# Who owns this thread? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 16, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619 "2004-09-16T00:10:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/1 "2004-09-16T00:10:58Z")
Do I own this thread or does the Chicago Reader own this thread? ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/2 "2004-09-16T00:21:30Z")
My EBSWAG (Educated-But-Still-WAG) is that, if you’re asking about the thread as a whole, the Reader owns the rights to each of the individual posts. You still own the copyright to each of your posts inasmuch as you own the copyright to anything you write, but by posting it to these boards, you give the Reader permission to do with it as they see fit. Reproducing any post or entire thread anywhere other than here would constitute a violation of copyright, but you’re free to copy and paste your own posts and paraphrase those of others. At least, that’s how I understand it. I’m sure someone with some actual knowledge (perhaps a mod or an admin) will be along shortly. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/3 "2004-09-16T00:30:34Z")
Ummm, this is the small print at the bottom of this very page: > [@](#): > > By posting on this board you grant the Chicago Reader, Inc., and its successors and assigns a nonexclusive irrevocable right to re-use your posting in any manner it or they see fit without notice or compensation to you. No material contained in this site may be republished or reposted without express written consent of the Chicago Reader, Inc., except that message board users retain the right to republish or repost their own work. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/4 "2004-09-16T00:41:13Z")
So we’ve established who has the right to do stuff with it. Both I, _and_ the Chicago Reader. But who _owns_ it? Who does it belong to? ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/5 "2004-09-16T00:47:52Z")
I _knew_ I’d seen it somewhere! :smack: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/6 "2004-09-16T00:52:07Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > So we’ve established who has the right to do stuff with it. Both I, _and_ the Chicago Reader. > > But who _owns_ it? Who does it belong to? Well, that would depend on what you mean by “own”. Because the SDMB isn’t a physical object, ownership and right of usage aren’t terribly different from one another. The Reader owns the thread in that it’s hosted on their servers, and is part of a service (the SDMB) to which they hold the ownership and rights. So if anybody “owns” the thread, it’d be them. “Own”, however, is difficult to quantify in this situation. If you have a specific definition in mind that extends beyond right of usage, please explain. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/7 "2004-09-16T00:57:46Z")
Nobody ‘owns’ it. It isn’t a physical item. It’s a collection and presentation of data, recreated every time somebody views the thread, and drawn from a database maintained by the Chicago Reader. The _entries_ in the database are what have rights and ownership, which are deisgned to give the Reader the ability to recreate the entries in threads, as and when requested by readers. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/8 "2004-09-16T01:50:33Z")
I recently saw a post from someone claiming that there is nothing other than the physical. In respect to threads and posts I believe it. If you go deep enough a thread is physical. All data is either physical or imaginary (still physical within our brains) Since we can see this thread it is not imaginary so it is physical. And if that is the case then I suppose the Chicago Reader owns the thread entirely as they own the electricity and hardware that are the physical nature of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/9 "2004-09-16T04:11:12Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > And if that is the case then I suppose the Chicago Reader owns the thread entirely as they own the electricity and hardware that are the physical nature of this thread. There’s a copy cached on my PC, who own’s that? The point is that intellectual property isn’t owned in any physical sense, so it’s pointless to say so. The Reader has a copy, so does everyone who reads the thread. But the right to do something with that intellectual property is the only interesting part. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/10 "2004-09-16T04:58:35Z")
:: Plants flag in ground :: I’m sorry, but I’ve already claimed this thread in the name of Spain. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/11 "2004-09-16T05:56:24Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Do I own this thread or does the Chicago Reader own this thread? The spool originally owned the thread, but the needle claims that ownership was transferred to it a while back. The thimble placed a lien on it, and there was no actual contract drawn up between the spool and the needle, so I guess the thread legally belongs to the thimble. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/12 "2004-09-16T15:09:10Z")
Well, let’s see. The CR can close the thread, edit it, and has discretion over what’s posted in it. You can post to it, provided you follow all the rules laid down by the Reader. Guess what? They own it. ---
**Author:** ![Call\_me\_Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Call\_me\_Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Call_me_Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/13 "2004-09-16T15:53:08Z")
> [@Hal Briston](#): > > :: Plants flag in ground :: > > I’m sorry, but I’ve already claimed this thread in the name of Spain. Brilliant, lol. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/14 "2004-09-18T13:26:50Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Nobody ‘owns’ it. It isn’t a physical item. I can’t get on board with this. Software isn’t a physical item either, do software writers not own their work? Now the thread issue, I agree with **Finagle**. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/15 "2004-09-18T14:05:14Z")
It’s straighforward. My understanding is; I own this post. It’s mine. Each poster named here owns their posts. The SDMB, however, owns the thread. The arrangement of all the posts here by forum, thread and date, the logical attachment that makes the thread what it is, is its property. The SDMB is in turn owned by the Chicago Reader. The Chicago Reader also has full rights to reproduced all posts within the thread without any compensation to their owners. But they don’t own them. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/16 "2004-09-18T15:50:05Z")
The thread itself is a classic example of intellectual property – and title to the posts in it is shared by the Chicago Reader and the individual posters, according to the Terms of Service here. “Copyright” does not refer exclusively to the right to copy, but the right of ownership to intellectual property. In terms of the physical composition, the thread resides on a server owned by the Chicago Reader, and is retrieved using VBB software licensed by the Reader from Jelsoft, and displayed on the computer which you (or in some cases your family) own. The electrons which cause it to be so displayed are the property of your local electric-power utility, for the use of which you pay them a monthly fee based on the quantity used. Most theists are convinced that God has ultimate title to the whole shebang. Elizabeth II, _dei gratia_ Regina, and her Government, acting in her capacity as Laird of Man, maintain the rarely-exercised right to place any and all of the above into government service to meet the needs of the nation, regarding the end of the transaction you regard as “yours,” as do the State of Illinois and the United States of America regarding the Reader’s property. Folks such as the “Duke of Albany” maintain a claim to all of this stuff which is not legally recognized by anyone. And, of course, the property rights of the superintelligent giant squids need to be taken into account! 😉 I think that might cover the waterfront here, as regards “ownership.” What have I missed? ---
**Author:** ![indecisive1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/41988e/32.png) [@indecisive1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/indecisive1)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/17 "2004-09-18T16:18:53Z")
All your posts belong to me? ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/18 "2004-09-18T16:30:41Z")
I claim this thread in the name of _Mars_. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/19 "2004-09-18T17:08:51Z")
> [@indecisive1](#): > > All your posts belong to me? All your posts are belong to us. ---
**Author:** ![Complex\_Conjugate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Complex\_Conjugate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Complex_Conjugate)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619/20 "2004-09-18T17:18:07Z")
I pwn this thread! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-this-thread/264619.md?page=2)