The OhInternet Forums are now open to everyone! Register today!
Also remember to join IRC, learn about it here.

Shawn Woolley

A man who commited suicide over EverQuest, causing a controvery with MMORPGs.

Shawn Woolley.jpg

  • Facebook: Unknown
  • Twitter: Unknown
 

Summary

Shawn Woolley was a man who committed suicide in 2001. Before EverQuest, Shawn was diagnosed with ADD and epilepsy but controlled it with medicine. Apparently, he seemed to do fine for someone with learning disabilities while playing every other game. That was, until he started EverQuest.

His mother, Liz, noticed once he quit his job. Then, he decided he'd rather pay the monthly fee instead of pay the rent and was evicted from his apartment. While living with his mother, she noticed Shawn had seizures often when playing the game for long periods of time. From there, Liz sent him to a voluntary group home for addictive behavior. Shawn left so he could play EQ.

Soon, he purchased a gun, which his mother did not know about until after his death.

Liz spoke with John Smedley, the CEO of Sony Online Entertainment, about EverQuest and its addictiveness. Smedley had this to say:

 
“ 		 
When I spoke with Ms. Woolley, I expressed my condolences. And it's really one of those terrible things that happens. And there's just nothing to suggest that EverQuest had any role in his death. EverQuest is a game. And I don't see any connection between a form of entertainment and somebody's tragic suicide. It's entertainment. Is a book dangerous? Is a TV show dangerous? I think the answer is no. People need to take responsibility and say, 'Hey, you know, this is too much. Enough's enough.' It's a game.
  		„
 

—John Smedley, on EQ;

Later still, Liz Woolley created OLGA (On-Line Gamers Anonymous) which is like a website similar to Alcoholics Anonymous.

Origins

With the assistance of EQ players, Liz was able to gather information on what may have caused him to commit suicide. On Halloween, the possibility that Shawn had an online girlfriend arose. On the Vallon Zek server, he created a character that looked like him called "ILUVEYOU" and used it for three hours, and then left the server, never to return. Even today, nobody knows why he did it.

Rise to fame

His death in 2001 caused many media sources to report on him.

Current status

His death is still mentioned when it comes to MMORPGs and addictions. Today, a few MMORPGs have warnings to not forget IRL, such as Final Fantasy XI, and the EverQuest series have timers that parents can implement.

Facts

  • Apparently played on the EverQuest server Vallon Zek.

Images

A Photoshop that surfaced after the event.

A tasteless Jloveb parody.

On-Line Gamers Anonymous screencap.

FFXI's warning.



Videos

Shawn Woolley on a news report on MMORPGs.

Related Pages

Cody Porter
EverQuest
Jeff Freeman
Jloveb
Megan Meier
Mitchell Henderson
Sam Leeson
Sony Online Entertainment
World of Warcraft

External Links


This article is part of a series on people.
You can find additional people here.
Explore our other categories for information on different subjects!
Retrieved from "http://ohinternet.com/Shawn_Woolley"