# Official Site Rules - READ BEFORE POSTING - Updated 12/04/2012



## RFAdmin

Remember: If a member has a complaint against a user, or issues regarding a member breaking any of the forum rules, it should be directed to a member of the moderation team or administration and not taken upon oneself to rebuke the member in question.

*Forum Rules*

*Please read the following rules and become familiar with them.
*
*Posting*

Members should post in a way that is respectful of other users. Flaming, abuse and 'ganging up' on users in any way will not be tolerated and will lead to a warning or temporary ban. It is asked that every member respect the opinions of all other members, whether they agree or not.

Members should remember this board is aimed at a general audience. Posting offensive material such as offensive language, vulgar images, sexuality, racism, drug reference, and so on, will not be tolerated. The offending material will be removed immediately by the moderators and the member will be punished according to the severity of the post.

Posts are to be made in the relevant forum. Users are asked to read the forum descriptions before posting. Users consistently posting to the wrong forum may be given a warning. Threads created upon duplicate themes may be removed and users who continuously post duplicate threads will receive a warning. Posting a thread on the same topic in multiple forums will be treated as spam.

Stay on topic. We understand that we all wander off topic a little from time to time - but at the end of the day, these forums are meant for discussing our rats) If you want to post on topics other than about rats, then please do so in the Off-Topic boards such as The Lounge.

Spam is not tolerated here under any circumstance. This includes posting a URL to your services (if not rat-related), affiliate links, or a competing web site. It also includes sending spam via private messages. Spam may also entail posting of the same message in multiple threads or forums where it may or may not be appropriate, or posting generally offensive messages. Whether or not a post is considered spam will be up to the discretion of the moderation team. Users posting spam or posting in a manner that is generally disruptive to the forum or its members is subject to a warning or ban at the discretion of the moderation team and administration.

Members should use an appropriate, descriptive title when posting a new topic. Examples of bad titles include; "Help me!", "I'm stuck!", "I've got an error!", "!!!!!!!!", etc. Members should also refrain from using all capital letters in their titles, unless it is an emergency. Posts containing excessive numbers of emoticons, large, small or colored text, capital letters, excessive punctuation marks (? and ! etc.) may be treated as spam and removed.

Please use the dedicated Test Forum for things including checking signatures, testing a link or image, etc. any "test" posts elsewhere will be removed.

Please check the original thread date before you post! Please try to avoid posting in or "bumping" old or already answered threads. If you have a question that is not answered in the thread, make a new one instead of reviving an old one.

*Your Profile, Signatures and Avatars
*
*Your Profile
*
Post your personal information on the forum at your own risk. Keep in mind that non-members can read the forums, too. It is recommended you avoid releasing identification information such as your full name, your phone number, photographs of yourself, your address, etc. on your profile (or in posts) for your own safety.

Usernames may not be email addresses or URLs.

*Signatures*

Please keep signatures to a minimum to keep the forum clean and keep loading time low for users on slow connections. Siagnature images and banners should be no more than 200px high and 500px wide and below 100kb in size. Text sizes should be between 9 and 12 (small and normal) and no more than 5 lines or less if used in combination with images. Text in signatures is subject to the same conditions as posts with respect decency, emoticons, caps lock, etc. 

Links are permitted in signatures. Links are included within the text and image limits above. Links to offensive sites may be subject to removal.

*Avatars and Profile Pictures
*
Users are permitted to utilise a gallery avatar or to link to one of their own. User defined avatars must be at maximum 120x120 pixels and 20kb or under and can be animated. User defined profile pictures must be at maximum 200x200 pixels and under 25kb. Avatars and profile pictures are subject to the same conditions as posts with respect, decency, etc. 

*General Rules*

Members are asked to not act as "back seat moderators". If members note an issue which breaks the rules of this forum they are welcome to bring it to the attention of the moderators by reporting the offending material. Rebuking fellow members, either in public or via PM for their rule break will not be tolerated. Members who consistently act as moderators will receive a formal warning/ban.

In the event of trolling, spamming, or abuse towards other members, it is asked that members to not involve themselves in these matters. Instead, the offending material should be reported or brought to the attention of the moderators immediately.

Links to competing rat websites, donation sites, non rat related product advertising, etc. are not allowed in posts, signatures, profile fields, and anywhere else on the site - these links will be removed without warning. Rat related products/merchandise may be advertised in the Marketplace once requirements are met.

Members are asked to respect the copyright of other users, sites, media, etc. Users re-printing material without permission will receive a warning and their post will be removed. The use of image tags pointing to data stored on third party systems for which the user has not received permission to link to may be removed.

*Policing*

The moderating, support and other teams reserve the right to edit or remove any post at any time. The determination of what is considered as indecent, vulgar, spam, etc. as noted in these points is up to team members and not general users. Questions regarding changes or complaints regarding the changes should be directed to the moderation team and not posted publically.

Rat Forum operates a three strike policy. Users will be warned a maximum of three times for any and all offences in a three month period. If the need arises for a fourth warning, a temporary ban will be put in place at a length deemed appropriate by the moderation team. 

Although we attempt to be as fair as possible, there is an exception to the above rule. If the violation is deemed to be severe or blatant it will lead to an immediate ban without warning. Depending upon the severity of the rule infraction, this ban may be temporary or permanent, at the discretion of the Mod team. An exception to the three strike rule also applies when users contact any of the moderation team personally (via any method) and post insulting, indecent or vulgar material. Such users may be subject to an immediate permanent ban. 

Public arguing in regards to the sites rules or enforcement will lead to a warning. Any arguing or harassing team members after having received a warning (or ignoring the content of said warning) will lead to an immediate additional warning. Insulting and disrespectful behavior via a PM will also lead to a warning. Should this exceed three strikes a temporary ban will be put in place as above. 

Any attempt to circumvent a temporary ban will lead to that ban being made a permanent ban. Circumvention includes re-registering under a non-banned username, changing IP addresses to evade an IP ban, registering a new email account to evade an email ban.

Please bear in mind that although permanent bans are a rare occurrence, much thought is giving prior to issuing them. If the situation should require it one will be enforced.

Users who feel they have been unfairly warned are welcome to contact site administrators Yungster, Jaguar, or cagedbirdsinging. 

*Thank you for adhering to these rules.

- RatForum Admin/Moderator Team*


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## Jaguar

*Official Site Rules - Our Policy on Intentional Breeding*

*RatForum is NOT somewhere for you to come and advertise your rattery and the rats you are selling, even if you pass the submission. 
Anyone found using the forum strictly as such will be permanently banned.

*We don't disallow breeding discussion because we simply "don't like it" or disapprove of it, but because of the strong moral debates it tends to give rise to. The internet is a vast place and anyone who wishes to learn more about breeding rats can do so easily with search engines like Google. We usually do not immediately delete posts about breeding unless they are strongly against the rules, such as threads/posts feeder breeding. If someone posts "Should I breed my rats?" or something similar, the thread will usually be left open long enough to explain why breeding your rats is probably not a good idea. After that point has been made it will be closed and a warning to not make breeding threads will be given to the original poster.

*DO NOT advertise intentionally bred litters ANYWHERE on the site.*
This section is for fosters, accidental litters, and people who can no longer keep the rats they currently have.
Exceptions will be allowed, ie. a breeder adopting out a retired or aged rat.

*DO NOT directly advertise your rattery in post anywhere on the site UNLESS it has passed submission.*
If someone posts seeking rats near your rattery, do NOT post and advertise your rattery to them UNLESS it has passed submission.

*DO NOT link your rattery in your signature or profile until it has passed the submission guidelines, which are below.*
If it has passed, a direct link in the signature and/or a banner allowed, and you may also directly link your rattery in the "website" area of your profile.

*DO NOT discuss intentional breeding in the accidental litters section, or anywhere else on the site.* 
This includes any information about your litters like due dates, planned pairings, etc. 
You may use your experiences with breeding as example or reinforcement of a statement only if relevant. 
You may discuss your ethics and morals in regards to breeding, but please do so in a respectful manner, and keep in mind that these are only your opinion.

*DO NOT post questions asking for information regarding to intentional breeding.*
This includes asking for advice on whether breeding your rats is "a good idea" and any other inquiries such as expected outcome of breeding certain colors, markings, etc. If you do not know the answers to these questions, it is probably NOT a good idea for you to be breeding rats.

*In absolutely no circumstance is the discussion of breeding rats or any other rodent for food for reptiles acceptable. These threads will be deleted and the posters suspended without warning.*

If you would like to link to your rattery website in your signature, the website and information must be submitted via a PM to a moderator in the following format:

Username:
Rattery Name:
Rattery Website:
Rattery Location:
Any additional contact info:
*Short Description:

* If requested, a link to your rattery will be added to the Breeder Listings sticky with the short description provided.

Your approval submission will be passed to the moderators in private and we will review your website in private for passing. Some of the websites we use as guidelines to review your site include the Breeder Red Flags list, information in the Ethical Breeding sticky, and our own experiences on the forum. Once it has been passed, we will notify you in a PM and add your rattery to the breeder listings if requested. If your rattery does not pass, you will be notified and an explanation why will be included. We reserve the right to deny any rattery for any reasons we determine. Rejection may or may not be permanent. If some conflicting information on the website is explained or changed, we may repeal a permanent rejection. Keep in mind it may take some time for your request to be processed. You will be alerted if there will be a delay in reviewing.


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