Friends of 15-year-old Hayden created the page "R.I.P Hayden Miles xx" to express their emotions but Hayden's mother Jacqui took offence and asked for the page to be taken down.
The page administrator refused to take it down, sparking an online war.
"I am not taking this page down," the administrator posted. "We have a right to have pages where we can write messages for Hayden.
"We were his friends. We're upset too."
The administrator later added: "To those telling me to delete this page NO I WILL NOT. As Hayden's friends we have the right to share memories and so on. His mother, who wasn't even a mother to him, can't tell his friends to basically stop caring. I did this because I care so I won't delete this page, end of discussion."
The online furore has sparked warnings from a counsellor and a social networking expert.
Rotorua counsellor Colleen Mullin said people who were grieving were in an intense emotional place but still needed to be aware of their actions and comments and the effects they could have on others.
"These forums can be a good way for people to express themselves and their emotions but people need to remember to be mindful of what they say."
She said people needed to remember that the tribute pages were about the person who died.
"They need to remember it is not about them and they should be respectful."
Waiariki Institute of Technology social media expert Narissa Bayler said the use of social media to create online tribute pages was becoming more popular.
"It is the era we live in," she said.
"The only issue I think people have is that everything is so in your face. You don't have to search for these things anymore because the information is right there in front of you."
Ms Bayler said the pages were a good way for people to have an outlet for their grief but she understood the other side of the argument as well.
"It is like watching something on TV: if you don't like it you can get up and turn it off. People need to be more proactive in blocking online content which they don't like or don't want to see."
She said that pages on Facebook were very rarely removed.
"If you do not like the content, you just have to be more active in blocking it."