Florida Teen Kills Himself on Web TV as Viewers LOL

Suicide-obsessed man enjoyed the 'thrill of the chase'

(NEWSER) - A former nurse in Minnesota who persuaded at least two people he met online to commit suicide has been sentenced to 360 days in jail. William Melchert-Dinkel, 48, posed as a female nurse in chat rooms and was found guilty earlier this year of aiding the suicides of a Canadian woman and an English man, the BBC reports. Melchert-Dinkel acknowledged entering suicide pacts he never intended to keep with 10 people, five of whom he believes killed themselves. More»

Japanese police get there too late

(NEWSER) - A Japanese man committed suicide live on the Internet this week, the Telegraph reports. The 24-year-old had been talking about his plans with members of a chat room from his apartment in the city of Sendai. Encouraged by some, he set up a webcam so he could stream it via the Ustream website. More»

Minn. man accused of surfing Internet for victims to coax into suicide

(NEWSER) - A Minnesota man accused of seeking out suicidal people online and persuading them to kill themselves has been banned from using the Internet until his next court hearing. William Melchert-Dinkel—who allegedly posed as a female nurse in suicide-related chat rooms—has been charged with two counts of aiding suicides, but prosecutors say he boasted of coaxing dozens of people to commit suicide for the "thrill of the chase," the BBC reports. More»

Entries pouring in from contestants

(NEWSER) - The Business Insider recently launched its "Solve Chatroulette's Penis Problem" contest with a deadline of Monday. Their favorite entries (submitted via Power Point presentation!) so far:

• Facial recognition: No face? No connection, because he's probably showing penis.
• Rogues Gallery: Take photos of offenders' faces and post them, with removal costing cash. And voila! $3.9 million.

News Corp. talks subscription model; paywall unlikely

(NEWSER) - The days of free TV shows on Hulu are likely ending: A News Corp. exec says “it’s time to start getting paid for broadcast content online,” adding that “Hulu concurs with that.” Asked by Broadcasting & Cable what exactly that means, Chase Carey was vague: No timeline, but 2010 is likely; a paywall is not the answer; and a mobile version of the site is a potential moneymaker, as are Hulu-only TV previews. More»