I really don’t care one way or another (and if I stopped posting no one would even notice or know why), but since there is no way of actual confirmation for everyone then doing it for some but not others seems kind of pointless at best and “cliqueish” at worst.
How about “Only Mostly Dead.”
Couldn’t disagree more.
I think “DECEASED” for verified In Memoriam posters is a great idea and not an intrusion in the least. +1
Another vote for “deceased” status being totally appropriate, IMO.
See, this confused me the other way round. I’d seen this idea being floated and when I saw Cicero’s title in another thread, assumed it had been implemented (yeah, yeah I know) , figured he’d popped it, and was about to tell AK84 that Cicero would, regrettably, not be swinging by to post in his cricket thread!
ETA: I do agree with the concept, just not Cicero’s implementation of it 
Just so members don’t get the idea I have popped my clogs and plan any celebration parties I will revert to something more mundane 
Just as a point of information, when we receive confirmation that a poster has died, we move their account into a new user group. If I remember correctly, it prevents the account from being used again and preserves their membership status so they don’t become guests later on. So a change is already made- although it’s not a visible one. I’m not sure how I feel about the idea myself, but the staff is discussing it.
I know I’m late to the party, but I just want to throw in that I, too, think a status of “deceased” is appropriate.
Not that this is a democracy but I think it’s an appropriate and helpful step, so I vote for it.
I like the OP’s idea. I would have a slight preference for the simple Anglo-Saxon word “dead.” I don’t like how in our society we try to weasel around the word “dead.” But at least “deceased” is better than “passed,” which makes me want to hit somebody.
I like the idea, though for most of us you’ll never know when we die. How about “At Room Temperature” ?
In all seriousness, I can appreciate the desire to preserve their status. What about adding a note to their preserved status, so it becomes “Charter Member, Deceased” or whatever?
Zombie in Waiting
Couldn’t disagree more with what? I laid out a few points of reasoning. I can see the argument why it is useful. I explained why I think it is inappropriate. Could you share your perspective on why you think it is appropriate?
I don’t have a problem with a user requesting that their status be changed prior to their death, but I do have an issue with a user’s status getting changed automatically by a 3rd party. Obviously, the deceased poster won’t care. However, I can see a surviving spouse getting upset that the poster’s status was updated just because a fellow Doper emailed an admin an obituary notice.
To be honest I have trouble imagining anybody caring about that, and I don’t think that situation is likely to come up. We find out about member deaths in two ways: either a family member reaches out to us by emailing the staff or starting a thread, or a Doper who knew the person in real life does the same. If the family doesn’t know about the board, they’re not going to care about the person’s status. If it’s a family member and they’re posting with the deceased person’s account, then we do tell them we’ll close the account when they’re done.
I still think that if we do this, it’s going to look kind of weird and distracting. So I’m not sure how I feel about it.
I care. I don’t want my status, profile, or posts updated with my personal details unless I choose to share them. I’m fine with any board-related updates. TBH, I’m not sure why that seems so hard to imagine. This is Basic Privacy 101. Perhaps it is because I am the only one in this thread that has objected to the idea?
I don’t have a problem if other people want their statuses updated in any way they want. I’d be ok with opting out of the program. But I do think it is presumptious and insensitive to assume that all currently deceased Dopers would have liked to have their statuses updated.
I agree that it is weird and distracting. I’d also add tacky.
I like the idea myself.
I’d rather have “Nailed to the perch” or “Joined the choir invisible” if it was mine to choose. Or maybe “just resting”
Because once you’re dead, you’re incapable of caring.
If we’re going to talk basic principles of privacy, then as a basic principal, dead people don’t have privacy rights, in the same way that dead people can’t be defamed as a basic principle of defamation.
I think it’s a great idea. Like anything we would do, we would do it for the living anyway. Nothing is done for the purpose of pleasing the dead, because, by definiton, they can’t be pleased.
I, too, think this is a great idea.
If you get marked “deceased” by mistake, it’s probably pretty easy to correct by contacting the administrators, either by email or any reasonably competent spirit medium.
If you truly don’t want to be labelled deceased when you are deceased (and how does THAT fight ignorance?), just leave a will asking one of your heirs request your account be locked, or log in as you and get banned or something.
And the fact of being dead has never been considered a private matter. Add to that the fact that the fact of death is attached only to an alias, I see less than zero privacy considerations on this count.