My perspective is that Reddit made the comment you submitted. In real terms the comment is a record in a database which backs a web application that is developed and administered by Reddit. The comment is your expression but, like it or not, it is by Reddit’s grace that they publish it on their website. (Consider things which would be illegal for them to host and publish; they need to keep a close eye out for such things and prevent those relatively few posts among the millions they receive daily.)
Technically, yes, if you’d like to credit the effect of one hearing your speech to the workings of Earth’s atmosphere. It’s true that the speech is your expression but you correctly point out that the air brings it to my perceptions.
I think what GP means by "made" is "produced". Reddit provides the platform, the community, and the reach -- it's like a record label. Much like how recording artists don't own their recordings.
Tons of recording artists own their masters, both big and small. It’s a function of their contract that determines that ownership, and those terms are clear. Just as they are clear in Reddit’s TOS. You own your content, Reddit simply has a license to use it.
> When Your Content is created with or submitted to the Services, you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable, and sublicensable license to use, copy, modify, adapt, prepare derivative works of, distribute, store, perform, and display Your Content and any name, username, voice, or likeness provided in connection with Your Content in all media formats and channels now known or later developed anywhere in the world. This license includes the right for us to make Your Content available for syndication, broadcast, distribution, or publication by other companies, organizations, or individuals who partner with Reddit. You also agree that we may remove metadata associated with Your Content, and you irrevocably waive any claims and assertions of moral rights or attribution with respect to Your Content.
That's just about every aspect of "ownership" I can think of, minus the label "ownership". Honestly, it seems about as close as a lawyer would allow a company governed by Section 230 to have, as "ownership" would step into exposure to liability.
Well, this comment and all other comments you have submitted to Hacker News is a record in my browser's cache. Does it mean I have the right to save them into less volatile storage and charge others for accessing them?
If I sued you for running such a service, it's likely that you would be looking to convince a judge that you got me to agree to something like this: https://www.ycombinator.com/legal/
