Then they signed on to the blog to announce his death, thinking hardly anyone would read it – and a flood of emails came back, for it turned out that Mats, who had been logging into Warcraft by the name Ibelin and using an able-bodied red-haired (yet still notably pale) avatar, had built up an extensive network of friends over the years. Ibelin had courted women in this digital world, and was even a bit of player at one point, but more importantly he was deeply liked for his kindness and empathy. His sage advice had helped a mother and her son (a young man with autism) build their own relationship in Denmark through online interaction, for example. Mats may have spent most of his time alone (apart from health workers and support staff) in a flat upstairs from his family, but WoW gave him a community.