By starting a new forum topic, does that give ownership to the person who started it? Also does that same person have the right to say who posts on that topic if they disagree with it's content? I ask this because we all have the right to freedom of speech, as long as it is in line with the site rules. Surely forums are for open discussion!   All sensible replies are welcomed. If not sensible, then fair enough, as we have the right to say what we think                                                                                                                                                                              

lol....oh dear....I guess the answer is no it doesn't give you right of ownership.

it opens up debate and right to say what you want ....within reason.....however when it becomes bitchy personal comments you might begin to wonder....hence we have mods.....ok well that's my twopenneth :)

When you start a new thread you are posting in a public forum, which in itself is inviting other people to comment. I agree we all have the right to an opinion and we should all respect that, and not take it personally if other folk disagree with us. But there is a big difference between airing your opinion and posting deliberate antagonistic comments which bear no reflection on the topic and there sole purpose is to cause mischief and arguement for the sake of it. That is usually when a Mod will step in and try to regain calm and get the thread back on track. Sometimes this involves removing posts, other times a quick post to nudge folk back on topic.

Everybody has the right to make a complaint about any post and its content, whether they are the person who started the thread or not. It is then down to the Mods to determine what to do. There are plenty of times when the person who made the complaint is told it is a valid post theefore nothing will be done, this is usually down to varying degrees of humour and what one person finds funny another doesnt to be honest.

What you have to bear in mind also is that sometimes behind the scenes friction between members can be the cause of some deliberate mischief and we have to take that into account as well.

All in all, we are all adults and therefore we should all be ready willing and able to take any flack our posts cause especially if they are regarding controversial topics, but simultaneously we should be adult enough not to post stuff just to cause a slanging match because we dont like the cut of that persons jib.
                                                                                                                                                                             

i post for answers ,debate ,a laugh and opinions but some times the opinions are not always  welcome by everyone  
(it is me i have new spell checker )                                                                                                                                                                             

Kay, I heard about your new spell checker. Good isn't it?  10/10                                                                                                                                                                             

Open discussions are great... most of us are here to take advantage of other peoples opinions or input...? Well I certainly am. Not really sure I agree with personal slinging matches though.... I think those can be done off the record and don't belong into the forum.... only my humble opinion though...

The question was not in regard to personal slinging matches. That is another separate issue!                                                                                                                                                                             

I have always found the saying "I have the right to this" interesting, so here's my 2p worth. quote:_ "By starting a new forum topic, does that give ownership to the person who started it" No, anything posted on a forum is there by the grace of the owner of the site and or admins. they say what can and cannot stay up. also they are the ones who are controlled by laws of the land as to what can be posted.   "Also does that same person have the right to say who posts on that topic if they disagree with it's content?" No. if they wish to have the last say over who and what can be posted they should get s a site and set up a forum. But again they will come under the control of laws governing what can and cannot be posted on a web site. "I ask this because we all have the right to freedom of speech," Again no, you don't have a right to anything. you are given freedoms to do things but these can be taken away by the powers that be. a man in a cell can claim he has a right as much as he likes, but he will still be in a cell.    "as long as it is in line with the site rules." then it is not a right or freedom of speech   Surely forums are for open discussion!" Yes but with in the confines of the rules and laws.   "All sensible replies are welcomed." Don't know If my reply counts :) please do not think I am having a go at you or your belief's I too like an "open discussion!"                                                                                                                                                                               

Not a problem myotherworld. You have said you bit and that is exactly what the forum is about.   Thanks for the input                                                                                                                                                                              

As BJ says its a public forum,as theres 50,000 members (supposedly) if you want to 'own' the thread here is not the place to put it! MOW has it spot on.                                                                                                                                                                             

interesting lol...

i have an opinion that whoever starts the thread kind of has the "right" to it as in if they are organising something and then someone else comes along and kind of tries to take over.... i personally think that is down to respect of nicking someone elses lollie so to speak...

just a thought and the only one i have on the matter really

if none of hte above makes sense... it does to me ... hahahahahahahaha pmsl
                                                                                                                                                                             

lol @ suzi. I understand what you mean, and yes unless someone organizing an event starts by creating a thread, then to a degree the originator does have a right to that particular thread. That is my opinion.                                                                                                                                                                             

  If the content of the post is not relevant to the topic then yes it should be removed in MHO                                                                                                                                                                             

Usually if a regular has started a topic and someone comes in and says something to upset the cart it ends up as a gang up on that invader by said person and their friends.....it has happened on numerous occasions and I remember a few very heated *discussions* I will call them...... Lol.... But on a normal thread it usually gets high jacked by someone going of topic and you may as well give up on it ..lol

I have noticed in a few forums that people talk about free speech, but often only so long as it agrees with or is in line with the original post or the majority .   just an observation        *  It should be noted that unless otherwise stated, anything I say in this post or any other post is not directed at anyone. It is a general comment *                                                                                                                                                                             

i am all for free opinions i totally agree we should all be able to put our opinion on any topic

bt i think the crux of the matter is how we say it!! there is ways of saying things without being rude or aggressive ...... and if you say things in a non agressive or non rude way and you get insults thrown at ya well its not your fault for putting an opinion!!

there ya go!! that is my opionion hahahahaha
                                                                                                                                                                             

I suppose I had better add my thoughts.   If someone starts a new forum topic, it is to gain the opinions of all those interested in the subject matter. All opinions are worth reading, even if they are what i call negative input.   Having started a forum, the only thing I would do is try to keep it on track. As we all know, things very often fly off at tangents and the whole thread becomes confused. But as to ownership, I think that belongs to the site, not the instigator of the topic.   If someone enters a post with what appears to be disruptive criticism or abusive, I ignore it.   This forum so far has given a good level of positive feed back.                                                                                                                                                                             

There doesn't seem to be much posting going on in any forums apart from the usual, what have you done on your bike today or what music are you listening to, you know the ones where people post daily several times to try to push up their karma lol.......ha ha you can just imagine the humps getting up across the country ....

Johnny   I only wish we could have more interesting forum topics to post on. When I first started on BM, there were lots of topics to contibute to.                                                                                                                                                                             

When I have internet access I often drop in but a lot of days there isn't anything added at all... and I agree there used to be a lot more people posting made for a more friendly atmosphere i think..