Because the system doesn't register if an avatar no longer has a host-- it just displays a red x, like a broken link.

The only time such an image would go down is if GMship went down, which wouldn't really be indicative of whether or not someone passed away.

As in your avatar in the forums, Kyle? Although, mine doesn't show yours as a red X, it has a green mountaintop (could be the way Google Chrome does it though).

I'm using Chrome and Kyle's avatar shows as various D&D dice.

We've had the same discussion on my photo site, and the current arrangement is we put the date on their profile of their demise unless instructed to add more by the family. I must also admit I wished happy birthday twice to someone on Facebook from here (Tangledrose) before one of her friends let me know the sad news. Having any method to allow people to know has to be better than nothing as it also avoids such similar situations and creating work for others to inform people individually.

Tried it today and it works...weird...

Sad news from the European Players. One of our great members, lucullusc2, has passed away today.

That is sad. I'm sorry for your loss.

So sorry for your team's loss.

Same here, JanIQ.

My sympathy to you and your team on your loss.

I'm sorry for the loss of your teammate, Jan.

My condolences on your loss.

It's horrible to lose a teammate. My sympathies are with you and your team, Jan.

I'm wondering how we would even know when a player has passed away. I am the captain of my team and I have often seen where members have simply disappeared. I don't have any way of knowing the circumstances of their leaving unless they were to tell me, but that obviously does not account for someone dying suddenly. I sometimes wish that there was a way we could communicate with each other off the site.

A lot of our long time members have exchanged contact info privately. It's not something the site is officially going to be part of, but it's something people can do if they choose to.

And we are often contacted by the family members of deceased FT members. My own children know to contact FT if anything were to happen to me.

I have done this with my team members....i.e email address and telephone. They all have my details. On the whole it was accepted well. Some have even given me their home address, some haven't given phone numbers, purely up to the individual. I also assured them it would be kept confidential. I think a family member is more likely to contact this way. (They might not even know about FunTrivia)

It is also useful if a member has a problem logging in...they can contact you.

I'm going to try to arrange that too. It is something that has been on my mind lately. This is a good, though somewhat grim, topic.

When he was ill, one of our members gave his login to one of his relatives with the instruction of passing on the sad news. I'm contemplating to do the same.