Repeated and flagrant disregard for the rules and the forum culture may result in account suspension, deletion and/or banning.
If you have been banned or you left the community due disgruntled manner and requested your account be deleted, you will not be allowed to have your account reinstated nor create a new account without moderation review. If you would like to return to the community, contact info@BinkyBunny.com.
Online communications come with their own unique challenges, so please read through so you can settle in with ease.
I know you have nothing better to do right now than read through it all - But it is important. At least peruse through it now, but print it out and read through the rest of it later…but not too much later because you don’t want the mean nasty evil admin emailing you when it becomes obvious you didn’t actually read much of it.
REQUIREMENTS:
Emergency/Urgent Situations: We CANNOT help you in case of an emergency or urgent care. If it is an emergency, you MUST seek vet care. We cannot replace vet care. If you are unsure if vet care is needed, then we can only give you our opinion, and if we say seek vet care immediately, then PLEASE DO NOT ASK FOR ADDITIONAL MEDICAL TYPE OF ADVICE unless it's about locating and/or getting your animal to the vet or about how to keep the animal alive DURING transport to your vet. If you are seeking "additional" information regarding the vet care's advice, that is fine, but again, we cannot replace vet care. Also, NEVER risk your animal's life by waiting for an answer from us.
BinkyBunny is a Snarky-Snooty Free Zone
No Flames Allowed. Posts that are disrespectful, and/or belittle, ridicule, embarrass, or threaten other members will not be tolerated. This does not mean that you cannot voice an opposing viewpoint, but if you do so, please express your viewpoint without relying on the above tactics. A good way to express an opposing view point is to make sure you stick with what you would do, why you believe the way you do, but don't pick apart why someone else is wrong. Know the difference between a personal opinion and a personal attack. **It is also important that the person reading (being on the receiving end) of a different point understand the difference as well.
B. We Do Not Tolerate Poor Manners: Snide, Snotty, Snarky Snooty, Judgmental, Chastising, Berating, Scolding type of Remarks not allowed: If that is your MO, then another forum, site etc where you can do as you please may be better suited for you.
If you don't agree with someone, that's fine. You don't have to, but agree to disagree and don't get defensive and snooty about it. If they don't take your advice, don't get offended. Sometimes change takes time. Give your advice, let it be out there, but don't try to force it. You may not see the change you want right away. No Scolding: Don't be a forum bully. Scolding, chastising and shaming usually turns people away. It's disrespectful and sounds sanctimonious. Find solutions instead. If the member doesn't agree, like or won't listen to the advice, then that's on them. Don't waste your time getting upset. You gave what you feel is good advice. You did your part. But retaliating with an direct or passive aggressive remark is not the way to go. If you can't be civil and/or treat people respectfully and with patience, then don't post. We all are here to learn, and there are many of you that can educate, but be sure to not come off as a know-it-all by offering advice in such a way that belittles and would embarrass the other person *No Harping: If someone clearly refuses to listen to or agree with your point of view, do not continue posting about how “wrong” they are. (If you suspect trolling, you should use the “Alert” button to notify a forum leader instead of continuing to reply). If you have made your point and it is met with argument or is ignored, quietly move on. We prefer a member asks for help again, (even if it’s due to ignoring past recommendations), rather than receiving no help because they felt pushed away, Continued, circular arguments and bickering can lead to members leaving and not learning, which goes against the educational purposes of BinkyBunny.C. Questions Disguised as Criticisms: Example: "Why didn't you just...." Now, of course, sometimes these are legit questions to figure out if something may need to be done differently, but c'mon, you know when it's snitty.
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E. How to Deal with Disagreements and Personality Conflicts: It is extremely easy for miscommunications to happen within an online text format. Without tones and body language to guide us, text can often relay a different message to us than what the author actually intended. If you feel you could have misunderstood, then just calmly ask the person to clarify. If it escalates, please contact a Forum Leader. (If the complaint is about a Forum Leader, then contact BinkyBunny)
If you feel positive that someone was outright rude and/or if you have a particular problem with a post, reply or a member, please contact a Forum Leader. (or contact BinkyBunny). Do not start or engage in a rude disagreement online, (even if you feel the person has antagonized you first) . Just copy and paste the post to an email to BinkyBunny, and provide the link. Do not ONLY link it as the post can be changed by the member later. You will remain anonymous.F. Debates & Controversial Subjects: Let's keep this board light! Light discussions and differing opinions about rabbit welfare is fine, but please refrain from getting into serious discussions and/ or debates about God, Government, Animal Rights rights in general (eg. like anti-vivisection aka: for science/medicine, rabbits as food, and about controversial highly charged subjects and groups) or any serious ethical debate or discussion.
Issues Surrounding Adopt vs Buy: Encouraging and educating about adoption is fine, but do not debate about it or put someone down for their choice to do otherwise. If our forum is scary to people who choose another route, then they will just look elsewhere, (or nowhere), to learn rabbit care. One of our goals here is to provide a safe resource that helps owners find solutions to challenging issues, whether it be about cost, health, behavior. It's those challenges and unexpected issues that are many times the reasons that bunnies are given up. So in this format, we can do our part in preventing abandonment by focusing on the individual's responsibility to the commitment they make, regardless of where their bunny comes from.
G. Anger Issues: We’re human, we can get bent!! But if you're having a problem keeping your anger under control, step back, breathe and don't come back until you have calmed down. But put this all in perspective - This is supposed to be a fun bunny board, not a battleground.
Spiraling Threads/Communication Breakdowns: Hit Alert so mods can take a look and mediate or manage. If advice has been given and the OP is flippantly ignoring respectful advice or is possibly trolling, then we will lock the thread and figure out the the next step. If members are upset at an OP that just has a different point of view then we may lock the thread to stop the spiral, and will evaluate if further information would helpful or not. Each case is different. Mods/Forum Leaders are all in different times zones with lives outside of this forum, so it can take us time to communicate with other mods and solve.
A. ab Source your quotes: If you quote anything directly from another website, be sure to provide the source name and/or link.
B. Members that imply Abuse/Neglect of their own animals: It is illegal in many Countries and in many U.S. States not to provide food, water, shelter and needed vet care for Rabbits. However, the details of this varies quite a bit from City to City, County to County, Country to Country, etc. As much as these posts may anger us, please refrain from lashing out so we can keep the member active so we can either help the person provide better care or report them if need be. (Use the ALERT so we can become aware and not scare the member away). We may be furious with the person, but the animals won't be helped if the person leaves. With that said, some people will do what they want regardless, and at a certain point, we can only do what what we can do, and we must refocus and move on to help others. Also, some people may come here to pull a prank or joke by trying to rile up a rabbit community, so keep your cool.
DeDefining Abuse Beyond the Law: We know that current laws regarding the treatment of rabbits, require far less care than what most of us provide; However, we have found that the the term "abuse" is used more loosely and is subjective. For that reason, BinkyBunny will not create our own definitions of abuse beyond the law. We will provide education on rabbit care based on our general House Rabbit Guidelines provided by House Rabbit Organizations and sites (like this Site, House Rabbit Society and similar groups).
C. Rehoming Rabbits : Our forum cannot be used as a resource to rehome your bunny. The Rescue section is meant for Rescues and Shelters, and Fosters from a Rescue/Shelter only. However, you can ask about how to deal with some of the challenges that are making you consider rehoming. Our main goal will be to find solutions so you can keep your bunny. If you are an individual who may be in a situation where you are not sure what you should do with a challenging situation - moving, new baby, busy schedule, etc, we can help you find solutions in the Q & A Forum.
Craigslist Ads: Please don't repost or copy and paste, or link to Craigslist ads that are focused on individuals who are looking to rehome their bunnies. If you spot a Craigslist ad that grabs your attention and tugs at your heartstrings, you can always contact the poster and offer up this site as a resource for education.
D. Discussions of Breeding and Rabbits as Livestock: Discussions involving intentional breeding (of any animal) and meat & fur rabbits are not allowed.
• Accidental Litters: We are not a site or forum that has the necessary experience to advise you in this matter. It would be better for your bunnies to use reliable resources for pregnant/nursing does and their babies. Here is a list of resources that you may find very helpful:
- http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/
surpriselitter.html - http://www.rabbit.org/care/
babies.htmlsi - http://www.rabbit.org/care/
newborn.html - http://www.mybunny.org/info/
newborn.htm
D-1 Baby bunny photos: Do not post pictures of the litters unless you plan on keeping them.(or whichever one or so you plan to keep). Photos are allowed under these circumstances:
• Do not post graphic and disturbing descriptions or photos of a suffering animal and/or animal abuse directly in your post. You can provide links to a news story or to more information.
• Please post a warning at the top of your post when describing details in your post or posting links that will be disturbing when clicked on: Example of Warning to use: CONTAINS GRAPHIC/DESCRIPTIVE MATERIAL. THOSE WITH SENSITIVITIES USE CAUTION BEFORE READING FURTHER
F. NO SELLING OR PROMOTING: Do not post, email or message advertisements or promotions of stores, products, services or personal websites. This includes in your Signature, Avatar or Member Name.
THIS INCLUDES CONTESTS, DRAWINGS, VOTE REQUEST, % DONATION PROMOTIONS.
**If you are an affiliate or receive a benefit (store credit, cash, etc,) you cannot promote the site, products or services from the associated site.
Personal Website/blogs/social network pages: As long as you are not selling or making money from your site or social media page (including affiliate, google ads, amazon ads and the like), you can post your blog in the forum and add the URL to your profile. But do not create an account with the sole purpose to promote your personal site or keep posting about it -- that will be considered promoting. Do not use this site to recruit members We are not a free advertising source for you.
• Spam via the BinkyBunny message center will not be tolerated: This can result in immediate banning as well as a report/complaint to your own email provider.
• NO Back Door Advertising: Which means -- Becoming a member to get friendly with everyone, seek out posts to promote or bring up subjects that then would get everyone geared toward your goal then to overtly or slyly sell or promote through posts, signature and/or profiles. Don't do this. We know this sales technique well as we deal with this alot. We don't appreciate our members being used in this way. This can result in immediate account deletion.
• A brand new member cannot post about a product or service as it may be viewed as promotion and it will be subject to deletion and your membership subjected to being banned.) So to prevent people from clogging the forum with promotional usage, selling stuff, etc, do not specifically name retail stores, products, or promotions or provide links, or anything that could be seen as selling or promoting products.
• EXCEPTIONS:
1. It is acceptable, after you have been a member for awhile, determined by the team, to respond to another member's questions or comments if discussing a product or in need of a product. (however, if you are responding only to promote, especially when it's your first few posts or it seems to be repetitive and just a way to promote by finding a several pertaining "subjects", then it will considered advertising.) You can not respond promoting your own site or a site you receive a financial benefit from.
2. Long-term frequent member wants to share their experience of products and services. (Repetitive behavior of this though can result in post deletion if considered "backdoor" advertising.)
3. BinkyBunny will allow information about BinkyBunny Store products and promotions to be posted. So how come WE get to do it and we don't allow others to? This site survives on store profits. It's the only thing that keeps us going. We are not a huge money-making company, nor will we post or allow obnoxious spam type of messages. We just want to be able to maintain and continue to improve this site. (Our heart is in it, but we need our pocketbook to pay for it). So posts about BinkyBunny products and promotions will be allowed as long as it is posted in a non-salesy low key way.
4 . If you are a rescue promoting your site and/blog only, and not promoting products that are competitive with our store, then you can post your blog in the Rescue Section.
G. Do Not Ask Directly for Money/Fees/Donations: (This includes rescues and humane causes but please see “exceptions” regarding this below)
• To prevent BinkyBunny from becoming a haven for money solicitation, do not ask for money/donations/fees directly.
• An individual on behalf of themselves is not allowed to ask for money….ever. (and that includes links to the individualssite where money is requested)
• LEGITIMATE RESCUES and HUMANE CAUSES Exception: You may discuss adoptables, events, and emergency situations where financial help would be urgently needed. You can provide a link to your own site for more information which may have a donation link on your own site's page, but you cannot directly link from BinkyBunny to paypal or other pay system.
H. Negative Reviews/Comments of Pet Stores, Vet Hospitals, Individual Vets and other individuals: So, you saw horrible conditions at a pet store, your vet was terrible, and you had to deal with the rudest receptionist. Those things are monumentally frustrating! We understand, but for your own legal protection keep actual names of individuals and businesses out of your posts. According to the Communications Decency Act, you, the individual poster in an online forum, is legally responsible for your statements, and so if a company or individual wants to pursue a lawsuit against you, they can track you down (IF a court orders it) by your IP address (even if it changes).
I. No Witch Hunts: Do not use BinkyBunny to persecute and/or to recruite others to contact a person, business or group you disagree with.
It is not uncommon to come across people, a business or group, on the net or in person, who concern or even outrage us with a differing belief system - especially when it comes to how animals are treated. (If there is abuse and/or neglect, please report this asap to the proper authorities.)
IT IS OKAY TO ask for advice on how to handle the situation, but keep out of your forum post any identifying information that would allow people to locate the other party, either in person or online. This kind of thing can get ugly fast, and though the original intention may have been to create positive change, it can turn into a witch hunt full of hostilities If you want to try and change how someone treats their rabbit(s) and you think BinkyBunny.com can help, invite them to visit our site. If they then want to seek advice and suggestions, they can reach out via our forum and a respectful discussion will be welcomed.
J. Respect the Privacy of Your Fellow Members: Please do not post information about another member that the member, themselves, has not already posted about on BinkyBunny. This includes information that they may have posted on other sites. So for example if a BB member posts a classified ad on Craigslist, or posts in another forum additional information that s/he did not choose to provide in the BinkyBunny forum, please respect their choice and do not provide links to or repost that information in the forum. If something causes you concern, we ask that you email your fellow BinkyBunny member privately via our Message Center.
K. Vet Information & Vet Referrals: It is okay to refer a particular vet when someone asks for it or if it is subject related. Even if someone posts their vet or facility recommendation to you, it is still your responsibility to screen the vet and the facilities. BinkyBunny.com and the person that gives you the vet reference is not responsible for what happens in the referred veterinarian's care. That is between you and the veterinarian. So always be sure to check out any referred vet for yourself.
L. Posting Information and Pictures of Yourself - Take precaution.
• You must be 18 or older to post pictures of yourself.• Take caution when posting pictures of yourself and your family. The net may seem anonymous, but you must be careful with how much information you put out there. When posting pictures, be careful not to reveal too much personal information. For example - be sure that in pictures, that in the background there is not a house address, a mailbox, car license plate number, etc. The same goes for when you reveal information in posts. If you say you live alone in one post, and then later down the line you give the city you live, then later you talk about the places you go - Combined with your picture this can make who you are and where you live too revealing. So have fun, don't get paranoid, but just take precautions.
M. BinkyBunny Store or Product Complaints will be deleted: BB Members and the Forum community are separate from the BB store. If you have a complaint or problem with the BinkyBunny Store or with a product sold in the store, please resolve it directly with us by contacting us via email or by phone instead of using the forum. BB store Customer Service is a NUMBER ONE priority and so your complaints will never go unheard. The store will never sell a product with numerous complaints and problems. If that begins to happen, the product would be discontinued. Even for unique or rare complaints, we will always try and make it right. So give us a chance to do the right thing before you attempt to use forum as a place for your complaints.
4. SIGNATURES, AVATARS, DISPLAY NAMES AND PROFILES:
CONTENT:.AVATAR – Personal pictures and graphics only that still adhere to the content requirements above. Size will automatically be adjusted. .Do not post distracting Avatars - Ones with movement will be deleted.
FONT STYLE: - Please use our default font, color and size in your forum posts. Members use a variety of devices to access the forum and the style needs to legible on all of them. Though we do have color, font and size options available, they are meant to be used in special cases, like to express celebration such as Happy Birthday or Congratulations.As the board traffic increases and new issues arise, guidelines and rules may be modified. No grandfather rights will apply. Just check here periodically. We do post "Modified w/ an asterick that will then lead you to the updated info", so you can find out what is new since the last time you checked. .
We have sole discretion of what is allowed regarding posts, threads, avatar, signatures and all profile info.
Defiance of these rules can result in you being banned from the forum.
If you have any questions regarding the Rules and Guidelines, email BinkyBunny.
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