Hence, someone saw the need for mydeathspace.com, a Web site that tracks the deaths of MySpace users. Simply go to mydeathspace.com/deaths.aspx, and scroll down for a list of all the MySpace members who’ve recently departed this mortal coil, along with a link to their page. What’s perhaps most disturbing is how young so many of them are — a shocking number of the deaths, accidental and otherwise, are from users who haven’t even turned 21.
Naturally, the site has drummed up a torrent of controversy. It was created in December 2005 by 25-year-old San Francisco paralegal Mike Patterson, who says he started it out of boredom. He claims that he’ll remove a memorial link if requested by the deceased’s family, but that doesn’t comfort most of the site’s detractors, who say the whole concept is disrespectful, voyeuristic or just plain creepy. Many are particularly shocked and angered by the site’s online store at www.cafepress.com/mydeathspace. What better way to honor the memory of a loved one than a mydeathspace.com logo on the front of your white thong? The latest discussion on the site’s forum is full of supremely pissed-off people who are squicked out by the notion of mydeathspace, turning a coin on the deaths of others — but one of the site administrators claims that the only reason the online store was started was due to requests from users.
