Our aim is to try to provide the highest quality community experience for all of our members. The following guidelines have been formulated to try to achieve that aim.

By using this forum, you agree to and accept these rules and terms of use in their entirety.

General items you need to know before you do anything else

• This site is for pure bred dog discussion
  The primary purpose of this forum is to promote and discuss pure bred dogs (as recognised by the ANKC) so we ask you respect our aim when visiting here. If you own a cross breed dog, you are also welcome here, but we ask that you refer to it by it's proper name (eg a pug-x or cavalier-x instead of the designer term 'pugalier').
   
• Think carefully about any possible consequences before posting.
  Be aware that a large audience may see your post (via Google searches etc), and your words may come back to haunt you. Unlike the spoken word, your written posts will exist on here for a long time. We are not obliged to remove your membership or any post you make.
   
• The forum owner (Dogz Online Pty Ltd) does not actively monitor the contents of and is not responsible for any message posted. We do not vouch for, or warrant the accuracy, completeness, usefulness or authenticity of any message (or user). We encourage you to seek your own independent professional advice on all matters. The result of any action you take based on the content of any post on this forum is your responsibility alone.
   
• You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold us harmless with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s). In the event of any legal action taken as a result of a message posted by you, we reserve the right to reveal your identity (or whatever information we know about you). We also reserve the right to disclose any information we know about you to any law enforcement agency upon request.
   
• When using this forum, your computer's IP address is recorded when you join and whenever you make a post.
   

Forum rules that you need to follow

This forum is provided at no cost to you so that we ask that you assist us in making the forum run as smooth as possible by adhering to the following simple rules. They are reasonably straight forward, they don't ask a lot and there really isn't any reason to break them.

If you do, we will either give you a warning (more details at bottom of this page) or give you an immediate permanent ban (either option will be used at our absolute discretion). No correspondence will be entered into if either of these are given.

If you are given a warning and reply with a negative comment directed at the way the forum is run or at the forum administrator, then expect to be banned.

1. Don't attack other members
   A simple definition of 'attack' ... the word 'you' (either stated or implied) combined with a negative comment (or image). If you don't agree with what a person has written, then explain why without resorting to insults.
   
   For those that need examples of what we class as attacks, it includes (but is not limited to)
   • name calling etc (eg you are an idiot)
   • referring to a member by an uncomplimentary variation of their username
   • having a dig at someone via a comment / quote in your signature
   • calling someone a troll (if you suspect someone is a troll, report the post and let us deal with it)
   • any post that we could class as 'just you being a bitch'. You may not like a person or have any time for them or what they write and if that is the case, skip their posts or put them on ignore.
    
2. Do not start or perpetuate flame wars.
   If someone insults or attacks you, do not respond in kind. The excuse of "they started it" is incredibly lame and it won't stop you getting a warning. It is also extremely annoying to have to clean up a topic where a couple of people have started an argument. Report the post instead and let a moderator deal with it.
    
3. Do not make any post that is defamatory
   Defamation is a communication from one person to at least one other that lowers or harms the reputation of an identifiable third person, where the communicator (the publisher) has no legal defence. The law of defamation aims to balance free speech with the right of an individual to enjoy a reputation free from an indefensible attack.
   
   There can be no defamation unless the person about whom the communication is made is identifiable in some way. At its simplest, that will be when the plaintiff is actually named, but even if the plaintiff is not actually named, other information may achieve the same result.
   Do not think that being relatively 'anonymous' on a forum will protect you from being sued. (see the Dick Smith case)
   See the Defamation Laws in more detail
      
4. No promotion of cross breeds / designer dogs
   This site has nothing against cross breeds (most of us have had one at some stage in our life), however we are against the promotion of them as being superior to the purebred dog and people cashing in on the 'designer dog' craze.
   We also ask that you refrain from unnecessary designer dog discussion. (ie discussion that has no real purpose other than to express dismay at the latest 'cross breed' you saw (or read about)). Sure, we all know they are out there, but we prefer to concentrate on discussing the pure bred dog.
    
5. No denigration of pure bred dogs
   Speaks for itself. If you don't think pure bred dogs make the perfect pets, then maybe this forum is not for you.
    
6. No denigration of responsible, registered breeders and breeding practices
   Our site has a lot of breeders with a lot of knowledge to share. We will not tolerate members who denigrate (however subtle) responsible breeders and breeding practices.
    
7. No denigration of dog shows or exhibitors (and no show ring 'politics')
   Our site actively promotes the exhibition of pure bred dogs. We prefer to concentrate on the 'positives' of this activity. If you have a gripe about what happened at a particular show or the conduct of an exhibitor, please take your soapbox elsewhere.
    
8. No cross posting discussions from 'Breeders Community' Forum
   The 'Breeders Community' forum is a semi-restricted forum and breeders need to apply to gain full access. If you see a discussion in the Breeder Community Forum, do not cross post a topic being discussed into another forum so that you can add your 2 cents worth. Breeders start topics in the Breeder Community forum for a reason .... they only want input from other breeders. This rule is a trade-off for not having the Breeder Forum totally private.
    
9. No multiple memberships
   You may only have one membership on this forum. Usually multiple membership are used to cause problems so if we discover you have more than one, you will be removed.
    
10. No advertising or self promotion
    Posting just to promote your business or web site, will get you banned. (This includes people looking for a stud dog, selling puppies etc).
    It is usually pretty obvious when members join just for this purpose. Under no circumstances can you advertise a similar site to Dogz Online or any other dog forum in any way.
     
11. Keep on topic and do not purposely railroad threads
    Have some respect for the topic starter and keep to the topic being discussed. You may not think the topic is worthy of discussion, but others may. You are not the moderator, so don't take it upon yourself to decide what can and can't be discussed here. This includes posting things such as 'get out the popcorn' or 'trainwreck coming'.
    If you do wish to sidetrack from the original topic, start a new thread in the appropriate forum.
     
12. Don't post material which violates a person's privacy.
    Never 'name names' or post the personal details of others (including but not limited to private emails and personal messages).
     
13. Do not cross post ads from other web sites or post links to 'perceived' bad breeders / puppy farms.
    It can cause members from other sites to come here to cause problems (which we don't want) and it also helps to promote less than desirable sites (which no-one wants either)
     
14. Keep personal disputes off the board
    If you have a personal dispute with someone, keep it off the board. We don't want to know about it. (Usually we will only get your side of it and as we all know, there is your side, their side and the truth).
     
15. No racism, pornographic type posts or graphics (including jokes) or posts that the general community would take offence to.
    Again this is self explanatory. We will remove any post that we believe may cause offence to others.
     
16. Dogz Online requires that members respect the decision of moderators.
    It is not an easy task moderating a forum that is not specialised (eg breed specific) as it contains a wide range of people with differing ideas and experiences. The moderators here are only human and occasionally we will stuff up a moderating decision. Threads and posts questioning the actions or decisions of any forum moderation or any abuse directed at moderators will be deleted on sight, and the appropriate action taken (up to and including forum bans) against the thread starter and/or participants. Ultimately if you are not happy with the way the forum is run, it will be in your and our interests if you find another forum.
     

We reserve the right to change these terms and conditions at any time without notice to you.

Warning System

This forum has a warning system in place. 95% of members on this board will never receive a warning. If you fail to observe any of the above guidelines, you may be issued with an official warning at the discretion of the moderators. In some circumstances, (at the discretion of the forum administrator), an immediate suspension or banning can be given.

If you accumulate 3 warnings, you will automatically be suspended from the board for a period of 30 days. (If the 3 warnings have been accumulated within a period of 30 days however, you may be banned from the board permanently.) If you are suspended, the warning count will be reset to 0 again.

Your warning count will also be reset back to 0 if you do not receive any warnings for 100 days.

You are free to send a PM to Troy to question any warnings given, but unless you have an extremely good reason, just accept it. You may have had a 'bad day' or felt you were being attacked but you have 2 more chances (most times) to improve your behaviour so we can't be fairer than that. (If you do feel like you are being attacked, report the post and let us deal with it. It wouldn't be nice for you to receive a warning because of them.)