why are posts being deleted.

Heyyyyy...why are posts being deleted be everyone and anyone now ???
Except for one post which was very offensive, which was ok to be removed as soon as it was seen ;I think only administrators should be allowed to remove posts.
There was a post by someone called 'Osama bin Laden' I think this should have been left as it was.
Whoever did this did it just to start an outrage.
And I think the best way to actually make this person feel stupid would have been to ignore this post completely.

But people weren't ignoring it completely, and since it was nothing but rabble-rousing, I deleted it, after a brief discussion in Moderators Only. The only folks who can delete posts are: (1) administrators (i.e. sheriffs, like me), (2) the moderator (bartender) of the forum the post is in (Nathan Pruett), and (3) the person who made the post. I'm not sure where this "anyone and everyone" comes from. I'm sure we (sheriffs and bartenders) have made and will continue to make mistakes about what should be deleted or edited and what should not, but we are trying to find a reasonable compromise between keeping the Ranch a friendly place, and allowing people to post without interference. These are trying times, and it doesn't always work, but we'll keep trying.

i never saw the subject post, but i am sure you made the right decision.
keep up the good work, Jim!

I am sorry if this is a wrong conclusion ...it may be that the person who posted the comments deleted his own comments.
However this was not evident in the first incidence this happened.
sorry again if its a misjudgement on my part.
And as for the Bin Laden thread its upto you admins.

One other thing, the person who starts a thread can delete the entire thread.

unless s/he was unregistered?