PSA: Do not threaten suicide to Blizzard customer support

by Alexander Sliwinski { Dec 31st 2008 at 6:25PM }

A 17-year-old Ohio gamer was arrested Monday after he allegedly threatened to commit suicide to a Blizzard customer service rep, presumably over World of Warcraft. The rep called 911 and the boy was charged with a first-degree misdemeanor. The police report says the juvenile's excuse was that it was a joke to get "what he wanted" in the game. He'll appear in court Jan. 6.

Although some might find Blizzard's response in calling 911 a bit extreme, just imagine the mess that would have resulted had the kid gone through with it. Regardless, we've learned that telling your MMO's customer support rep about your impending suicide is a bad idea (much like suicide, kids!). They have your account information and know where you live.

[Via GamePolitics]

Tags: blizzard, customer-service, customer-support, suicide, world-of-warcraft

Related From Joystiq

StarCraft II: Blizzard responds to lack of LAN support
132 days ago
World of Warcraft will slowly update graphics to stay fresh
438 days ago
Only the Games: Call of Duty: World at War coming in November
444 days ago

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Wiinterfang @ Dec 31st 2008 6:37PM

What Am I doing here?, I should be drunk right now =(.

Sora @ Dec 31st 2008 6:38PM

...Wow...

Poisoned Al @ Dec 31st 2008 11:48PM

...that is one UGLY dog!

BigD145 @ Jan 1st 2009 3:30AM

Your life does not belong to you.

mj @ Jan 1st 2009 7:58AM

See, gamers rarely commit suicide because we all have a backlog of games we keep meaning to play. It's like institutionalized procrastination.

Negative FPS @ Dec 31st 2008 6:38PM

I found out about this a LONG time ago through the WoW forums.

Someone called them in and pretended to be someone else (a friend) saying he is going to kill himself over something in-game, and the police showed up at this friends door and arrested him for possible suicide >.

ice~ @ Dec 31st 2008 6:39PM

I think it's ridiculous how you could be arrested for "possible suicide". Like throwing the person in jail is gonna make them feel better, genius.

Wiinterfang @ Dec 31st 2008 6:41PM

Actually it does.

ice~ @ Dec 31st 2008 6:52PM

Lol so you're saying if you are suicidal and depressed that getting arrested will cheer you up and make you happy? I'd love to believe it :D

In A World (XBL) @ Dec 31st 2008 7:04PM

The point is to arrest them so they can't commit suicide, duh! Who cares about making them happy?

BTW... take away his shoe laces when you throw him in the slammer.

Shmil @ Dec 31st 2008 7:07PM

Being arrested isn't exactly the same as going to jail.

Twokinds @ Dec 31st 2008 7:11PM

"The point is to arrest them so they can't commit suicide, duh! Who cares about making them happy?"

If we don't care if they're happy, then why do we care if they commit suicide?

In A World (XBL) @ Dec 31st 2008 7:16PM

"If we don't care if they're happy, then why do we care if they commit suicide?"

Because threatening to commit suicide is a "first-degree misdemeanor", whereas being unhappy is not. There has to be some sort of deterent for such reckless behavior.

Wiinterfang @ Dec 31st 2008 7:17PM

The don't arrest him to make him happy they do it to stop him for killing himself.

Tom @ Dec 31st 2008 7:20PM

I don't see why we should stop people from killing themselves. I don't have a problem with it. I say go ahead kids, kill yourselves. It's a right thing to do.

Wiinterfang @ Dec 31st 2008 7:31PM

Ending a person life is wrong it doesn't matter if it's your life.

Nobody has that right it should only be left to god (insert other deity here).

ice~ @ Dec 31st 2008 7:32PM

Thankyou Tom, my point exactly, I'll see you in hell :D lol

In A World (XBL) @ Dec 31st 2008 7:33PM

"I don't see why we should stop people from killing themselves. I don't have a problem with it"

Fair enough, just don't call people up and announce it, you lil' emo kids. Someone I use to be friends with would always threaten suicide, but of course never went through with it, was just doing it for the attention. After a while that crap just gets annoying, so I have zero patience for that kinda behavior. Tell it to the suicide hotline, NOT me and certainly NOT WoW customer support! Yikes!

What some here don't seem to understand is that the people threatening suicide aren't just affecting their own lives, they're also putting a burden on those people they warned ahead of time. It can be very psychologically damaging to know that you COULD have done something, but now someone is dead because YOU didn't take action. I know that may sound hard to believe unless you actually find yourself in that position.

Superstar90 @ Dec 31st 2008 11:20PM

He's not going to be thrown in jail or arrested and told "don't do that again!".

They stop him so that he can get help with whatever issues he has, so he can live a happy life.

NoHitHair @ Jan 1st 2009 7:41AM

Absolutely no one has any right to deny another of their right to kill themselves. Each individual has the fundamental right to at least their own person.

Chris @ Jan 1st 2009 9:44AM

I think suicide is actually considered murder under US law, it's just not really punishable.

JangoGod @ Jan 1st 2009 2:04PM

The punishment for suicide is death!

ice~ @ Jan 1st 2009 2:06PM

I think the only reason the government made suicide a crime is because they want to keep you alive so they can take your tax money. Think about it, what other reason does the government have to keep you alive? lol

MikeO. @ Jan 1st 2009 2:26PM

@ Nohithair

Just wondering what part of the Constitution (If you're American) you've read that claims that you have a God given right to kill yourself.

You don't have the 'right' to do anything of that sort. You may have the ability, the desire or the means, but you certainly do not have the 'right'.

ice~ @ Dec 31st 2008 6:39PM

I told a nintendo rep if they didn't put shiggy on the phone, I'd hang shove the Wiimote down my throat as I hang myself with the nunchuck wire. They hung up.

bad prank...though my friends enjoyed it

a ham sandwich @ Dec 31st 2008 6:44PM

"hi"
"My name's John with Blizzard customer support. What can I help you with today?"
"i want WOW. now"
"OK Great! I'd be glad to help you with that! It's $14.99 per month plus the cost of the game up front. Would you like me to order this for you?"
"no! i want you to give this to me NOW!"
"Err...what?"
"Or i kill myself!"
::click::

Brucie_K @ Dec 31st 2008 6:45PM

''Hello? Blizzard customer support?''
''Yes, how can we help?''
''I need something really bad in World Of Warcraft OR ELSE I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL MYSELF!! DO YOU HEAR ME?? I'M GOING TO KILL MYSELF!!!!
''Lol wut? Gonna call the police, brb.''

Sridhar3 @ Dec 31st 2008 6:46PM

Yeah, it's a liability. It's one of the few legitimate reasons for which one can violate Confidentiality. If they hadn't done so and the boy had killed himself, the company or the individual representative that receieved the threat may have been subject to a manslaughter charge.

mr mobius @ Dec 31st 2008 6:46PM

People have killed themselves over what happened in MMOs, not just WoW, so the rep was being responsible.

Levi @ Dec 31st 2008 7:27PM

And those people were probably justified. I mean, if your virtual wife leaves you when you have nothing In Real Life, why not, you know, just off yourself?

I kid.

mr mobius @ Dec 31st 2008 7:34PM

I heard about a guy who killed himself because someone hacked his account and stole a white Christmas hat from his account in Runescape.

Mike @ Dec 31st 2008 9:02PM

Rule No. 1: Never kill yourself over Runescape.

mylesmadness @ Dec 31st 2008 10:16PM

No, rule 1 is not to play runescape period.

vidGuy @ Dec 31st 2008 6:48PM

1. In most jurisdictions the customer support rep would have the legal duty to call the police for the teenager's safety. The idea is that the police could prevent the loss of life. If the caller was serious and the parents found out the rep knew but didn't call the cops, the parents could sue the rep.

2. Suicide, or attempted suicide, is not a crime specifically for the purpose of allowing a person to seek help rather than incriminating himself. Most likely the kid got charged with the misdemeanor of abuse of emergency services, the same thing he would have been charged with if he pranked 911.

invaderalex @ Dec 31st 2008 7:09PM

Just from that one word, i hate you...

invaderalex @ Dec 31st 2008 7:31PM

Glad that post was deleted... but now I look the asshole...

Skipjimroo @ Dec 31st 2008 9:58PM

Damn! I missed it. Gimme the gist? And then maybe the user name so I can be offended too.

invaderalex @ Dec 31st 2008 10:43PM

forgot the user name

but he just wrote
pussy

Unknown @ Dec 31st 2008 7:11PM

I was a Rogers Cable tech agent for the summer and One of the reps near me got a call from a guy that was complaining that the porn on rogers on demand was bad, and started talking about child porn, the rep ended up calling the cops on the guy.

This is the same thing as the suicide, its a liability for the company and in training thats what they told us to do.

MillsAnimation @ Dec 31st 2008 7:12PM

I used to be a Game Master at Blizzard. This actually happens quite often. Not to the point of the cops getting called but its a known rule on the GM floor. You have to notify your team leader and everything gets real serious when a player drops the suicide word into the conversation. 95% of the time its exactly what happened here. They think its the best way to get what they want (lost loot). When we tell them we will be dispatching a local officer to their house to insure the players safety they typically shut up, say they where just kidding or log out. We then note their account accordingly for future issues. Whats really messed up. I was a GM for a game I never played. :p