Some people are found in the news in stories about SS. Other people manage to do some sleuthing and find obituaries or news stories about suicides that line up with a users goodbye thread and appear to be the person. Some people have become close friends with users on here and give someone their name, who can the. look up their obit (personally wouldn't recommend doing this as there are far too many risks, but to each their own). Otherwise, it is pure speculation. There are many people on here who make a goodbye thread and are never heard from again. One can only gather that it's likely the CTB. It's not fool proof, however, as I myself made a goodbye thread is 2020 and didn't come back online for almost a year. I was thought to be dead but was actually in a psych ward for 8 months and spent a few months in recovery before coming back.