Alt.suicide.holiday

The title of this article is incorrect because of technical limitations. The correct title is alt.suicide.holiday.

alt.suicide.holiday (or a.s.h or ash) is a Usenet newsgroup. Its original purpose was to discuss the relationship between suicide rates and holiday seasons. However, it has since evolved into a pro-choice discussion forum for people contemplating suicide. According to its FAQ, its purpose is neither to encourage nor discourage suicide. Participants who share the core values that have developed around the group are "ashers", and "ashspace" is a broader term for online communities historically associated with but distinct from the newsgroup, including the alt.suicide.methods newsgroup, other discussion and chat groups, and web pages.

ash is infamous for the publication, on the newsgroup, of the ash Methods File, a list of possible methods for suicide, ranging from the serious (e.g., lists of poisons and their effects) to the silly (e.g., starting World War 3).

The community has developed its own unique terminology. "Catch the bus" refers to the act of suicide, and the group is described as:

a bus stop where several people have decided to stop and chat before deciding on whether or not to get on the bus. [1]

Perhaps because of its subject matter, and its unmoderated status, the community is subject to a high level of trolling.

Controversy

Over the years, several individuals who have participated in ashspace have gone through with suicides. In one incident, which prompted media and public attention in the United Kingdom, two men who had communicated through the group, Michael Gooden and Louis Gillies formed a suicide pact, met in person, and made their way to the cliffs at Beachy Head in England, where Gooden stripped naked and jumped. Gillies, who was charged in connection with Gooden's suicide, later hanged himself.

Defenders of the community point out that thousands of participants – most all of them already suicidal or contemplating suicide before they came – and untold lurking readers have taken part in or read discussion in "ashspace" – and the actual rate of observed suicides among ashers is very low. Many ashers have testified that the community has formed a unique support group, helping them deal with their problems and feelings by sharing with others in similar straits in open, honest and non-judgemental ways, and has indeed helped them stay alive. As well, ashers contend that the norms of their subculture frown greatly on suicide pacts such as that of Gooden and Gillies.

External links

Categories: Newsgroups | Suicide