Why don't use a 'normal' (on paper) last will for this?
I personally wouldn't trust the internet for this:
Spam filters which are blocking your e-mail.
Changed e-mail addresses.
What if the website/data server crashes?
No, I wouldn't use it.

There are several reasons why normal paper is not necessarily a good idea.

1) Why don't use a 'normal' (on paper) last will for this?
- Paper can be found (before you make your last journey), stolen or lost.
- If you use paper you'd have to keep it in a safe/secretive place. How can you be sure it will be found by the right person later?
- How can you use paper to deliver different messages to different people (e.g., distant relatives or friends), while still making sure only the right recipient reads each message? Fairly difficult.
- With paper, you can't deliver videos, voice records or pictures along your message.

2) Spam filters which are blocking your e-mail.
By "delivering" a message, I didn't mean sending an e-mail to a recipient. This is the simplest case. You could send a regular letter to that person, along with other media such as DVDs, etc.

3) What if the website/data server crashes
Use backup. Which anyone should have anyway.

- Paper can be found (before you make your last journey), stolen or lost.
You don't keep this yourself off course...
There are people/compagnies to do this for you (I'm afraid I don't know the right english name for it... but it's the actucally the same as your idea but just the offline version of it.) They will keep it save for you and give/send it to your familie when you're gone.

- With paper, you can't deliver videos, voice records or pictures along your message.
No problem, just add them; not on the paper off course, but you could also leave a video tape or DVD disc with your last will.

"By "delivering" a message, I didn't mean sending an e-mail to a recipient. This is the simplest case. You could send a regular letter to that person, along with other media such as DVDs, etc."
"How can you use paper to deliver different messages to different people (e.g., distant relatives or friends), while still making sure only the right recipient reads each message? Fairly difficult."
Why are you so sure that you will succeed your delivering then?

This idea has been on CH before.
Anyways I also don't see the point of it. And how does a website now that someone is dead?
Tommy

KNOW i meant

Vanhees,

Answering to your question, here are my first ideas on how the website someone is dead:

Idea #1 - The user is required to log back in periodically and notify the site he is alive. The periodicity should not be too small (hence becoming an annoyance), neither too long (meaning it could take a long time to identify an user's death); nevertheless, it should be user configurable. Should the user forget to log in, email reminders are sent, and if the situation persists, a representative tries to reach him by phone. Only after all attempts are exhausted the user is declared dead.

Idea #2 - The service runs a periodic check on the user's Social Security Number (for US residents). I don't know the feasibility of this.

Idea #3 - The user receives special notification codes which he can give to trustworthy people. This code can be entered to notify the user's death. The code itself doesn't give access to any message, it's only used for notification purposes. After entering the code, the service will fire email reminders to the user, as in #1, just to prevent erroneous uses of this mechanism.

Here's an idea from a while back:
http://www.cambrianh...er/ideas-id/Ot6jRdr/
In the comments on that idea, I link to an earlier idea on the same topic, so That original idea focused mainly on security issues so it might not be relevant to you but there is some useful discussion.

Hello Jelmer,

There are people/compagnies to do this for you (I'm afraid I don't know the right english name for it... but it's the actucally the same as your idea but just the offline version of it.) They will keep it save for you and give/send it to your familie when you're gone.
If there are offline companies that do this, then isn't this an argument in favour of an online version? The niche obviously exists.

No problem, just add them; not on the paper off course, but you could also leave a video tape or DVD disc with your last will.
Of course you can, but it might be a burden to store this stuff away from people. Also, how many people you know that leave an individual message for each of his friends, relatives, parents, etc? This service doesn't do anything that would be impossible with paper, it just eases the task of storing and delivering, while increasing the security.

Why are you so sure that you will succeed your delivering then?
We can't be 100% sure of anything. What I am proposing is, a service which will do its best efforts to locate the recipient, and store your message for years after your last journey, until every recipient is located.
In addition to email and physical addresses, the user can also assign backup recipients, which will receive a message should the original recipient fails to be reached by any means. In this case, the whole delivery process restarts with the backup recipient.
Optionally, the user may assign "notificators" (need a better name for this), which are people who will be notified that certain person has a message waiting for retrieval. In this case, the only role of the notificator is to help locating and informing the recipient about the message.

I've actually been on the receiving end of a message like this. I think there is value in it.

Hi micco,

Thanks for showing past ideas. I believe they are similar but are too focused on the concept of storing secrets. My idea is a little broader. Also, the existing sites are not real products, so there still might be a niche for this.

I quite like the idea of a digital monument to my life, something that will last after my credit card stops working and my domain names go back up for sale.

I think you could push this into a neat area, but it needs to really be hashed out on.

The idea of a digital monument is actually a great addition to my original concept of sending last messages. Thanks, I really like it, will add this to the feature list.

I think that is a really good idea.., we all have a little secret that we may like to share when we are not here any more..
Go ahead!

I have a quesiton, What are you gonna do if the content of the message says somthing like the person is gonna commit suicide??

Hmmm, ok.
You've convinced me now.
I especially like the new part of sending messages after a certain amount of time.

Thank you! Do I get 5 stars? :-)

You had me until you got to the Will part. The Atty keeps the Will and you keep a copy in your safety deposit box. I like the idea of the last words and memorial. The living would post their farewells when they are still healthy and toward the end. (Like preplanning and prepaying the funeral, which I've done.) Others could add their remarks before and after death. Very much like an on-line memorial service. Photos also. Money comes from initial setup and posters would pay nominal amounts for each post. Man, this is really great the more I think about it. I mean, it would last through the generations, each family would grow the site! I'm breathless.

The problem with the few online memorial sites I have seen is that they were not created by the person who died. In my idea, you prepare everything before you die, and that is shared or made public after your death.

Alternatively, you can create a memorial for someone who already passed away.

But the idea that thrills me is about sending messages to your children, grand-children and grand-grandchildren, many years after your death. The service could tell the recipient if there is a message left and how long until it is delivered. Or the message could be a total surprise. You, the user, decide how you want it.

Not sure about this one.

This CH Idea Comment is posted by daraddishman from beyond the grave:

AM ON TV!!!

:)

I think this could be a winner, I've bumped it up a bit in the voting, to 4 stars, because after taking some time to think about it I kinda like the idea of haunting my family in the digital world.

This idea is going to get a digital memorial soon enough.

downer.

rofl at (with) kevin cox

I have study the funeral market and the sociology of funeral. Sure, it’s a good idea but you have to guarantee two things :
- the security of the secret and the guarantee that family members which are excluded won’t have access to it (you can’t project how many time the adressee of the message will live after your death)
- the lasting maintain of your service (if you pass 20 years after having posted a message, with a period of 50 years before send it to your family, it reaches to 70 years)

I think this is far more interesting than simply launching an email once you're dead, due the the multi-media capabilities. Perhaps the message could also be delayed until death + X Years? So say (just read Calculating God so this comes to mind), you've got the Cancer and you know you are gonna die, and you want to leave a message for your kid so when he's 16 you can tell him, "Be sure you don't knock anyone up by mistake." And how much you which you could have been there to see them at this age.

Heck, you could have time capsuled messages ready for every year up until they're 70!

I do think this is a good idea, one that need a big of time to fully absorb. (Beyond previous idea suggestions like simply firing email.)

Hi Gordon, if you read the description carefully you will notice that delaying messages are already fully contemplated! :)

It's likely this idea won't be a winner this time, but I am 100% convinced it is a good idea, and I will refine it to the next round so certain features such as message delaying become more evident.

Stay tunned! :-)