News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Facebook Offers Tools for Those Who Fear a Friend May Be ... by Declanomous on Tuesday June 14, 2016 @05:25PM (#11905444)
Well, from what I recall from biomedical ethics, the majority of people who attempt suicide and fail do not attempt suicide again. This would suggest that for most people suicide is merely a phase they can pass through.

Regardless, these questions are asked all of the time. A news article about a new feature on a social media site isn't an appropriate forum for discussing such a ridiculously complex topic as the ethics of suicide. The only way your comment could be less appropriate is if you were advocating for a discussion on the ethics of murder on an article about a murder suicide.

Edit: I suggest checking out the article on suicide on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The Encyclopedia as a whole is a great resource, and this article is no different:

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/suicide/

Re:Facebook Offers Tools for Those Who Fear a Friend May Be ... by TruthAndDare on Tuesday June 14, 2016 @06:08PM (#11905727)
> This would suggest that for most people suicide is merely a phase they can pass through.

Strictly speaking, I don't think that necessarily means that these people are better off surviving. One could imagine that they are in pain that is temporary, but severe enough that they are better off dieing immediately, even taking into account that they are missing out on the life that would otherwise have come after the pain.

By making them stay alive, we are perhaps forcing them into the worse option.

Re:Facebook Offers Tools for Those Who Fear a Friend May Be ... by Declanomous on Tuesday June 14, 2016 @06:24PM (#11905833)
Oh, I don't disagree. I personally believe that suicide can be a rational decision. However, I believe that it is not a rational decision with much greater frequency.