| Willravel |
10-15-2008 03:02 PM |
What happens to your web stuff when you die?
Quote:
What happens to your web stuff when you die?
Technology can do many wonderful things, but sadly it can't stop the Grim Reaper - so what happens to your web posts when you die? Will your photos, blogs and websites still be around for your grandchildren to read, or will your online presence disappear when you do?
The law is clear enough, as Struan Robertson, Legal Director with Pinsent Masons and Editor of OUT-LAW.com explains. "You can bequeath your copyright to others," he says. "So I can say in my will that I'm leaving all my rights in my photographs or website to a friend. If I don't do that, the copyright will belong to my estate - and in most cases it will survive for 70 years after my death."
Your estate may own the copyright, but that doesn't mean your stuff will stay online. "In most cases contracts will terminate with your death," Robertson says, "although it can depend on the terms of the contract."
Different approaches
Different sites have different approaches. On Facebook, accounts remain active until you deactivate them, and even then they're not deleted unless you specifically ask Facebook to shut down the account.
On Flickr and other Yahoo! services your account is non-transferable and legally speaking should die when you do, but in reality your account will remain active provided there's occasional activity - which can be as simple as logging in from time to time. If you don't have access to the log-in details you can't shut down somebody's photostream without sending Yahoo!'s legal compliance team a copy of the person's death certificate.
What about paid-for Flickr Pro accounts? If you aren't around to renew the subscription, your account simply reverts to a standard, free account - which means that some of your sets and high-res images may no longer be visible to visitors. Sets and images aren't deleted, though: if the account is upgraded again to a Pro account, the 'missing' images will reappear.
Keeping your website alive
With websites, things are more complicated. When you buy a domain name it's usually for a period of two years, and if you don't renew it at the end of that period it simply goes back on the virtual shelves for someone else to buy. Paid-for web space only stays up while the hosting bills are being paid, and free services usually close after a specified period of inactivity, typically 90 days.
That's not always the case, though: Wordpress.com doesn't delete inactive blogs at all, although it may change that policy due to the ongoing problem of blogs being hijacked by spammers and other undesirables.
According to Forbes magazine, if you're serious about keeping your online presence going you should appoint an executor, somebody who'll handle your affairs when you're gone. Leave him or her your logins and other key information, and if there's stuff you'd rather the family didn't see you can arrange for the executor to delete specific content from your computer or online accounts.
You don't have to do it in a will if you don't want to; an envelope marked "to be opened in the event of my death" is just as effective, provided of course your executor can find it. Think about money, too: if it's possible to pay for hosting or domains for a long period then do so; if it isn't, make sure you leave instructions and cash to cover the bills.
If all else fails, there's always the Internet Archive. It won't archive your Flickr pics or password-protected content, but it does a decent job of archiving publicly available web pages. If your site isn't already in the index, you can add it via Alexa.
We might not live forever, but some of our web pages may.
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I have a complete record of all of my blogs, forum personas, etc. in my home which my brother is aware of. If I die unexpectedly, the responsibility to contact people and to maintain my various contributions to the cloud.
So what happens to your web stuff when you die? |
