desktop with all the passwords to all my accounts where I want it to be deactivated?
The good part is, when I die, I probably won't care about it anymore. The sad part is, while I'm alive, I still think of others seeing my face on Facebook or Skype or whatever and instantly going into nostalgia mode when I'm gone. I'd hate that.
I guess if you don't use a service that arranges this, a .txt file hidden in your HDD or USB with necessary documents is the best bet? I keep thinking in my mind that the USB is best and either giving it to trusted person or placing it in will. But then I think, what if I'm forced by a website to update my password (e.g. online banking) and forget to update my document...then the person trying to shut down my stuff gets locked out anyway. Hopefully I don't have to worry too much about this just yet and can continue living in ignorant bliss of the future. And, who knows, I wouldn't doubt that in 5 years there's a greater variety of options for dealing with digital account post-mortem.
Normally it falls to the next of kin to take care of the deceased's belongings and what not. The different interpretations of copyrights made it somewhat blurry though. The average EULA says that all content postet is automatically up for use how the corporation sees fit. If you upload images you willingly give them up for use by the respective platform. If you buy games online, using Steam or Origin or whatever, you still only get the rights to use the games, you don't own them in the normally understood sense, transferring accounts is not something they planned for or even want to see - so inheriting is practically out of the question.
It's more of a moral question than anything else, in my opinion. Some people would want the data to be deleted, others would like to keep everything like it is, others would rather take over the accounts. Looking at it from a technician's standpoint I'd like the data to remain where it is and just hide it from the enduser. If they change their mind you could just make it visible again. Then there is the EU's right to be forgotten law. I just hope some people way smarter than me can get to a consensus, I'm not that good of a philosopher.
I definitely agree with you that not all data should be removed. I don't want everything I ever thought to go to waste.
But the question comes, if you are a person like me who never shares their passwords with anyone, how will others be able to log into my social networking and messaging accounts and deactivate it? Do I leave a note in the drawer to my PC saying "IN CASE I DIE" with the password to my desktop computer, which then has a .txt document "IN CASE I DIE 2" on the desktop with all the passwords to all my accounts where I want it to be deactivated?
The good part is, when I die, I probably won't care about it anymore. The sad part is, while I'm alive, I still think of others seeing my face on Facebook or Skype or whatever and instantly going into nostalgia mode when I'm gone. I'd hate that.
I guess if you don't use a service that arranges this, a .txt file hidden in your HDD or USB with necessary documents is the best bet? I keep thinking in my mind that the USB is best and either giving it to trusted person or placing it in will. But then I think, what if I'm forced by a website to update my password (e.g. online banking) and forget to update my document...then the person trying to shut down my stuff gets locked out anyway. Hopefully I don't have to worry too much about this just yet and can continue living in ignorant bliss of the future. And, who knows, I wouldn't doubt that in 5 years there's a greater variety of options for dealing with digital account post-mortem.
I think we need better solutions for this. You may want your account deactivated but not want anyone to go through your account.