# APS Site Rules - PLEASE READ THEM



## Colin (Oct 23, 2012)

Site Rules - Aussie Pythons & Snakes

General Site Rules


Be nice to other members. Any name calling or general nastiness will not be tolerated - this applies for posts in the forum as well as visitor messages on profiles, messages in social groups as well as conversations in chat.
Be tolerant of all other users. Remember, we have members of all ages and levels of experience and enthusiasm, of different nationalities, religions and cultures. Rude or racist remarks and hurtfully sarcastic comments will be deleted and you will be penalised. Bear in mind that a sarcastic comment that an adult would laugh at may be hurtful to a young member.
No swearing or cursing, this includes trying to bypass the installed filter by making variations to words. If the filter alters words in your post to ‘*****’, then edit the post immediately and change the offending word.
Keep all content clean and tasteful. No nudity, violence, religious slurs, etc. If it may be offensive to another member, don't post it. This also applies to avatars and signatures.
No flooding of the forums. Posts must be meaningful and not waste the time of other site users.
Posts must remain on the topic of the thread.
Leave all non-herpetology related posts within the "Chit Chat" forum, in which you can talk about anything you wish (within guidelines left to the discretion of the Moderators/Administrators).
No member may post on behalf of any member who has been banned from this site.
Before submitting copyrighted material on the site, ensure you have the author's permission. Quote the author's name and website at the beginning or end of the article. This applies to images too.
There is a limit of one membership per person. Multiple people in the same household can have an account each (after Administrator approval), but accounts created for any other purpose will be deleted. Note that if a member is suspended, all other accounts in that household may also be suspended.
Every member must have a valid, working email address registered on this site. This address does not have to be displayed for all users to see, but it must be valid. Users must also provide their full name, general location (suburb and state), and phone number, however this will only be visible to the site owners unless you put it in your profile. Failure to do so may result in deletion of account. APS guarantee that the email address will not be disseminated to any third party and will only be used for administrative purposes. Any change of email address should be updated as soon as possible on the system.
Do not post public feuds or arguments in the forums or in visitor messages. If you have a problem with another member, then PM them directly or lodge a ticket with 'Feedback/Complaints' at the Support Centre.
If you have a problem with the way the site is run or the action taken by Moderators/Administrators, then you must lodge a ticket with 'Feedback/Complaints' at the Support Centre. We will not tolerate open criticism of the site or the way it is run in any of our forums. Nor will we tolerate any criticisms of the Moderators/Administrators. In some cases we will suspend account to protect other members with out giving any reason. We do the work in running the site, so we control how it is run. If you find that objectionable, please feel free to move elsewhere. Otherwise, we welcome your input and hope that you will enjoy your experience on APS.
There are to be no forum threads with negative feedback of sponsors, businesses that are not associated with APS (like pet shops), members of the site or other similar discussion forum on the web. Likewise, promoting similar discussion forums is also not permitted without prior approval from Administrator. Negative feedback is permitted in the "Marketplace Feedback" area only, however we urge members to try to resolve their difference before negative feedback is created. (See also the Advertising Rules)
No member may make a post, thread or visitor message that encourages others to break any law, or promotes illegal activity (for example, keeping without a licence, illegally taking animals from the wild, smuggling, wiring your own cages, feeding live rodents or freezing live rodents)
Members and sponsors require the explicit permission of the site Administrators should they wish run a competition on APS. Only registered charities with the explicit permission of the site Administrators may collect money using APS as an advertising medium.


*Advertising Rules*


No unauthorised auctioning, selling, swapping or valuation of reptiles within non "Show and Swap" forums is permitted.
A member has the right to notify others once of his web site (unless the site is a discussion forum similar to APS – see next Rule). Any further promotion will be counted as advertising and members who do this will have their post deleted and be offered banner ads or site sponsorship.
If a member decides to build their own site with an operating forum similar to APS, any advertising must be discussed with an Administrator and approved first.
Any promotion and advertisement of businesses must be approved by Administrator.
Members with Regular, Subscriber or Power Seller accounts are not permitted to advertise any businesses in their signature, avatar or username. This includes the use of any graphics, links, email addresses or slogans directly associated with such businesses.


*"Shop and Swap" Rules*

Members must purchase a "Subscription", "Power Seller" or "Subscriber" account before being able to sell or swap any items in Shop and Swap forums.
Members may not post items on behalf of other members or non-members without Moderator/Administrator approval.
No links to other classified ads. If you have listed your item somewhere else, include a full description at our site also.
No selling of anything illegal.
You must have a "Power Seller" or "Sponsor" account to sell any commercial quantities of products - what is deemed a commercial quantity is the sole discretion of a Moderator/Administrator, however we do provide the following guidelines:
The sale of more than 30 rats or mice over a 2 month period
The sale of more than 20 reptiles per year
The sale of more than 1 brand new enclosure per year or the sale of any amount of custom built enclosures
The sale of more than 5 brand new accessories over a 3 month period

 For breaking above rules you may be warned/banned appropriately!



Pay special attention to General Rule 10 - NO MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS


> There is a limit of one membership per person. Multiple people in the same household can have an account each (after Administrator approval), but accounts created for any other purpose will be deleted. Note that if a member is suspended, all other accounts in that household may also be suspended.


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## Stuart (Feb 10, 2013)

Ladies and Gents.

Just a friendly bump to reiterate the site rules above. In addition to Rule 10 highlighted above, please pay special attention to General Rules 5, 6 and 7 about off topic posting and flooding of the forums.


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## Stuart (Feb 10, 2013)

Addition: Please note, we are not trying to make your experience on APS a bad one by enforcing these rules, but we are trying to ensure that others do not mess it up for the rest.


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