Topic Owner - The start of Self Moderation (1.Viewing)

I've made a new feature called Topic Owner

After the Topic Starter makes the Opening Post any subsequent post he places marks him as the Topic Owner.


This is the start of making DN.ca self sufficient and self moderating, I will be adding new features to give the owners of topics more control over the outcome of the posts.


- It starts in the market place where the owner of the Market Page can already lock the topic and delete other members posts.

- I plan to expand upon this so the owner can allow off topic comments or delete them from their for sale topic.


However right now I am looking at the possibility of the Topic Starter (Topic Owner) being able to lock a topic when they deem it necessary. I have seen so many people quit on a competing forum when the topic turned into exactly the opposite of what the O.P. intended.


So my question for members at the moment is....


Who is in favour of the Topic Owner being able to lock their topics board wide?

Look at this subsequent post to see the indicator below.

I placed it there on purpose so that anyone responding or quoting knows immediately who the topic owner is.

This "feature" might be abused, though. e.g. suppose someone starts an appraisal thread for "example.com". Folks submit their opinions, but the "Topic Owner" simply deletes valuations that they don't like.

i.e. is the forum for the benefit of just the thread starters? Or is it for the entire group of members, that might want to read all points of view?

Plus, this might lead to self-censorship, as who will invest the time to write a reply to a thread, if there's a chance that the topic owner will delete it?