Bad news (RE: Rakala)

[Rakala]

Hello everybody. This is not Ryan James Churn aka Rakala. This is a friend of his. I have some terrible news.

Rakala has died from testicular cancer. Among his dying wishes was that this news be spread so you wouldn't all be left to confusion. I'm sorry to have to tell you this but I suppose it's better than uncertainty.

[Sofox]

Oh, my deepest condolences to you and all his family and friends.
To be honest I didn't know Rakala that well, but it's a tragic thing to happen.
Thank you for telling us all of this, it's much better than the uncertainty.

[Ghostwish]

My deepest condolences to both yourself and to Ryan's family.

[Alondro]

That's a terrible shame.  We had someone in our church die suddenly from cancer and no one even knew he had it since he kept very quiet about it.

[Orinus]

Apologies for posting as him but I just now created my account. I figured why not try to make some new friends while I'm here, right?

... Still gonna be kinda bitter for awhile. Circumstances were not good. The insurance companies found some loophole that allowed them to not cover him for cancer. Ended up killing him. He had been fighting it for about a year when the companies pulled out from under him. Since then I have become a very strong supporter of healthcare. You see he and I were "roommates". It's a big loss for me.

[techmaster-glitch]

Man....this is truly terrible.

I never really "knew" Rakala, and never really talked to him, but I did see him around this forum even now and then, and he always seemed like a nice guy. Thank you for informing us of his passing, and best wishes to you and his family.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

You have my condolences.


I feel I should warn you, at least some of the folks here are going to be cynical about this. Not least because someone in the past was a jerk, and faked his/her own death via the predecessor to this forum. Please don't take it personally.

[Orinus]

Great, just what I needed. Somebody in the past making people reluctant to believe me. Well thanks for the warning anyways.

[VAE]

Apologies for posting as him but I just now created my account. I figured why not try to make some new friends while I'm here, right?

... Still gonna be kinda bitter for awhile. Circumstances were not good. The insurance companies found some loophole that allowed them to not cover him for cancer. Ended up killing him. He had been fighting it for about a year when the companies pulled out from under him. Since then I have become a very strong supporter of healthcare. You see he and I were "roommates". It's a big loss for me.

Hmm, i never knew the guy but it sucks so badly for somebody that young to die of such sickness - i remember last year a girl from my orig. school back in our village in slovakia died of meningitis.
As an aside, the highlighted bit makes me both sick and angry. I honestly wonder why are those even called insurance companies. I mean, in my country healthcare isn't great because of lack of money, but this wouldn't happen

[Mao]

While I will say that I'm sorry for your loss, I will also say this:  You're on the internet.  Everything is suspect.

[Zedd]

That stinks but I send my wishes to you and his family

[Suwako]

Condolences, May he rest in peace.

[Damaris]

I'm so sorry to hear that. When did it happen?

[Orinus]

It's been about 3 months now. I've moved on a little, I mean I'm not dating again but I can at least I have my sense of humor back. The funeral was a celebration of his life, as short as it was, like he would've wanted.

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

My condolences for your loss. May his spirit rest in peace.

[superluser]

Hello everybody. This is not Ryan James Churn aka Rakala. This is a friend of his. I have some terrible news.

Rakala has died from testicular cancer. Among his dying wishes was that this news be spread so you wouldn't all be left to confusion. I'm sorry to have to tell you this but I suppose it's better than uncertainty.

I am very sorry to hear that.  My prayers are with him, and with you in this time.

While I will say that I'm sorry for your loss, I will also say this:  You're on the internet.  Everything is suspect.

I find that unless someone is asking me for money, it's better for me to assume that everyone on the internet is telling the truth when it comes to personal tragedy.  The worst case scenario is that I become known as the guy who offers needless sympathy, and there are far worse things in life than being credulous when someone claims to need compassion.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

I didn't really know Rakala all that well.


But shit. Shit. That's awful. I'm sorry to hear of your loss, and although any offer I can make is inadequate, I would like to extend what aid I can.

[Orinus]

Well I appreciate the compassion if nothing else. It seems nobody here knew him all that well though.

But anyways life goes on. I'm no longer mourning so that's good, still kind of, to put it bluntly, sucks.

[Darkmoon]

Okay, as an official representative of the forum, we have a policy (as many social net sites do) of requiring an obituary or other similar proof of passing. We certainly don't want Rakala's account just sitting open, waiting for a hacker, and we understand you reporting this to us. We just need proof so we can finish this out properly.

Condolences for your loss.

[Orinus]

I'll do what I can. Just give me a few days to search through my old newspapers and such, I'll even look for a death certificate (assuming those exist) but you have to remember that our relationship was not legally recognized so I'm going to be scrounging a bit. Just an FYI.

[Angel]

I knew Rakala passingly, He was a nice guy, never one to stir up trouble or cause unnecessary pain. My condolences for your loss and Ryan's family and loved ones are in my prayers.

[Darkmoon]

Death certificates are a standard. If you are on good terms with his family, they should be able to provide the information requested.

[Mao]

I find that unless someone is asking me for money, it's better for me to assume that everyone on the internet is telling the truth when it comes to personal tragedy.  The worst case scenario is that I become known as the guy who offers needless sympathy, and there are far worse things in life than being credulous when someone claims to need compassion.

Alright, amazingly enough, I like you guys so I'm going to do you a favour and make sure you have all the facts before you start prepping for your candle light vigil as there are some things me and a few of my friends have found about all of this that seem incredibly fishy.

First, it strikes me as somewhat odd that someone who was close to the departed would seek solace in the arms of a place where the departed was not only not well known, but  from a group of strangers who reside there, no less.  I say seek solace, not because you posted, but more because you decided to stick around and make friends because, hey!  Why not!?

Second, it's really odd that you would go into detail about the specifics of the departed's demise.  Most people would try to have more tact and would likely try to allow their loved one's passing to be viewed with a bit more dignity and pride.  Admittedly there are many possible causes for this (you have poor judgement, you're someone setting up to cause some trouble for the real Rakala or you are in fact faking it).

Thirdly, your story seems to be fluctuating a bit (though that could just be emotions).  In this thread alone, you've gone from 'going to be bitter for a while' to 'it was a great funeral' to 'I've more or less moved on.'

Fourth, it's odd, but not impossible or improbable that you logged in as him.  This is a minor point, but it only adds to the suspicion.

Fifth, it's been three months since his death and you only just now get around to letting folks know about it?  If this was a last request (quite likely the only way you'd know to do this) your execution time is terrible and not very considerate.  This point plays into the next one as well.

Sixth, it's been noted that no matter how close people are, they don't cover every little minute detail of their day, particularly their browsing.  This is also a minor point, but it will play in very well with an upcoming point.

Seventh, it strikes me as odd that someone suffering from testicular cancer would be interested in signing up for the army.  See this ( http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,6797.msg306437.html#msg306437 )
post made back in December.  Particularly odd since it doesn't take much to realize that the army would not take someone in such a condition and that they do very thorough medical examinations so there's no way to hide it.

Eighth, while I'm no expert on medicine, a quick internet search turned up some very important information concerning testicular cancer.  It's one of the easiest and least expensive cancers to stop, particularly with advance knowledge.  A year is more than enough time.  Even more interesting is that, in and of itself, it usually isn't lethal unless it sneaks up on you and goes undetected for a very prolonged amount of time.  Though from what we've been led to understand, it's been known for at least a year.

Ninth, I'm also not an expert of US Insurance (though some of the contributors to this have some insights on it) but folks are able to get severe medical care (insurance or not) if not receiving the care will result in their death.  In fact it is of questionable legality to turn them away if they will die without care.  The costs afterward are what make the situation unpleasant, but it is not a case that he would be refused care if his condition was potentially lethal.

Tenth, remember that point that I said would be important later?  Here it is: http://i46.tinypic.com/6ptg1y.jpg (Original reference removed by housepets forum staff.  Replaced with relevant screenshot)a simple google search found this.  Seems that this fellow has the name Rakala in his profile and even shares the name (as signed in the post) with the deceased.  Quite the feat for a dead man.  Even more damning is that the account has been quite active the whole time that the deceased in question was not only suffering but also apparently dead from testicular cancer.  Very curious.  Even more odd is that there was no post there (a forum on which he was far more active) about the passing of our friend here.

Weighing all of this you can understand how some people might find all of this very suspect.  At this point I'm just going to end this off with no accusations and no outright condemnations but simply a favorite quote of mine:

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence " ~Carl Sagan.

[Darkmoon]

And before anyone goes after Mao for this post, I back him up on all of these points and he checked the post past me first. He's simply stating the exact things I was also thinking.

[Damaris]

Death certificates are a standard. If you are on good terms with his family, they should be able to provide the information requested.

I went ahead a poked around on the Kansas site for vital records - to look up a death certificate, it looks like all one would need is the date of death and city (since we already have the name).

[superluser]

And before anyone goes after Mao for this post, I back him up on all of these points and he checked the post past me first. He's simply stating the exact things I was also thinking.

I would hate to have anyone think that I was going after anyone when I said what I did, which was merely explaining why I'm so credulous in situations like this (which is unlike my normal procedure of demanding sources).

On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog, but I (again, personally, and without any intended implication that others should act in this way) don't have any desire to question the authenticity of others' statements when they don't have any real impact on me.

This contrasts with the forum admins, for example, who have genuinely good reasons to find out if the statement is true.  Mao may have other, equally valid reasons for trying to ascertain the truth, or he may simply have a different, but equally valid philosophy about this.

If I have caused offense, I do apologize, since that was not my intent.

[Darkmoon]

No, no, that wasn't my intention behind that statement. I was simply trying to head off the backlash I expected to happen, because it was a snarky post and it was posted by Mao.

usually those two factors start a shitstorm.

[Orinus]

First, it strikes me as somewhat odd that someone who was close to the departed would seek solace in the arms of a place where the departed was not only not well known, but  from a group of strangers who reside there, no less.  I say seek solace, not because you posted, but more because you decided to stick around and make friends because, hey!  Why not!?

I'm sorry, I had no idea he wasn't well known, it's just one of the many usernames and passwords he gave. To be honest I don't have many friends of my own so I was hoping to find something here.

Second, it's really odd that you would go into detail about the specifics of the departed's demise.  Most people would try to have more tact and would likely try to allow their loved one's passing to be viewed with a bit more dignity and pride.  Admittedly there are many possible causes for this (you have poor judgement, you're someone setting up to cause some trouble for the real Rakala or you are in fact faking it).

Okay fine, I had poor judgement. My bad, I didn't know that's how most people did it. I just figured most people would ask how he passed anyways.

Thirdly, your story seems to be fluctuating a bit (though that could just be emotions).  In this thread alone, you've gone from 'going to be bitter for a while' to 'it was a great funeral' to 'I've more or less moved on.'

I'm bitter about the way he died, it was actually a good funeral, and life goes on so I'm doing my best to keep going. These emotions are not mutually exclusive.

Fourth, it's odd, but not impossible or improbable that you logged in as him.  This is a minor point, but it only adds to the suspicion.

I must admit it wasn't part of my original plans to stick around but looking around the forums I found it an appealing place.

Fifth, it's been three months since his death and you only just now get around to letting folks know about it?  If this was a last request (quite likely the only way you'd know to do this) your execution time is terrible and not very considerate.  This point plays into the next one as well.

Okay, fine, I'm a terrible and incosiderate person.

Sixth, it's been noted that no matter how close people are, they don't cover every little minute detail of their day, particularly their browsing.  This is also a minor point, but it will play in very well with an upcoming point.

Seventh, it strikes me as odd that someone suffering from testicular cancer would be interested in signing up for the army.  See this ( http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,6797.msg306437.html#msg306437 )
post made back in December.  Particularly odd since it doesn't take much to realize that the army would not take someone in such a condition and that they do very thorough medical examinations so there's no way to hide it.

He lied on the internet? I dunno. People do that sometimes. Maybe he wasn't entirely honest about that.

Eighth, while I'm no expert on medicine, a quick internet search turned up some very important information concerning testicular cancer.  It's one of the easiest and least expensive cancers to stop, particularly with advance knowledge.  A year is more than enough time.  Even more interesting is that, in and of itself, it usually isn't lethal unless it sneaks up on you and goes undetected for a very prolonged amount of time.  Though from what we've been led to understand, it's been known for at least a year.

Ninth, I'm also not an expert of US Insurance (though some of the contributors to this have some insights on it) but folks are able to get severe medical care (insurance or not) if not receiving the care will result in their death.  In fact it is of questionable legality to turn them away if they will die without care.  The costs afterward are what make the situation unpleasant, but it is not a case that he would be refused care if his condition was potentially lethal.

Look, I personally don't fully understand the situation myself. Bad things happened. Enough said.

Tenth, remember that point that I said would be important later?  Here it is: http://www.housepetscomic.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=380&start=0 a simple google search found this.  Seems that this fellow has the name Rakala in his profile and even shares the name (as signed in the post) with the deceased.  Quite the feat for a dead man.  Even more damning is that the account has been quite active the whole time that the deceased in question was not only suffering but also apparently dead from testicular cancer.  Very curious.  Even more odd is that there was no post there (a forum on which he was far more active) about the passing of our friend here.

In this case he specifically he asked me to carry on as him on that site. He didn't want them to be hurt by the loss because they were close to him. I wrote that myself so Rick would know how he actually felt about the comic. However I did recently discover a lump myself and felt inclined to check myself out given the circumstances. I know this story sounds flimsy but the truth often is. Please don't message them about it for my sake, I'll tell them myself since I doubt you'll just let it slide based on your track record since I've been here. Maybe he thought differently of you guys. I don't know.

While I realize I have no way to back up my statements I don't care at this point. I'm done with you guys. Since I got here I have been met with doubt and skepticism which has all come off as insensitivity. I would ask the admins to delete my account as I no longer have interest in joining you. Put this post in the Abandoned Mine, laugh at it, do whatever, I don't care. I apologize for being a bother to your time and point out I have been treated with a certain degree of impertinence I since almost the first post I made as myself. Though nobody has made an outright accusation it's pretty obvious, all of you doubt my honesty.  Good riddance.

[VAE]

you have a way to back up the statements .... just tell us the city where the certificate was printed, and date of death... (you don't even need the second, we can check all possible ones)

[Mao]

Your call.  You can very easily have me do a 180 by providing the admins with the very little things they've asked for and that will be end of it.  You don't even have to post it publicly.  You can PM it to them.  I trust them to be honest about the matter.

You've said it yourself that it all seems pretty flimsy:  It does.  Incredibly flimsy.  The proof required is small and not a big deal.  You were told at the beginning that we've been burned by a trick like this before.  I personally have not been burned by it, but there are some folks here that I consider friends and I won't chance them being burned by a possible fake out like this.  Even with my 'track record' there is a very simple truth about me that even my detractors have eventually been able to figure out:  I look after me and my own.  So rather than do something that just adds to the suspicious nature of the situation(i.e. leaving saying we're just all insensitive and impertinent, but still providing very little evidence),  walk away with a clear conscience and a clean slate.  It's up to you.  I want to believe you and offer sympathies, but you've given me very little to work with.