Kind of a freaky topic.
I too, wonder if many would notice my absence if my less-than-prolific posting were to cease.
I’m a daily lurker and feel like a real part of our community here. Yet, I’ve never met other dopers IRL and I value my privacy here too much to to tell my RL friends about the SDMB.
So, if anyone sees I haven’t posted in a few weeks send me an email, would ya? And if that goes unanswered for a week or so, assume the worst.
did the Watson of Crick&Watson not pass on also?
Old timers here will remember him.
I think it was in March 2001 that Melin relayed the news of his death on Fathom.
I also would like to know if posters have passed on.
If I may suggest, a simple way to accomplish this is to leave a sentence in the instructions of your will, saying that you wish an announcement be made to this website. I’m unsure which forum is most appropriate.
That was the same guy. 
I have no idea if anyone would notice if I passed on or not. I’m pretty sure a note would go up on ClubSi.com, but that would be it.
dang.
I should hang out in chat more often… if I can ever find it again…
I remember stopping posting for a couple of weeks (no net access) and when I came back had someone notice. THat was very very cool.
A lot of the people I used to see post here a lot have just switched from MPSIMS to LiveJournal. It’s kind of eerie, in a way. Even though it’s a statistical certainty that registered members will shuffle off this mortal coil, it’s also more likely, given our demographic, that if someone’s stopped posting that they’ve just gone on to something else.
With the exception of one or two names that have posted here so far, I would certainly notice if you stopped posting and am sure that other’s would notice as well. And I think the one or two are newer members.
I’m sure one or two of my loyal stalk… er, groupies might notice a prolonged absence on my part. I also know a couple of you have my phone number, but you never call!! <sniff sniff> I don’t know if my daughter or husband would think to post of my untimely demise, so I guess I’ll just have to not demise.
I’m sure the FairyChatMoose would let us know if anything untoward happened to you.
Dunno, Shibb, Miss Moose is out gallivantin’ somewhere with thinksnow, I believe, the shameless hussy! She never writes, she never calls!!!
No one in my real life is poster here and while I am a frequnt poster and (I like to think) very vageuly memorable, I reckon that if I died people would only notice my absence but not know why.
To remedy that, a few simple lines in my will leaves instructions to come to the board, register under a new username (that I specified) and leave a posthumous note from me for the masses.
Poopachalupas dead? Say It ain’t so!
Hey, I promise I’ll contact John Edward, and he can let you know.
Johnny LA. I would know you bit the dust as soon as some aviation GQ went unanswered for mor than .009 seconds.
Am I the only one thinking of the Jim Carol song?
Sadly, yes. Here’s the thread: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=147170
I tend to keep my “real” life very separate from my Internet life, so probably nobody online would know if I died.
Wow, I didn’t know chalupa died, either.
I’m pretty sure if something happened to me, no one would notice. I don’t talk to any Dopers in real life.
I opened a thread a couple of weeks ago asking the status of Nacho4Sara as I haven’t seen her post in a while. I hope she’s OK.
I wonder about Clarissa_xx. She was playing in a Doper Diplomacy game I was GMing back in April and then suddenly she just stopped answering emails. She didn’t post here again, and it’s not likely she just walked away from the game, she was playing brilliantly. She was winning, as a matter of fact.
She just vanished from the online world. I hope she’s O.K.
Hmmm. Mebbe us Baltimoron Dopers should form some sort of 410 alliance; a once-a-month email to check in and discuss the latest El Camino we spotted.
I’ve left instructions with my sister that if something was to happen to me, she’d go to the Buffy board and let my Bronzer friends know that I’m dead. Because I usually feel more like an observer than a member of this community, i’ve left no such instructions for this board.
StG