This is a sad story, but one where strangers came together online to help discourage a Russian teenager from ending his life. This is a perfect example of the internet being used for actual good.

A 17-year-old boy on Reddit asked people on the r/RoastMe subReddit page, which is known for being particularly nasty, to roast him so he’d have a reason to “end it all.”

People realized this was an alarming situation and they stepped in to offer the teen encouragement and recommend that he get the help he needs. No roasting was going to happen on this forum on that day.

And the responses continued…

The whole exchange went viral on another subReddit as well.

This is the kind of story we need to see more of every single day.