How in the hell do you provide closure to someone’s digital life? Do you answer their email? Post to their message boards? Who do you inform? How? Jupiter’s sister asked me these question, since I seem to give the impression that I have some idea what I’m talking about.

The truth is, I don’t know.

We’re all just winging it. What if the person didn’t write down their passwords and neatly bookmark everything? How would you even know where to go or who to tell? And even if you have this info, should you go through their email? I’ve left that to her family, but I agreed reluctantly to help with the few message boards she seemed to post at.

What a strange thing to help someone do. It’s hard to figure out the customs and unwritten rules of an online community. It’s hard to figure out a person’s relationship to the other community members. Do you post under the deceased’s username (creepy) or create a new one and hope no one thinks you’re a troll? I don’t feel like it’s right to reveal details of someone’s life that they didn’t choose to share in life. Strange issues I’d never given thought to.