If one of your friends is a freenode user and comes down with a slight case of death, please contact the freenode staff via chat.freenode.net #freenode and their account will be memorialised. (I had to do one of these a few days ago and it's sadly not the first)
A lot of providers will be happy to figure something out, too - the previous-to-this one situation the deceased also had a linode account and once I got through to them they put the deceased's account onto a deep freeze where the systems were off but the data was kept to give the deceased's family time to get everything else done, with an understanding that once they sent a death certificate through that would allow for the data to be released to them.
Also, if you're lost, contact me as 'mst' on irc.freenode.net or irc.perl.org - I make no guarantees as to how much I can help but everything I've learned from dealing with my friends' passing I'll be happy to do my best to use to help you deal with your friend's passing. My friends would, if they were around to do so, appreciate the re-use of effort and sharing of knowledge.
After a period of time, the callsign can be allocated to somebody else. Often this is a descendant of the operator, but not always. Usually the community is in fact happy to see a callsign remain active.
In some cases there are multi-generational callsigns that have hundred year histories behind them, which I think is a wonderful connection to maintain throughout our shared history, and future.
For usernames / callsigns there are other advantages to reserve them indefinitely like the possibility of them being impersonated. This is compounded because of the fact that on IRC your only method of communication is the internet.
Thank you. I get better at the "paperwork" parts every time.
And I know my friends I've done it for before wouldn't be surprised that I keep volunteering to do it, and would, if they were around to do so, grin and say "yep, that's mst" at the fact I'm willing to use my experience on behalf of them to make it easier for others.
This really isn't a selfless offer. It makes -me- feel better, and I know they'd approve. So, yeah, seriously people, if you need a hand with this stuff, come poke me with a stick (and I mean that in general, freenode I know far too well, anywhere else I might not know that well but I'll try to help anyway because it'll be easier for me to think it through than it will for you if you just lost a friend).
For answers to this and other questions of life, the universe, and everything, stop whatever you are doing and download a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
For best results, get the first 5 books of the trilogy and do nothing until you have read them all. It will change your life. :)
A lot of providers will be happy to figure something out, too - the previous-to-this one situation the deceased also had a linode account and once I got through to them they put the deceased's account onto a deep freeze where the systems were off but the data was kept to give the deceased's family time to get everything else done, with an understanding that once they sent a death certificate through that would allow for the data to be released to them.
Also, if you're lost, contact me as 'mst' on irc.freenode.net or irc.perl.org - I make no guarantees as to how much I can help but everything I've learned from dealing with my friends' passing I'll be happy to do my best to use to help you deal with your friend's passing. My friends would, if they were around to do so, appreciate the re-use of effort and sharing of knowledge.