:en:Alt.suicide.holiday
{{short description|Usenet newsgroup}}
{{lowercase|alt.suicide.holiday}}
alt.suicide.holiday (a.s.h, ASH or ash) is a Usenet newsgroup. Its original purpose was to discuss the relationship between suicide rates and holiday seasons. However, it later evolved{{When?|date=March 2023|reason=How soon afterwards did the content and tone shift?}} into a broad discussion forum where suicidal people can openly share their struggles or research suicide methods. Some participants are not suicidal, but post to provide psychological support or advice on how to kill oneself to suicidal or depressed posters.{{cite news |last1=Twohey |first1=Megan |last2=Dance |first2=Gabriel J. X. |title=Where the Despairing Log On, and Learn Ways to Die |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/09/us/where-the-despairing-log-on.html |access-date=25 January 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=9 December 2021}} The newsgroup was unmoderated and was subject to occasional bouts of trolling and a harsh and sometimes hostile atmosphere. In mid-2002, the trolling heightened significantly and ended up driving away many regular users.{{cite web | url=https://archive.ashspace.org/ashbusstop.org/User/PeterFalkHome.html | title=ASBS . User . PeterFalkHome }} According to its FAQ, its purpose is neither to encourage nor discourage suicide and strongly maintains a pro-choice view on the matter.{{cite web | url=https://archive.ashspace.org/ashbusstop.org/pg_life.html | title=Exploring Life }}
Effects
Research from 2007{{cite journal|title=Emotional first aid for a suicide crisis: comparison between Telephonic hotline and internet. |date=2015-09-28 |pmid=17492908 | doi=10.1521/psyc.2007.70.1.12 |volume=70 |journal=Psychiatry |pages=12–8 | last1 = Gilat | first1 = I | last2 = Shahar | first2 = G|issue=1 |s2cid=28592320 }} shows that suicide websites indeed could be more efficient in providing emotional help for people contemplating suicide than suicide hotlines. The primary reasons are the asynchronous nature of discussion in newsgroups giving enough time for thoughtful responses and group-based discussion that suicidal people find reassuring. The high degree of anonymity is another advantage of newsgroups like a.s.h, allowing people to openly talk about their feelings without fear of consequences.
UK Byron Review for 2008,{{cite web|url=http://www.dfes.gov.uk/byronreview/ |title=UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) - GOV.UK |website=Dfes.gov.uk |date= |accessdate=2016-06-04}} analyzing the effects of websites on children, says that "research looking at pro-suicide sites has had mixed results. Some studies report high degrees of emotional and social support by these sites, particularly on sites where the methods of suicide were not discussed. More studies like this are needed to begin to understand the impact of such sites on those who spontaneously choose to access them."
Suicide information
Due to the nature of Usenet, information on suicide methods is not and cannot be censored.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
Coverage in the news
The newsgroup has been a target of news reports alleging a direct relationship between "avoidable" suicides and the suicide-facilitating nature of the newsgroup and website.
In 2003, a.s.h was the topic of a series of Wired articles under the pretext of examining the group's role in the deaths of several depressed individuals. The accuracy and integrity of the articles was widely disputed by ashers and internet media critics, e.g., Ken Hagler's Radio Weblog: No One Asked Why He Wanted to Die.
A.s.h played some role in the death of Suzy Gonzales, who killed herself in 2003{{cite web|author=Julia Scheeres |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/06/08/MN114902.DTL |title=A Virtual Path to Suicide / Depressed student killed herself with help from online discussion group |website=SFGate |date=2003-06-08 |access-date=2016-06-04}} after sharing her thoughts on a.s.h.{{cite web|url=https://groups.google.com/group/alt.suicide.holiday/browse_thread/thread/fa79bd975fb85845/ |title=Google Groups |website=Groups.google.com |access-date=2016-06-04}} In the US, the death of Suzy Gonzales led to an attempt to introduce a controversial H.R. 940: Suzanne Gonzales Suicide Prevention Act of 2007, which did not pass. The current version of the bill is HR 1183: Suzanne Gonzales Suicide Prevention Act of 2011.
The community received further media attention due to the case of William Francis Melchert-Dinkel, who was charged by Rice County District Judge Thomas Neuville with encouraging the suicides of a person in Britain in 2005 and another person in Canada in 2008 through a.s.h.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.ashspace.org/ Official website]
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