Horse Forum Rules and Guidelines
The Horseforum requests that all posters familiarize themselves with the forum rules to ensure they have a better understanding of the board.
We also ask that members read the forums Conscientious Etiquette Policy . Link below
Conscientious Etiquette Policy
The Forum Rules and Guidelines:
Closing Accounts
Members are reminded that accounts cannot be deleted.
If you no longer want to be a part of the HorseForum.com Community and Forum, you can have your account closed but everything that you have posted will remain as a part of the forum.
When your account is closed, all personal and identifiable information (such as your email address) will be deleted and your username will be replaced with your user ID number. The User ID number is a series of numbers you get when you create your account.
Your status will change to Read Only
It is your responsibility to remove your avatar, signature lines, albums and media and any public profile information that you've entered.
Internet Safety
The Horse Forum takes all reasonable precautions to protect the internet safety and anonymity of its members, but we cannot guarantee that every member is genuinely who they say they are, and we have no control over members of the public who are able to view the Forum without being a member.
We respectfully ask members to use common sense when interacting with other members and to avoid revealing too much personal information about themselves or their families, friends and work colleagues.
In order to protect your anonymity here and reduce doxing risks, we do not allow any personal contact information in username, posts, signature lines, avatars or public profile pages.
Such things will be removed.
Since Vertical Scope have allowed members to register via their Google accounts, we're seeing a big influx of members who have their email names as their usernames here.
We cannot allow these usernames as they compromises your anonymity, all someone has to do to access your personal email address is add '@gmail.com' to your username.
When these usernames are flagged, you will receive a PM Conversation asking you to give us three suggestions for a new name.
If we don't receive a response from you within a reasonable time period, your username will be changed to your ID number, which will be given to you in the first PM contact.
You will still be able to log in, using that ID number as your username. You can still respond to the PM at any time and give us those suggestions for a new name.
If you have found yourself in this situation and haven't been contacted, please start a PM Conversation with one of the Mod Team and ask for assistance in changing your name
Photographs of children under 18 can only be posted by the parents of the child, though we do suggest that parents consider concealing the faces of their children on any photographs posted here to protect their anonymity.
If we see photographs of children in posts or avatars and we aren't fully aware that the person posting them is the parent, we will contact the member to query. If we get no reply within two days, we will remove the photograph.
We have mentioned this before but it's worth repeating - if you receive a Conversation PM from a member and you find it disturbing in any way then please report it immediately.
If a member sends you a suspicious link in a Conversation PM, do not open it. Report it immediately to a member of the Moderating team.
1 - Age Restrictions
Members must be at least 18 years old to register. No exceptions.
Anyone found to be under 18 will have their accounts banned, either temporarily or permanently.
2- Usernames:
Please choose a username you will be satisfied with using for the duration of your membership at the Horse Forum.
We will allow username changes on recently opened accounts that have no activity or very little activity.
We will consider the same for older accounts that fit the same criteria.
Members are otherwise discouraged from changing usernames, without there being a very good reason, because that would make it difficult for everyone to keep track of who is who on the forum.
We suggest that members avoid using their real names, their horse's names or property names to avoid compromising their anonymity.
Please do not incorporate 'smilies' into your username. You will be asked for suggestions for a different username if you do. If we get no suggestions, your ID number will become your username.
Email addresses may not be used as usernames.
Since the Forum has started allowing members to register via a Facebook, Google or Apple account, we’re seeing a lot of members with their email names as their usernames. This could compromise your privacy and increase doxing risks as it’s very easy for someone to add @[provider] to your name to acquire your email address.
Business names (See Rule 10) This would include property names that are licensed and used as business names. Anyone doing either of the above or selecting an inappropriate username will be contacted by a member of the Moderating team via the Forum's Conversation system and asked to change that name. If we get no response from a member within a reasonable period of time, the inappropriate username will be changed to their User ID number.
If you need to change your username, please use the PM Conversation system to contact jaydee, the Forum Administrator
Please do not create a new account just because you dislike your username.
www.horseforum.com
3. Membership Policy
Accounts:
Members are allowed only one regular account on the Horse Forum.
The only exceptions to this Rule are:
1. A member with a Free Business Directory account who wanted to post on the regular forum and avoid crossing the line of self promotion or advertising in their forum posts. The two accounts would have to be used without any association between one and the other.
2. A member who has had problems with a stalker and wants to create a new anonymous account. The old account would usually be left open but could not be used.
We insist that member's do not share accounts with friends or family members.
If you've made an account here in the past and then take a break you'll need to continue using that account when you come back.
Please do not create a new account with the intention of having a second account here or you may lose access to the Horse Forum.
**We are aware that some members are inadvertently creating second accounts when trying to use their Facebook or Google/gmail accounts to log in. If this happens then please contact @jaydee so the issue can be resolved.
If you have forgotten your password and no longer have access to the email address you used when you originally registered, so have created a new account to be able to log in again, please contact @jaydee immediately, using a Conversation PM and she will assist you to resolve these issues.
Members who create duplicate accounts as 'fantasy accounts' will have those accounts banned and could have their real account banned if the Team feels that is the correct course of action. Cases will be judged individually.
4. This forum is PG Rated, and all threads should follow the forum's rating. No adult themes.
The exception to this rule being conversations about horse matters such as sheath cleaning and breeding. Any topics about this must remain clean and mature.
Additionally, while the Horse Forum encourages members to express themselves, images (including avatars or signatures) that are shocking, offensive, or otherwise inappropriate will be removed.
This includes videos that contain bad language and/or inappropriate content
5-
Website links on profile page
The Horse Forum allows members to promote their own non business websites by placing a link on their profile page and signature line.
We would appreciate if members who do this put a link to the Horse Forum on their website, as a courtesy.
Links to your websites are not allowed in your posts
We do not allow members to link to their own sites if they have any form of selling facility on them, this includes a 'shopping cart' feature even if it is not currently in use..
You cannot link to your site if you have paid advertising on it or intend to have paid advertising on it. The latter would constitute 'self promotion'.
You cannot link to your site if it’s classed as a business site.
NOTE: Social media pages DO NOT qualify as personal websites for this privilege. No links to Facebook, Instagram etc.
We do allow links to Youtube channels in signature lines - please see Rule 13 for more details
6- Avoid Plagiarism and Copyright infringement
Members may copy and paste articles that are not copyright restricted, directly to the Forum, but must cite the source, either by pasting a link or by giving the title and credit to the original author.
Use things like the words 'Quote' and 'End Quote', quotation marks and italic text to make it clear that you are using words written by someone else.
Do not assume that because a photograph is on a person or company's social media page they will be happy to have it shared elsewhere.
From Vertical Scope's terms and Conditions, regarding Copyright:
'HorseForum.com has adopted and implemented a copyright policy in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. For more information, please refer to our copyright policy at HorseForum.com/help/copyright
In appropriate circumstances and at our sole discretion, we may disable and/or close the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe or are repeatedly charged with infringing the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of others.'
7- No flooding or spamming the forums or the threads.
Do not post your own repetitive, duplicate topics on The Horse Forum.
The Moderating and Administration Teams reserve the right to merge or remove threads where the subject matter is considered to be a duplicate.
If you need to edit your post to add something you forgot prior to replies being made, there is an Edit button you may use, otherwise add the new information as a reply to your thread. Edits are for correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation or an awkward wording.
Please take note that the Forum has a strict zero tolerance policy for inappropriate use of the editing privilege.
8- Shout outs and Accusations
Do not accuse any member of being a troll or a liar within a thread
These call outs will be removed. Members that make them could be issued with official Warnings and offenders who repeatedly ignore requests to not do it will be banned.
If you suspect that someone is either a troll or lying, contact the Horse Forum Moderating Team starting a conversation or use the report post feature.
9. Rules for Critique Forums
Riding Critique Forum – Members may post pictures/videos of only themselves for a riding critique. Do not post pictures/videos of others riding for the purposes of a riding critique. An exception to this are parents who can ask critique for their underage children. Parents, if you share a video of your child, please state your relationship to the child in your post so the Moderating Team and other users understand that the video isn't just of someone child you aren't related too.
Conformation Critique Forum – Members may post pictures of their own horses or pictures of horses they are thinking of purchasing for a conformation critique.
Stallions and Broodmares/Breeding – Members may post pictures/videos of their own horses or pictures/videos of horses they are considering for breeding purposes for a critique in these two sub-forums.
Other - In addition, members may post pictures/videos of horses for the purpose of educating others. These pictures/videos must be obtained from a public website and must not be watermarked in any way and otherwise follow the Horse Forum rules for posting pictures and videos.
Under no circumstances may a picture/video/advertisement be posted for the purpose of ridiculing or mocking the horse, rider or both. Any rude or superfluous posts will be removed and the posting member may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including a permanent ban.
10 - Advertising
Unauthorized commercial advertising is not allowed on Horseforum.com.
This means that you may not post anything related to your business in your username, avatar, profile, signature line or Home Page or anywhere on Horseforum.com, without a prior agreement with Vertical Scope.
You can contact Vertical Scope for details on their advertising opportunities by clicking on the Contact link on the bottom of the forum page.
If you use your business name as a username we will contact you through the conversation system to ask you to provide us with three suggestions for a new username, in order of preference.
If this request is ignored we will change your username to your ID number after two to three days. You will be contacted through the PM Conversation system advising you of your number before the change occurs.
You can still log in and use that PM Conversation to request an appropriate username of your own choosing.
Members participating in any of Verticals Scope's authorized advertising schemes, including the Free Business Directory, will be able to retain their business names and avatars but may not use forum posts to advertise or promote their business.
Grow Your Business | The Horse Forum
Please do not use your Avatar to advertise your own company or any other company. It will be removed. We reserve the right to not contact you when this happens.
Please do not sneak advertising links into your posts by disguising them as part of the text. This rule refers to any business or company that you are involved with in any way that you could profit from the free publicity. This includes 'pay per click' schemes and ambassador links.
We allow members to post clearly defined links to companies, products and services that they have no affiliation with. The post and the link must be related to the question that's the topic of the thread.
Again - If you are interested in authorized advertising on Horseforum.com please use the Contact link on the bottom of the Forum page to discuss with the Vertical Scope Sales Team.
Forum Classifieds.
The Horse Forum does have a small member's only classifieds section.
There is no charge for posting advertisements in it but they must not be related to any business venture.
Since we are a global forum its helpful to potential buyers (re. shipping costs/viewing of items) if sellers state which country they live in.
All advertisements in Members Classifieds on The Horse Forum are posted by the member/seller.
Neither Vertical Scope nor the Horse Forum Moderating team have any responsibility for the content of the advertisements or are able to verify the accuracy of these advertisements.
It is the responsibility of all prospective buyers, to check the authenticity of the seller and to view the items prior to making any payment.
We urge members to be aware of scammers who insist on upfront payment or sellers who are unable to prove their identity.
Neither Vertical Scope nor the Horse Forum Moderating team, accept any liability to a buyer in connection with sales or purchases connected to advertisements in the Horse Forum Members Classifieds section.
The Horse Forum Team is concerned about the safety of all of our members.
To that end, we must ask that you do not include any personal information such as an email or phone number in your classified ad. Simply put "PM me for details" so that potential buyers know how to reach you.
Please provide a price for all items placed in your advertisement.
No free business advertising
This forum is intended for regular members only, who are selling their own unwanted personal items.
You will need a minimum of 5 posts to post here as that will allow you to use the PM Conversation system.
Please do not try to bypass this rule by posting your for sale items elsewhere on the Forum. Those posts will be removed.
We ask that members who have tack consignments businesses please not use this part of the forum as a market place.
If you are interested in approved advertising, please contact the Vertical Scope marketing team (2) Grow Your Business | The Horse Forum
11 Fantasy Posters.
The Horse Forum is not a place for making things up about your life and passing them off as the truth.
If it becomes evident that a member has been making things up, that member's posting privileges may be immediately restricted, either temporarily or permanently..
12- Donation requests and Sites that have a facility for requesting donations
1. Do not use the Horse Forum to ask members for donations, hand outs, or money for yourself.
Posts asking for suggestions for ideas to make money are permitted.
2. Please do not link to any site that has been established for the purpose of raising money through donations or a site that has a donation facility built into it.
The Horseforum.com cannot verify the validity of any such sites and requests, therefore, to avoid the risk of our members getting caught up in possible scams, via this Forum, the use of links, re-directs, and discussions about giving donations to any cause, is strictly against the rules.
13 Do not ask for subscribers to your Youtube channels or votes in contests for yourself or others.
You may passively post a link to your blog or Youtube channel in your signature, provided you don’t receive payment for advertising on those sites. The link must be in normal size font, without actively inviting or calling out to "come join! We ask that members who do link to their blogs in their signature line, return the favor by adding a link to the Horse Forum to their blog.
14a - Promotion of and Links to other Forums or social network chat sites or online gaming sites
We will allow mention of social media sites provided that mention isn’t in the form of an invitation or encourages members to go to a forum/discussion section.
We don't need to know which other social media sites and Forums you're a member of.
We will not allow members who have any 'self interest/financial interest' in a social media site to promote it here, either actively or passively.
We will allow links to information sites that have an ‘ask the professional’ facility but no public discussion forum.
Facebook links
Permitted Facebook links (at the discretion of the Moderating team)
-Links to FB videos that are relevant to the thread/post where removal would be detrimental to the thread/post.
They should preferably not be available from another source.
-Links to relevant, useful information or relevant interesting articles that are only available on Facebook. The information should be publicly available without members having to join Facebook or join a Facebook group to view them.
Facebook links that aren't permitted
- Links to group pages that are only accessible by joining that group.
-No invitations from members to other members to go to their Facebook page.
15- Posts cannot be removed, unless they violate the rules.
Removing your posts would ruin the threads they are a part of. For that reason, once you post, your posts become a part of the Horse Forum and will not be removed.
The only exception to this Rule are posts made in Journals. Please read the Journal Rules for further information
NOTE: In an effort to preserve the integrity of the threads within the forum, Horseforum staff will not remove posts made by banned members or members who ask to have their accounts closed, unless the post is in violation of the rules or contains personal identifiers.
16- Do not bring arguments/drama to this Forum from other forums and do not carry arguments/drama from one thread to another.
Please do not start threads or post any content purely to create drama.
17 - No cyberbullying
This includes but is not limited to the tormenting, threatening, harassing, humiliating, embarrassing or otherwise targeting of any person of any age. Classification is subject to moderator interpretation.
You may respectfully disagree with another member's opinions on topics, beliefs, and training methods but you may not flame or belittle another user for having those different opinions.
If you have an issue with another user do not bring it to the public forums. If you feel that discussions with another member or members are becoming offensive and personal then please use the Report facility or contact the Moderators using the conversation system via PM.
NOTE: The Forum's private Conversation/Messaging system is just as it says - private.
This does not give any member the right to use it to send inappropriate content of any sort to another member.
If you are reported by another member for inappropriate use of the PM system, the Moderating and Administrative Teams reserve the right to issue an immediate short term or permanent ban at their discretion.
The Moderators and Administrators accept that members often feel the need to let off steam to us via the PM system. On the whole the Team is very tolerant of these outbursts, but members need to be aware that there is a line that must not be crossed. The penalty for crossing that line is a short term or permanent ban at their discretion.
18 - Discussions of HF Policy
Discussions of moderator decisions or The Horse Forum rules/policies in open forum is prohibited.
Please use the forum's Conversation (private message) system to contact someone on the Moderating Team to discuss your concerns.
19 - Please write posts in a way that members can easily read and understand them
This is a global forum but we politely request that everyone uses English when posting.
To help members who do not use English as their first language, please make every effort with things like correct spelling and grammar.
Do not use excessive text speak or slang words.
Do not type in all caps, or in alternating caps, or use excessive exclamation points or question marks. (Example. DON'T TYPE LIKE THIS oR LiKe ThIs!!!!!111!!!!!????///)
Members will find your posts a lot easier to read and understand if you use correct paragraphs and punctuation.
If we feel that a post is particularly hard to read we reserve the right to place it in 'unapproved status' until the member has edited it to make it satisfactory. The Team will assist with this if necessary.
NOTE - No 'Grammar Police' please. If you think a post needs some improvement then Report it, call outs on threads only create a contentious atmosphere.
20. INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE
This Forum has a strict PG rating as it can be read by children of any age. For that reason, No cursing, profanity or swearing will be allowed.
Forum Censor:
The Forum has an automatic censor built into it that will replace inappropriate words that have been entered into the program with a series of *'s.
When you see them in your post after you've clicked 'save', you can edit and replace with an acceptable word or remove the word altogether.
NOTE: Typing around the censors constitutes swearing so is also against the Rules.
NOTE: The use of symbols like *@$# etc to replace censored words, either entirely or inserted into the censored word is also against our Rules.
NOTE: The use of images, such as smilies, that are easily recognizable as alternatives to censored words, is against our Rules.
NOTE: Using abbreviations for swear words is also not allowed
NOTE: The use of easily recognized synonyms to replace inappropriate words is not allowed. (Clarified 08/02/21)
NOTE : There are acceptable uses for some censored words and we have also found that occasionally the censor goes on overdrive and will pick out an inappropriate word that's part of an acceptable word.
If this happens in your post we will allow the use of some typing around the censor to get around it. The use of a "." is enough.
21. Sharing Accounts: (added 01/29/2018)
The Forum allows only one member per account.
We ask that members do not allow anyone else to share their account for the purpose of posting here.
If a parent opens an account for their child the account must be that child's own account. Parents must not post on their children's accounts and children must not post on their parent's accounts.
Please note - 18 years old is the minimum age to have an account here.
Violating this policy will result in disciplinary actions up to and including a permanent banning at the administrations discretion and decision.
22 - Journals
The Journal section of the forum is a place for members to chronical their personal journey with horses and with life. The author has the right to request no advice or critiquing, or to ignore feedback if she or he chooses to and we expect our users to respect that right. While participation in this section is open to all members, please be aware that the forum’s Conscientious Etiquette Policy will be strictly enforced and possible violations may lead to sanctions such as removals, infractions or temporary or permanent bans. Additionally, because of the unique nature of forum journals, the host has the right to request that a post they find disruptive or offensive be removed by the moderators.
23. Discussions on Animal Abuse and Neglect (added 04/03/2018)
Discussions on neglect or abuse cases must be kept 100% anonymous until and only until, the alleged abuser has been tried and proven guilty.
Bringing up abuse or neglect situations SOLELY to bash the perpetrator will be frowned upon.
24. When not to post. (added 06/26/2018)
If you do not have anything helpful to add to a post then please refrain from responding.
"Google it" is only permissible when the response offers suggested articles, websites, or helpful keywords or phrases to be used while googling.
25. Sidetracking and 'Hijacking' Threads (added 06/26/2018)
Please do not sidetrack threads in a way that takes the thread completely away from the original topic, especially if its done in an attempt to introduce a debate that is known to be contentious.
Please do not use someone else's thread to ask your own questions or to start a new discussion especially when it has nothing in common with the original topic.
Those posts and any responses to them will either be removed entirely or they will be moved to a new thread of their own at the discretion of the Moderating Team.
If you are unsure of how to start a new thread then you can ask for help by contacting one of the Moderating Team
26 Political Discussions
We ask that members please not start any political threads anywhere on the forum.
If there is a general news item or horse related news topic then it is permissible to discuss it in the General Off Topic area.
Threads or posts that resemble political discussions or have a strong potential to become political discussions will promptly be removed.
If you are in any doubt about any current affairs topic that you would like to start a thread on, please contact the Team using a Talk to the Team thread to discuss the subject matter in advance.
27 Editing Privileges (Added 12/7/20)
The new system allows members to have unlimited editing of new posts for the first 24 hours after posting. Up to 10 existing posts (older than 24 hours) may be edited per week. More editing will be allowed as each of those 10 edits expires every 7 days.
The editing privilege is primarily to allow members to:
Correct spelling and grammar mistakes they missed
Replace censored words with something suited to the Forum's PG status .
Add information to an existing post that's considered beneficial to your queries in terms of getting a better response.
NOTE:
This is a privilege that we cannot allow to cause disruption to the smooth running of the Forum, therefore, to deter members from abusing this privilege there will be a zero tolerance approach to any member who does so.
Offences will include but will not be exclusive too:
Restoring your own text in a post after a Mod or Admin has removed it
Adding inappropriate content to a post.
Significantly changing thread starters and posts after members have given answers and comments that relate to them, this could destroy the integrity of the thread.
If you submit a post and then later feel the need to modify or clarify information then please quote your original post within the thread and then comment in that fashion.
The Moderating Team reserves the right to restore any edits to their original version if they feel that the integrity of the thread has been damaged or the edit is something that isn't in keeping with Forum Rules.
Penalties:
If the Team feel that the abuse of the editing privilege is a minor one you will receive one formal warning which will remain on your record. You will only be allowed one official Warning. Repeat abuse of editing privilege will result in an immediate short, medium, long term or permanent ban, issued at the discretion of the Moderating/Admin Team.
More serious abuse of editing privilege will result in penalties, in the form of immediate short, medium, long term and permanent bans will be issued at the discretion of the Moderating/Admin Team.
28. Please title your threads properly.
When posting a thread in which you need help, don't title the thread "Help". Title the thread something more appropriate that pertains to what you need help with. This way you are more likely to get a response, and other users that have the same question or problem may not repost the topic since there was already a discussion on it.
If your thread isn't getting as much attention as you'd hoped for please do not start another identical thread with a new title and/or in a new part of the forum. Please use the Report 'button' to ask a member of the Moderating Team to move the thread to another part of the forum.
Helpful Hints -
When asking for advice please try to give as much information as you can about your experience level, your horse, your situation and your general location. It will help members to give you the information that you need without needing to ask multiple questions or make assumptions
Note: Failure to comply with any of these rules could lead to sanctions up to and including being banned from the Forum.
Note: If you see a violation of the Rules/Policies, please use the report post feature.
Note: It is up to the Moderators and Administrators judgment to protect the forums and uphold these rules. They also have the right to edit your post to take out an offensive statements, or remove your post/thread if they feel you have broken the Rules or if Threads or Posts do not follow our Conscientious Etiquette Policy.
Note: The Moderators reserve the right to remove any reference to people, websites or links to websites of entities which have caused significant disruption to The Forum.
Disclaimer
Neither the Horse Forum, its moderators, nor its administrators are responsible for the accuracy of any information or advice posted here or any direct or indirect consequences for any action or inaction taken in reliance thereon.
Members' posts are their own, and neither the Horse Forum, its moderators, nor its administrators are responsible for any copyright infringement therein. Additionally, the United States' Fair Use doctrine allows for the limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the copyright holder, such as for commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching or scholarship. Fair use - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NOTE
Link to the Forum's Transparency Notice which explains how our process of Warnings, Infractions and Bans is used
Transparency notice
We also ask that members read the forums Conscientious Etiquette Policy . Link below
Conscientious Etiquette Policy
The Forum Rules and Guidelines:
Closing Accounts
Members are reminded that accounts cannot be deleted.
If you no longer want to be a part of the HorseForum.com Community and Forum, you can have your account closed but everything that you have posted will remain as a part of the forum.
When your account is closed, all personal and identifiable information (such as your email address) will be deleted and your username will be replaced with your user ID number. The User ID number is a series of numbers you get when you create your account.
Your status will change to Read Only
It is your responsibility to remove your avatar, signature lines, albums and media and any public profile information that you've entered.
Internet Safety
The Horse Forum takes all reasonable precautions to protect the internet safety and anonymity of its members, but we cannot guarantee that every member is genuinely who they say they are, and we have no control over members of the public who are able to view the Forum without being a member.
We respectfully ask members to use common sense when interacting with other members and to avoid revealing too much personal information about themselves or their families, friends and work colleagues.
In order to protect your anonymity here and reduce doxing risks, we do not allow any personal contact information in username, posts, signature lines, avatars or public profile pages.
Such things will be removed.
Since Vertical Scope have allowed members to register via their Google accounts, we're seeing a big influx of members who have their email names as their usernames here.
We cannot allow these usernames as they compromises your anonymity, all someone has to do to access your personal email address is add '@gmail.com' to your username.
When these usernames are flagged, you will receive a PM Conversation asking you to give us three suggestions for a new name.
If we don't receive a response from you within a reasonable time period, your username will be changed to your ID number, which will be given to you in the first PM contact.
You will still be able to log in, using that ID number as your username. You can still respond to the PM at any time and give us those suggestions for a new name.
If you have found yourself in this situation and haven't been contacted, please start a PM Conversation with one of the Mod Team and ask for assistance in changing your name
Photographs of children under 18 can only be posted by the parents of the child, though we do suggest that parents consider concealing the faces of their children on any photographs posted here to protect their anonymity.
If we see photographs of children in posts or avatars and we aren't fully aware that the person posting them is the parent, we will contact the member to query. If we get no reply within two days, we will remove the photograph.
We have mentioned this before but it's worth repeating - if you receive a Conversation PM from a member and you find it disturbing in any way then please report it immediately.
If a member sends you a suspicious link in a Conversation PM, do not open it. Report it immediately to a member of the Moderating team.
1 - Age Restrictions
Members must be at least 18 years old to register. No exceptions.
Anyone found to be under 18 will have their accounts banned, either temporarily or permanently.
2- Usernames:
Please choose a username you will be satisfied with using for the duration of your membership at the Horse Forum.
We will allow username changes on recently opened accounts that have no activity or very little activity.
We will consider the same for older accounts that fit the same criteria.
Members are otherwise discouraged from changing usernames, without there being a very good reason, because that would make it difficult for everyone to keep track of who is who on the forum.
We suggest that members avoid using their real names, their horse's names or property names to avoid compromising their anonymity.
Please do not incorporate 'smilies' into your username. You will be asked for suggestions for a different username if you do. If we get no suggestions, your ID number will become your username.
Email addresses may not be used as usernames.
Since the Forum has started allowing members to register via a Facebook, Google or Apple account, we’re seeing a lot of members with their email names as their usernames. This could compromise your privacy and increase doxing risks as it’s very easy for someone to add @[provider] to your name to acquire your email address.
Business names (See Rule 10) This would include property names that are licensed and used as business names. Anyone doing either of the above or selecting an inappropriate username will be contacted by a member of the Moderating team via the Forum's Conversation system and asked to change that name. If we get no response from a member within a reasonable period of time, the inappropriate username will be changed to their User ID number.
If you need to change your username, please use the PM Conversation system to contact jaydee, the Forum Administrator
Please do not create a new account just because you dislike your username.
jaydee
www.horseforum.com
3. Membership Policy
Accounts:
Members are allowed only one regular account on the Horse Forum.
The only exceptions to this Rule are:
1. A member with a Free Business Directory account who wanted to post on the regular forum and avoid crossing the line of self promotion or advertising in their forum posts. The two accounts would have to be used without any association between one and the other.
2. A member who has had problems with a stalker and wants to create a new anonymous account. The old account would usually be left open but could not be used.
We insist that member's do not share accounts with friends or family members.
If you've made an account here in the past and then take a break you'll need to continue using that account when you come back.
Please do not create a new account with the intention of having a second account here or you may lose access to the Horse Forum.
**We are aware that some members are inadvertently creating second accounts when trying to use their Facebook or Google/gmail accounts to log in. If this happens then please contact @jaydee so the issue can be resolved.
If you have forgotten your password and no longer have access to the email address you used when you originally registered, so have created a new account to be able to log in again, please contact @jaydee immediately, using a Conversation PM and she will assist you to resolve these issues.
Members who create duplicate accounts as 'fantasy accounts' will have those accounts banned and could have their real account banned if the Team feels that is the correct course of action. Cases will be judged individually.
4. This forum is PG Rated, and all threads should follow the forum's rating. No adult themes.
The exception to this rule being conversations about horse matters such as sheath cleaning and breeding. Any topics about this must remain clean and mature.
Additionally, while the Horse Forum encourages members to express themselves, images (including avatars or signatures) that are shocking, offensive, or otherwise inappropriate will be removed.
This includes videos that contain bad language and/or inappropriate content
5-
Website links on profile page
The Horse Forum allows members to promote their own non business websites by placing a link on their profile page and signature line.
We would appreciate if members who do this put a link to the Horse Forum on their website, as a courtesy.
Links to your websites are not allowed in your posts
We do not allow members to link to their own sites if they have any form of selling facility on them, this includes a 'shopping cart' feature even if it is not currently in use..
You cannot link to your site if you have paid advertising on it or intend to have paid advertising on it. The latter would constitute 'self promotion'.
You cannot link to your site if it’s classed as a business site.
NOTE: Social media pages DO NOT qualify as personal websites for this privilege. No links to Facebook, Instagram etc.
We do allow links to Youtube channels in signature lines - please see Rule 13 for more details
6- Avoid Plagiarism and Copyright infringement
Members may copy and paste articles that are not copyright restricted, directly to the Forum, but must cite the source, either by pasting a link or by giving the title and credit to the original author.
Use things like the words 'Quote' and 'End Quote', quotation marks and italic text to make it clear that you are using words written by someone else.
Do not assume that because a photograph is on a person or company's social media page they will be happy to have it shared elsewhere.
From Vertical Scope's terms and Conditions, regarding Copyright:
'HorseForum.com has adopted and implemented a copyright policy in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. For more information, please refer to our copyright policy at HorseForum.com/help/copyright
In appropriate circumstances and at our sole discretion, we may disable and/or close the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe or are repeatedly charged with infringing the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of others.'
7- No flooding or spamming the forums or the threads.
Do not post your own repetitive, duplicate topics on The Horse Forum.
The Moderating and Administration Teams reserve the right to merge or remove threads where the subject matter is considered to be a duplicate.
If you need to edit your post to add something you forgot prior to replies being made, there is an Edit button you may use, otherwise add the new information as a reply to your thread. Edits are for correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation or an awkward wording.
Please take note that the Forum has a strict zero tolerance policy for inappropriate use of the editing privilege.
8- Shout outs and Accusations
Do not accuse any member of being a troll or a liar within a thread
These call outs will be removed. Members that make them could be issued with official Warnings and offenders who repeatedly ignore requests to not do it will be banned.
If you suspect that someone is either a troll or lying, contact the Horse Forum Moderating Team starting a conversation or use the report post feature.
9. Rules for Critique Forums
Riding Critique Forum – Members may post pictures/videos of only themselves for a riding critique. Do not post pictures/videos of others riding for the purposes of a riding critique. An exception to this are parents who can ask critique for their underage children. Parents, if you share a video of your child, please state your relationship to the child in your post so the Moderating Team and other users understand that the video isn't just of someone child you aren't related too.
Conformation Critique Forum – Members may post pictures of their own horses or pictures of horses they are thinking of purchasing for a conformation critique.
Stallions and Broodmares/Breeding – Members may post pictures/videos of their own horses or pictures/videos of horses they are considering for breeding purposes for a critique in these two sub-forums.
Other - In addition, members may post pictures/videos of horses for the purpose of educating others. These pictures/videos must be obtained from a public website and must not be watermarked in any way and otherwise follow the Horse Forum rules for posting pictures and videos.
Under no circumstances may a picture/video/advertisement be posted for the purpose of ridiculing or mocking the horse, rider or both. Any rude or superfluous posts will be removed and the posting member may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including a permanent ban.
10 - Advertising
Unauthorized commercial advertising is not allowed on Horseforum.com.
This means that you may not post anything related to your business in your username, avatar, profile, signature line or Home Page or anywhere on Horseforum.com, without a prior agreement with Vertical Scope.
You can contact Vertical Scope for details on their advertising opportunities by clicking on the Contact link on the bottom of the forum page.
If you use your business name as a username we will contact you through the conversation system to ask you to provide us with three suggestions for a new username, in order of preference.
If this request is ignored we will change your username to your ID number after two to three days. You will be contacted through the PM Conversation system advising you of your number before the change occurs.
You can still log in and use that PM Conversation to request an appropriate username of your own choosing.
Members participating in any of Verticals Scope's authorized advertising schemes, including the Free Business Directory, will be able to retain their business names and avatars but may not use forum posts to advertise or promote their business.
Grow Your Business | The Horse Forum
Please do not use your Avatar to advertise your own company or any other company. It will be removed. We reserve the right to not contact you when this happens.
Please do not sneak advertising links into your posts by disguising them as part of the text. This rule refers to any business or company that you are involved with in any way that you could profit from the free publicity. This includes 'pay per click' schemes and ambassador links.
We allow members to post clearly defined links to companies, products and services that they have no affiliation with. The post and the link must be related to the question that's the topic of the thread.
Again - If you are interested in authorized advertising on Horseforum.com please use the Contact link on the bottom of the Forum page to discuss with the Vertical Scope Sales Team.
Forum Classifieds.
The Horse Forum does have a small member's only classifieds section.
There is no charge for posting advertisements in it but they must not be related to any business venture.
Since we are a global forum its helpful to potential buyers (re. shipping costs/viewing of items) if sellers state which country they live in.
All advertisements in Members Classifieds on The Horse Forum are posted by the member/seller.
Neither Vertical Scope nor the Horse Forum Moderating team have any responsibility for the content of the advertisements or are able to verify the accuracy of these advertisements.
It is the responsibility of all prospective buyers, to check the authenticity of the seller and to view the items prior to making any payment.
We urge members to be aware of scammers who insist on upfront payment or sellers who are unable to prove their identity.
Neither Vertical Scope nor the Horse Forum Moderating team, accept any liability to a buyer in connection with sales or purchases connected to advertisements in the Horse Forum Members Classifieds section.
The Horse Forum Team is concerned about the safety of all of our members.
To that end, we must ask that you do not include any personal information such as an email or phone number in your classified ad. Simply put "PM me for details" so that potential buyers know how to reach you.
Please provide a price for all items placed in your advertisement.
No free business advertising
This forum is intended for regular members only, who are selling their own unwanted personal items.
You will need a minimum of 5 posts to post here as that will allow you to use the PM Conversation system.
Please do not try to bypass this rule by posting your for sale items elsewhere on the Forum. Those posts will be removed.
We ask that members who have tack consignments businesses please not use this part of the forum as a market place.
If you are interested in approved advertising, please contact the Vertical Scope marketing team (2) Grow Your Business | The Horse Forum
11 Fantasy Posters.
The Horse Forum is not a place for making things up about your life and passing them off as the truth.
If it becomes evident that a member has been making things up, that member's posting privileges may be immediately restricted, either temporarily or permanently..
12- Donation requests and Sites that have a facility for requesting donations
1. Do not use the Horse Forum to ask members for donations, hand outs, or money for yourself.
Posts asking for suggestions for ideas to make money are permitted.
2. Please do not link to any site that has been established for the purpose of raising money through donations or a site that has a donation facility built into it.
The Horseforum.com cannot verify the validity of any such sites and requests, therefore, to avoid the risk of our members getting caught up in possible scams, via this Forum, the use of links, re-directs, and discussions about giving donations to any cause, is strictly against the rules.
13 Do not ask for subscribers to your Youtube channels or votes in contests for yourself or others.
You may passively post a link to your blog or Youtube channel in your signature, provided you don’t receive payment for advertising on those sites. The link must be in normal size font, without actively inviting or calling out to "come join! We ask that members who do link to their blogs in their signature line, return the favor by adding a link to the Horse Forum to their blog.
14a - Promotion of and Links to other Forums or social network chat sites or online gaming sites
We will allow mention of social media sites provided that mention isn’t in the form of an invitation or encourages members to go to a forum/discussion section.
We don't need to know which other social media sites and Forums you're a member of.
We will not allow members who have any 'self interest/financial interest' in a social media site to promote it here, either actively or passively.
We will allow links to information sites that have an ‘ask the professional’ facility but no public discussion forum.
Facebook links
Permitted Facebook links (at the discretion of the Moderating team)
-Links to FB videos that are relevant to the thread/post where removal would be detrimental to the thread/post.
They should preferably not be available from another source.
-Links to relevant, useful information or relevant interesting articles that are only available on Facebook. The information should be publicly available without members having to join Facebook or join a Facebook group to view them.
Facebook links that aren't permitted
- Links to group pages that are only accessible by joining that group.
-No invitations from members to other members to go to their Facebook page.
15- Posts cannot be removed, unless they violate the rules.
Removing your posts would ruin the threads they are a part of. For that reason, once you post, your posts become a part of the Horse Forum and will not be removed.
The only exception to this Rule are posts made in Journals. Please read the Journal Rules for further information
NOTE: In an effort to preserve the integrity of the threads within the forum, Horseforum staff will not remove posts made by banned members or members who ask to have their accounts closed, unless the post is in violation of the rules or contains personal identifiers.
16- Do not bring arguments/drama to this Forum from other forums and do not carry arguments/drama from one thread to another.
Please do not start threads or post any content purely to create drama.
17 - No cyberbullying
This includes but is not limited to the tormenting, threatening, harassing, humiliating, embarrassing or otherwise targeting of any person of any age. Classification is subject to moderator interpretation.
You may respectfully disagree with another member's opinions on topics, beliefs, and training methods but you may not flame or belittle another user for having those different opinions.
If you have an issue with another user do not bring it to the public forums. If you feel that discussions with another member or members are becoming offensive and personal then please use the Report facility or contact the Moderators using the conversation system via PM.
NOTE: The Forum's private Conversation/Messaging system is just as it says - private.
This does not give any member the right to use it to send inappropriate content of any sort to another member.
If you are reported by another member for inappropriate use of the PM system, the Moderating and Administrative Teams reserve the right to issue an immediate short term or permanent ban at their discretion.
The Moderators and Administrators accept that members often feel the need to let off steam to us via the PM system. On the whole the Team is very tolerant of these outbursts, but members need to be aware that there is a line that must not be crossed. The penalty for crossing that line is a short term or permanent ban at their discretion.
18 - Discussions of HF Policy
Discussions of moderator decisions or The Horse Forum rules/policies in open forum is prohibited.
Please use the forum's Conversation (private message) system to contact someone on the Moderating Team to discuss your concerns.
19 - Please write posts in a way that members can easily read and understand them
This is a global forum but we politely request that everyone uses English when posting.
To help members who do not use English as their first language, please make every effort with things like correct spelling and grammar.
Do not use excessive text speak or slang words.
Do not type in all caps, or in alternating caps, or use excessive exclamation points or question marks. (Example. DON'T TYPE LIKE THIS oR LiKe ThIs!!!!!111!!!!!????///)
Members will find your posts a lot easier to read and understand if you use correct paragraphs and punctuation.
If we feel that a post is particularly hard to read we reserve the right to place it in 'unapproved status' until the member has edited it to make it satisfactory. The Team will assist with this if necessary.
NOTE - No 'Grammar Police' please. If you think a post needs some improvement then Report it, call outs on threads only create a contentious atmosphere.
20. INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE
This Forum has a strict PG rating as it can be read by children of any age. For that reason, No cursing, profanity or swearing will be allowed.
Forum Censor:
The Forum has an automatic censor built into it that will replace inappropriate words that have been entered into the program with a series of *'s.
When you see them in your post after you've clicked 'save', you can edit and replace with an acceptable word or remove the word altogether.
NOTE: Typing around the censors constitutes swearing so is also against the Rules.
NOTE: The use of symbols like *@$# etc to replace censored words, either entirely or inserted into the censored word is also against our Rules.
NOTE: The use of images, such as smilies, that are easily recognizable as alternatives to censored words, is against our Rules.
NOTE: Using abbreviations for swear words is also not allowed
NOTE: The use of easily recognized synonyms to replace inappropriate words is not allowed. (Clarified 08/02/21)
NOTE : There are acceptable uses for some censored words and we have also found that occasionally the censor goes on overdrive and will pick out an inappropriate word that's part of an acceptable word.
If this happens in your post we will allow the use of some typing around the censor to get around it. The use of a "." is enough.
21. Sharing Accounts: (added 01/29/2018)
The Forum allows only one member per account.
We ask that members do not allow anyone else to share their account for the purpose of posting here.
If a parent opens an account for their child the account must be that child's own account. Parents must not post on their children's accounts and children must not post on their parent's accounts.
Please note - 18 years old is the minimum age to have an account here.
Violating this policy will result in disciplinary actions up to and including a permanent banning at the administrations discretion and decision.
22 - Journals
The Journal section of the forum is a place for members to chronical their personal journey with horses and with life. The author has the right to request no advice or critiquing, or to ignore feedback if she or he chooses to and we expect our users to respect that right. While participation in this section is open to all members, please be aware that the forum’s Conscientious Etiquette Policy will be strictly enforced and possible violations may lead to sanctions such as removals, infractions or temporary or permanent bans. Additionally, because of the unique nature of forum journals, the host has the right to request that a post they find disruptive or offensive be removed by the moderators.
23. Discussions on Animal Abuse and Neglect (added 04/03/2018)
Discussions on neglect or abuse cases must be kept 100% anonymous until and only until, the alleged abuser has been tried and proven guilty.
Bringing up abuse or neglect situations SOLELY to bash the perpetrator will be frowned upon.
24. When not to post. (added 06/26/2018)
If you do not have anything helpful to add to a post then please refrain from responding.
"Google it" is only permissible when the response offers suggested articles, websites, or helpful keywords or phrases to be used while googling.
25. Sidetracking and 'Hijacking' Threads (added 06/26/2018)
Please do not sidetrack threads in a way that takes the thread completely away from the original topic, especially if its done in an attempt to introduce a debate that is known to be contentious.
Please do not use someone else's thread to ask your own questions or to start a new discussion especially when it has nothing in common with the original topic.
Those posts and any responses to them will either be removed entirely or they will be moved to a new thread of their own at the discretion of the Moderating Team.
If you are unsure of how to start a new thread then you can ask for help by contacting one of the Moderating Team
26 Political Discussions
We ask that members please not start any political threads anywhere on the forum.
If there is a general news item or horse related news topic then it is permissible to discuss it in the General Off Topic area.
Threads or posts that resemble political discussions or have a strong potential to become political discussions will promptly be removed.
If you are in any doubt about any current affairs topic that you would like to start a thread on, please contact the Team using a Talk to the Team thread to discuss the subject matter in advance.
27 Editing Privileges (Added 12/7/20)
The new system allows members to have unlimited editing of new posts for the first 24 hours after posting. Up to 10 existing posts (older than 24 hours) may be edited per week. More editing will be allowed as each of those 10 edits expires every 7 days.
The editing privilege is primarily to allow members to:
Correct spelling and grammar mistakes they missed
Replace censored words with something suited to the Forum's PG status .
Add information to an existing post that's considered beneficial to your queries in terms of getting a better response.
NOTE:
This is a privilege that we cannot allow to cause disruption to the smooth running of the Forum, therefore, to deter members from abusing this privilege there will be a zero tolerance approach to any member who does so.
Offences will include but will not be exclusive too:
Restoring your own text in a post after a Mod or Admin has removed it
Adding inappropriate content to a post.
Significantly changing thread starters and posts after members have given answers and comments that relate to them, this could destroy the integrity of the thread.
If you submit a post and then later feel the need to modify or clarify information then please quote your original post within the thread and then comment in that fashion.
The Moderating Team reserves the right to restore any edits to their original version if they feel that the integrity of the thread has been damaged or the edit is something that isn't in keeping with Forum Rules.
Penalties:
If the Team feel that the abuse of the editing privilege is a minor one you will receive one formal warning which will remain on your record. You will only be allowed one official Warning. Repeat abuse of editing privilege will result in an immediate short, medium, long term or permanent ban, issued at the discretion of the Moderating/Admin Team.
More serious abuse of editing privilege will result in penalties, in the form of immediate short, medium, long term and permanent bans will be issued at the discretion of the Moderating/Admin Team.
28. Please title your threads properly.
When posting a thread in which you need help, don't title the thread "Help". Title the thread something more appropriate that pertains to what you need help with. This way you are more likely to get a response, and other users that have the same question or problem may not repost the topic since there was already a discussion on it.
If your thread isn't getting as much attention as you'd hoped for please do not start another identical thread with a new title and/or in a new part of the forum. Please use the Report 'button' to ask a member of the Moderating Team to move the thread to another part of the forum.
Helpful Hints -
When asking for advice please try to give as much information as you can about your experience level, your horse, your situation and your general location. It will help members to give you the information that you need without needing to ask multiple questions or make assumptions
Note: Failure to comply with any of these rules could lead to sanctions up to and including being banned from the Forum.
Note: If you see a violation of the Rules/Policies, please use the report post feature.
Note: It is up to the Moderators and Administrators judgment to protect the forums and uphold these rules. They also have the right to edit your post to take out an offensive statements, or remove your post/thread if they feel you have broken the Rules or if Threads or Posts do not follow our Conscientious Etiquette Policy.
Note: The Moderators reserve the right to remove any reference to people, websites or links to websites of entities which have caused significant disruption to The Forum.
Disclaimer
Neither the Horse Forum, its moderators, nor its administrators are responsible for the accuracy of any information or advice posted here or any direct or indirect consequences for any action or inaction taken in reliance thereon.
Members' posts are their own, and neither the Horse Forum, its moderators, nor its administrators are responsible for any copyright infringement therein. Additionally, the United States' Fair Use doctrine allows for the limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the copyright holder, such as for commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching or scholarship. Fair use - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NOTE
Link to the Forum's Transparency Notice which explains how our process of Warnings, Infractions and Bans is used
Transparency notice
