Pope John Paul II, Boris Yeltsin, and Elizabeth II of England will die this year. That's the forecast of several participants in the game called "the death pool," one of the many "evil" corners in the Net.
The biggest information highway in the world, the Internet, poses a game that consists of predicting the death of celebrities this year, either by using your guessing abilities or by relieving the hatred against those that strike you as extremely disagreeable. Moreover, if you like to bet, for a reasonable price ($5-$15) you could participate and win this "death pool." The possibilities of the game are many, from only answering if the members of a preconceived list will live to see 1999 to using your intuition, death wishes, or morbid thoughts to propose your own candidates.
Depending on the webpage, you can select between 5-200 names of people of all ages and all professions from politics to show business. The rules of the game change depending on the webpage. For example, some rules specify that the death event will not count unless it appears published on the Associated Press, Time, Newsweek, or People. Other rules specify the number of participants in the game, and some games have reached the limit of participants. This game is not recent (some webpages have six years); however, the creators have recently given it a more modern and sophisticated appearance. Also, with multimedia computers the user can hear funeral music upon hitting the webpage.
"As the narcissist human beings that we are, we want to take the place of God, from religion (the shaman, the soul-believers) to science (the doctor). Human beings are attracted by other people's deaths, their destruction, is something innate," said Cesar Illescas, doctor in Psychology and Communications and professor at the UNAM (Universidad Nacional de Mexico?)
Most of the "death pool" webpages have a news section on the more recent deaths of celebrities attached to a picture and a short biography. In other webpages, the participants will see a cartoon of the "unfortunate" crossed out indicating the disappearance from this earthly world. Most of these webpages provide electronic mail to send congratulatory, insulting, or disdainful comments.
The winner is the participant with the most guesses or, in case of a tie, with the highest score. The celebrities with an age close to 100 years have less points since their deaths were foreseeable. On the contrary, participants will receive extra points if they guess the death of the youngest celebrity on the list. As a joke, the rules of one of the webpages states that mutilations will not confer any points.
"The promoters of these games are very cleverly taking advantage of the feeling of disillusion throughout the world, and at the same time are getting money and power. They are doing a double service; killing time and giving the participant the illusion of transcending," says Hortensia Morales, doctor in Psychology and Gerontology. A note written by a webpage designer at the end of the list of winner says, "Just think how good you are going to feel when you see your name on the winners' list. These are probably the only 15 minutes of fame that you're going to have in your life; enjoy them while you can." All of the consulted experts coincide that both the creators and the participants have a desire to transcend as the principal reason behind these games. Although if you follow Freudian theory, according to Illescas, these people are evil (defining evil as the absence of guilt). "Everybody has an evil side, a violent side, but guilt is like the dam that stops the violence," he explained.
Three of the approximately 20 "death pool" webpages require an entrance fee to participate in the game which can be paid in person, through a money order, or through the Internet using your credit card number. The winner who bet $5 and had the most guesses will receive $300, whereas the one who bet $15 will receive $675 and, in both cases, their names will be included on the winners' list. Only one of the webpages adds that these bets do not break any law in the United States. Ironically, the creators of one of the webpages says that the only prize that the winning participant would receive is the mention of his or her name and a really bad karma.
"If besides winning, you bet on somebody and that somebody is famous is like having the power over that somebody. It is like having the boldness of a child who takes death as a challenge, but thinking that nothing is going to happen to you; instead something will happen to the other person," Morales explained.
Only one of the webpages makes it clear that the participants cannot kill anybody, harass anybody, or anything of the sort, because they would be disqualified. Alfonso Reyes Zubiria, president of the International Association of Tanatology (?) (supposedly they make sure that the terminally ill have a full life), explains that these games are new because of the technology, but they are not really new. Death games have always existed, for example, the Russian roulette, death duels, and the Roman chariot races.
Presently, there is no law that regulates the information that appears on the Internet. The Clinton administration approved the "Communications Decency Act of 1996" on February 8, 1997 to specify for the first time what kind of material appears on the Net. It also proposes to establish a "Census" for the users of the Net. Section 502 of the Act states that the transmission, creation, or request of obscene material is probable cause for incarceration or fine, and prohibits the dissemination of any material that is considered obscene or indecent to a minor (<18 years).
However, there are still seven states in the United States that are exempt from laws that prohibit the possession and distribution of child pornography in general. American organizations associated with the Internet have filed many complaints with the Court of Appeals demanding that the Court rule the Act to be unconstitutional because it goes against the freedom of expression. On June 26, 1997, the Supreme Court of the United States declared that the Act is unconstitutional.
In Mexico, according to the Bureau of Fiscal Crimes (?), there is no law related to the use of the Internet. Morales and Reyes Zubiria agree that the Internet needs to be regulated or, at least, some rules need to be established. Illescas, on the contrary, does not agree based on the argument of free expression of ideas. "The Internet is somewhat restricted already since there are many people who do not have access to computers or the Internet," he said.
This strange way of playing with the fates of other in cyberspace reminds what the Mexican philosopher, Agustin Basave, said once: "From the vision of death we go to the forecasting of death, and then we get a feeling of fulfillment or fear."
Ronald Frey, one of the creators of the "death pool" webpage, in which participants select 50 celebrities and pay a $10 entrance fee, responded to a survey via email.
Why did you decide to create a "death pool page"
and how?
I have been participating in a Death Pool since 1989
in Albany, New York, USA. This Death Pool was not on
the internet at that time, it was just a group of people
brought together by this morbid curiosity about death.
The leader of the pool changed hands a couple of times,
and soon I was in charge of the pool. I'm very
interested in the internet, and I thought that the
"Death Pool" could be an interesting site to promote
on the web. This year I have people from all over the
United States in the Pool. It's exciting!
What does death mean to you?
Death is something that we will all face sooner or
later (hopefully later). But you can't spend your
life worrying about death, you have to live for
the moment and the future.
Don't you feel bad playing with the people's
deaths or do you just consider it a game?
Not really. Almost everyone who is picked in this
pool has been in the public eye for years; why shouldn't
their death also be in the public eye? Yes, they
are real people too who have loved ones who will
grieve their deaths, and my most sincere condolences
go out to these people. But I don't *hope* these
people die, I just look forward to earning points
in this game because of their death.
Have you thought about killing real people
at any time?
No. This is just a *GAME*.
Do you spend much time playing with your computer
or on the internet?
Yes, but this is just a hobby. I have a job, a
family and a home. I have many other activities
outside of the Death Pool. But I have to admit, I
am pretty fanatic about it.
Would you define yourself as a happy person?
Yes.
Have you thought that these kinds of games can
influence in the date or way of anyone's death?
Absolutely not. Remember, this is a *GAME*! People
die all the time either from natural causes or
accidents. I don't believe that just because a
person's name is on a Death Pool list that their
demise will come any sooner.
For the webpage to become international, Frey invites the people of Mexico to participate next year. Presently, all the participants are North Americans.