I've dealt with suicide notes on Wikipedia twice before and the precedent I set was to notify the authorities as swiftly as possible and put a lengthy block on the account. I stand by Riana's decision to delete the user space. This type of thing is best handled with minimal fuss.
It isn't our call to determine which suicide threats are "legitimate" any more than it's our call to determine which death threats are genuine. Wikipedia's sysops manage a website with over 5 million registered accounts and within any population that large, some individuals will be dangerous. It's enough to know that some are and to understand we're not trained to make the distinction. It's also best in these situations to take firm and rapid action quietly: when a large enough population becomes aware of this the probability approaches one that somebody will do something really foolish.
-Durova
Yes, good work, just calling the police and ignoring your sniff test. Sometimes responsibility is the only call.
And it's easy enough to call saying "I realise it might be a hoax, but I thought I should call just in case." The police are used to dealing sensibly with questionable reports.
- d.