Peter,I quite agree with you regarding Allan locking the board and I have e-mailed him to tell him so!

I agree - it's outrageous

Mr Richards

I have e-mailed you my thoughts on locking down Ownerships Board. Needless to say I concur with the previous posts. Please open it again NOW!

I too think Peter makes several valid points.
Will the board be fully censored in future with only pro Ownerships posting allowed?
Perhaps all future discusions should be on this forum?

Although now in a private syndicate (and it's quite easy to administer actually) I was with OwnerShips for many years and I truly feel for all the owners and some of the staff.

The main reasons I left O/S was the sheer size it was becoming (since which it's more than doubled!)a vague suspicion about usage of my money (easy in hindight) and the slowness of response to boat requests for day to day repairs and/or maintenance. Boatyards are more than happy to deal with your boat direct and all it takes is for one syndicate member to volunteer to be the focal point with perhaps a couple of others helping out. It's loads cheaper, far more satisfactory and you get a real sense of ownership and involvement. River Canal Rescue (the AA of the waterways) membership useful, reasonable and reassuring.

Finally a request relating to the thread. This message board, admirably run by Philip, is for the benefit of all shared owners. It would be a shame to see it swamped by O/S owners because their own board has suddenly been 'moderated'.

This is about freedom of speech (or in this case posting), but it is also about required monitoring and moderation.

We live in an age were freedom of speech is luckily available (at least in our corner of the world), and this is one of the highest prizes to keep fighting for. So is Alan Richards threatening it?

Not really, he isn't. He has taken over the board to keep it open in the first place. This should be applauded by all. He now has a burden he probably did not want because providing a platform bringss also at least a moral if not legal responsibility.

There are wild accusations flying about. I am glad to say that amongst the thousands of postings they are a small minority, but they are disruptive and in many cases insulting to others. Which is something not included in the right to freedom of speech.

May be he is not dong it perfectly, but he was the one who stepped into a breach. And I did not nor do see the long queue of others wanting to do the same.

So while there is ample room for disagreement with Alan or about his actions, it should not be about is actions on the board. He kept our version of Hyde Par corner going, and if at times he asks someone to step down from his box it may not always be the right decision, but this is to be expected.

As for this board here - well, I had always hoped that there would be room for two boards, and whle there is room, one of the rooms is sadly unpopulated. May be we see a bit more general traffic here now?