Someone who identifies himself as "Sebastian H" writes about how he was affected by the death of a another World of Warcraft player. Sebastian was well acquainted with a Gnome Warlock played by someone named "Dusty", and even somewhat acquainted with Dusty himself, who recently died presumably of complications related to pneumonia.

At first I was ashamed to admit that I was so shaken by the death of a person I knew first 'in-game'. But now I realize that I'm merely admitting to having a connection with someone. A connection based on a mutual common interest, built up by sharing time together, solidified by sharing our fears and loves and concerns with each other, continued by actually caring about what happened to one another.

Online connections aren't unique to videogames. As far back as BBSs and Usenet, the Internet has connected people who don't know each other at all, allowing them to know each other a little bit better. Today, this has exploded into things like Facebook and Twitter and online dating services and Craig's List and yadda yadda yadda. But in videogames, you connect through a thick layer of stuff: avatars, fake names, chat windows, who's going to pull, do you need these shoulder pads, why didn't you defend the effing flag, and so on. So while I certainly understand Sebastian H's grief, and his surprise at his grief, I think it's worth noting that connecting through an online game is a far cry from connecting through an online community unburdened by gameplay, which is in turn a far cry from a real life connection. The internet in general and videogames in specific can be a great place to start connections, but they're a poor substitute for actual connections.

(Thanks Dingus and Ta-Nahesi Coates!)