this is apparantly what i agreed to but could not find on the forum again for the life of me after i agreed to it nor was i given the opportunity to reread it afterwards
Please Read - Very Important - effective as of January 20, 2009
(note changes to Amendment III)
You agree, through your use of this forum, that you will not post any material which is false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, adult material, or otherwise in violation of any International or United States Federal law. You also agree not to post any copyrighted material unless you own the copyright or you have written consent from the owner of the copyrighted material. Spam, flooding, advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are also forbidden on this forum.
Note that it is impossible for the staff or the owners of this forum to confirm the validity of posts. Please remember that we do not actively monitor the posted messages, and as such, are not responsible for the content contained within. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented. The posted messages express the views of the author, and not necessarily the views of this forum, its staff, its subsidiaries, or this forum's owner. Anyone who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to notify an administrator or moderator of this forum immediately. The staff and the owner of this forum reserve the right to remove objectionable content, within a reasonable time frame, if they determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, please realize that they may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately. This policy applies to member profile information as well.
You remain solely responsible for the content of your posted messages. Furthermore, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the owners of this forum, any related websites to this forum, its staff, and its subsidiaries. The owners of this forum also reserve the right to reveal your identity (or any other related information collected on this service) in the event of a formal complaint or legal action arising from any situation caused by your use of this forum.
You have the ability, as you register, to choose your username. We advise that you keep the name appropriate. With this user account you are about to register, you agree to never give your password out to another person except an administrator, for your protection and for validity reasons. You also agree to NEVER use another person's account for any reason. We also HIGHLY recommend you use a complex and unique password for your account, to prevent account theft.
After you register and login to this forum, you will be able to fill out a detailed profile. It is your responsibility to present clean and accurate information. Any information the forum owner or staff determines to be inaccurate or vulgar in nature will be removed, with or without prior notice. Appropriate sanctions may be applicable.
Please note that with each post, your IP address is recorded, in the event that you need to be banned from this forum or your ISP contacted. This may happen in the event of a major violation of this agreement and/or at the sole discretion of the administration.
Also note that the software places a cookie, a text file containing bits of information (such as your username and password), in your browser's cache. This is ONLY used to keep you logged in/out. The software does not collect or send any other form of information to your computer.
Amendments & Additional Forum Rules
Amendment I: (July 19, 2007) Information provided on this forum is not intended as a substitute for veterinary care and should only be used to facilitate communication between you and your vet. We are not vets (unless otherwise specifically approved and stated in the member's profile). We always strongly recommend that you consult your veterinarian to determine the proper care of your pet in all cases.
Amendment II: (July 19, 2007) Members who feel a post contains objectionable material are encouraged to contact an administrator or a moderator. Contact through our private message functions, via email listed in their profiles, or by using the "Report to moderator" link at the end of every post. An administrator or moderator will review the material as soon as possible. If it is deemed to be inappropriate, the material will be edited or removed.
Amendment III: Notice to Breeders, Rescues, and Sellers of Merchandise and/or Rats (amended January 20, 2009)
III-a: These forums may not be used to sell animals. Posts/text (including signatures) determined to be in violation of this rule will be deleted without warning. Approved "Breeder" members may post simple links in their signatures to personal websites and/or photo galleries, as well as use the Breeder List forum to post one (1) topic describing their rattery.
III-a-i: To become an approved "breeder" a member is required to submit to an administrator the following:
:: A copy of their Adoption Contract; and,
:: A letter of reference on letterhead from the primary veterinarian caring for the rats in the rattery.
Other references may be accepted at the sole discretion of the forum management. RatChatter management reserves all rights and may, or may not, accept the submitted documentation at their sole discretion.
III-a-ii: Rattery related postings will only be accepted by "approved" Breeders, including but not limited to references within the signature of the member. An unapproved posting may be moderated and a warning may be sent. Additional unapproved postings may cause progressive bans to be issued. (amended January 20, 2009)
III-a-iii: Being an approved "breeder" member neither excludes the member from any part of Amendment III, nor allow for any other special permissions or privileges that are not expressly stated. (amended June 17, 2008)
III-b: The Rescues & Relays section is for rescue, adoption, and pet relay transportation related posts only - not for selling. This section is to be used to help place abused, abandoned, or other special needs animals. We encourage members to post photos of their rats and other pets in the appropriate sections, however, as with the "Rescues & Relays" section, these areas are not to be used for selling rats or other animals. Please use your personal website for selling animals - not these forums.
III-b-i: To become an approved "rescue" a member is required to submit to an administrator the following:
:: A copy of their Adoption Contract; and,
:: A letter of reference on letterhead from the primary veterinarian caring for the rats in the rattery.
Other references may be accepted at the sole discretion of the forum management. RatChatter management reserves all rights and may, or may not, accept the submitted documentation at their sole discretion.
III-b-ii: Rescue related postings will only be accepted by "approved" rescues, including but not limited to references within the signature of the member. An unapproved posting may be moderated and a warning may be sent. Additional unapproved postings may cause progressive bans to be issued. (amended January 20, 2009)
III-b-iii: Being an approved "rescue" member neither excludes the member from any part of Amendment III, nor allow for any other special permissions or privileges that are not expressly stated. (amended January 20, 2009)
III-c: Forum members wanting to advertise pet-related items they have decided to sell, or trade, may use the Marketplace section. No other forums may be used for these purposes and no commercial advertising will be permitted. The "Marketplace" section is provided as a courtesy to our members. Members who use these forums solely to advertise pet-related items for sale may have their membership privileges revoked.
III-d: Rat Chatter does not accept responsibility for any transactions resulting from the use of the 'Marketplace' forums. Buyer and Seller Beware!
Amendment IV: Editing Posts After Administrator or Moderator Edits (July 20, 2007)
A poster will not, at risk of severe sanctions, edit any post of theirs that an administrator or moderator has edited. If the poster feels the context of their original post has been altered by the editing, they are free to privately contact the editing administrator or moderator to discuss their opinion. All rights, privileges, and the final decision on the edited post remains with the forum management.
Amendment V: "Cross" Posting or "Copy-n-Paste" Posting (July 25, 2007)
We define cross posting as taking the text from another forum, usually via a "copy and paste" method, and posting this information in our forums. Although we will not categorically deny the practice of cross-posting, we do ask that members wishing to cross-post ask and receive explicit permission from an administrator before making the post. (modified June 5, 2008)
Amendment VI: Spam, Spammers, Spam Posting (November 9, 2007)
We define Spammers as a member who joins the forums for the apparent expressed purpose of linking to another site, rat related or not with no regard for the community. This is unacceptable behavior and is viewed as detrimental to the general community of these forums. Spam Posts are the actual topics, or replies, that are meant to serve the same purpose. These types of actions and postings will be viewed in a extremely harsh light. Posts in this fashion may be removed without warning, or reason, and the poster may find their account banned, perhaps permanently at the sole discretion of the Administrators. Appropriate links to other web sites will still be recognized as such.
Amendment VII: Posting Content From Private Messages (June 8, 2008)
VII-a: Private messages imply by their very name a certain expectation of privacy. No private message (PM) or any part of a PM may be posted to the general forums without the expressed permission of both parties involved. If explicit permission is granted by both members to have the private message posted to the general forums then the entire private message must be posted, complete and unedited. Posting the entire private message will keep the message in context. As this is a very important issue in regards to member privacy and the community at large, any member found not strictly adhering to this amendment may find extreme measures taken with their privileges on these forums.
VII-b: Immediately following the posting of a "Private Message Post" (PMP), the members involved in the private message will be required to use the "Report to Moderator" link found within the posts. The first member posting will require a reply by the other member involved clearly stating they agreed to the public posting and confirming the private message is complete and unedited. This will allow for the administration team to insure the topic/post is monitored and meets this amendment's criteria. Failing to follow this procedure within a reasonable amount of time will give reason to delete the post; and, may give cause to suspend the member(s) involved, pending further investigation.
Amendment VIII: Quoting Details from Studies, Articles or other Published Materials (June 8, 2008)
VIII-a: All references to studies, articles, reports or any other published material should be placed in a "quote box" and an appropriate reference made to the originating source, if possible. If the original source is unavailable a link to the source being quoted by the member will be sufficient. (Examples of referencing and quoting articles can be found in the "Rats in the News" or "Rats in Science" forums.) This amendment is to both protect the original author and recognize their work(s), as well as protect RatChatter and its members from possible copyright issues.
VIII-b: Unsupported references may be edited and/or removed at the discretion of the forum moderators.
VIII-c: Members who continue to post unsupported references may have their privileges reduced, or removed.
Amendment IX: Multiple Users from Multiple IP Addresses Using One Member Account is not acceptable and the member account may be suspended, or banned, pending further investigation. (June 8, 2008) If a single member account is perceived to be used by more than one individual the member account may be restricted, for example a single account with three of more IP addresses associated to it. If a member believes they will have several disparate IP addresses associated to their account, a brief clarifying explanation to a staff member will be beneficial if the account requires a review by an administrator.
Amendment X: Accreditation of Professionals (June 8, 2008)
X-a: Doctors of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and other Veterinary Medicine professionals, if publicly stated will be required to provide substantiated proof of their profession. This documentation must be able to be verified by public means. Verification of license or accepted credentials as well as contact information of their practise, place of employment, and/or school in the field of veterinary medicine will also be required.
X-b: Members claiming a close personal relationship with a person in the field of Veterinary Medicine such as a family member, or any other person within "arms-length", will be required to provide documentation for their acquaintance as spelled out in section "X-a".
X-c: A request from a forum staff member such as an administrator or moderator for contact details in regards to a referenced veterinary professional must be addressed as soon as possible. These requests may be made in cases to confirm a statement attributed to the specific professional and are in no means meant to question a member's decision or choice of medical treatment for their pet.
X-d: A member that does not provide the documentation or information as specified by section "X-a", section "X-b", or section "X-c" may have their privileges suspended and/or revoked until proof can be verified, or their claim is recanted to an Administrator. The administrator may also request the member publicly recant their claims as well. The members posts may also be edited by staff members to remove references and/or claims to unsupported professional consultation.