Membership Registration

In order to use the forums on this site visitors are required to register with a username, password, date of birth and valid email address. Failure to enter birth date will result in membership application being denied. Any email address given during the registration process is used for registration purposes and membership validation only and is only viewable to Acorn Internet Ltd and not to members or non-members visiting this site.

1.

Users can only register one username per email address and should not register multiple usernames. Each individual should register their own member account and accounts should not be shared between individuals.

2.

Users must be 16 years of age or over. Users under the age of 18 should obtain the consent of a parent or guardian and their agreement to terms and rules stated before registering and/or using any of the site features available to members.

3.

Usernames should not be offensive or of an advertising nature (eg Business names should not be registered as usernames). Acorn Internet Ltd reserve the right to change the registered username of any member that they consider to be inappropriate for whatever reason.

4.

Acorn Internet Ltd reserve the right to refuse any registration or suspend/cancel the membership of any member in violation of the Membership Rules or for any other reason as they deem appropriate without giving reason or notification. All decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

5.

There is no obligation for users to add any personal information to their membership profile except birth date (due to the age restriction on registrations). Members should be aware that any information that they choose to add to their profile will be viewable to other members.

6.

Acorn Internet Ltd have appointed a representative with the status of Administrator to help members in the use of the site features and to deal with violations of the Membership Rules.

7.

Acorn Internet Ltd have appointed voluntary site members to act as Moderators to help members in the correct use of the Forums and to help the Acorn Internet Ltd Administrator in dealing with violation of the Membership Rules. The Moderators are not employees or representatives of Acorn Internet Ltd and any views expressed by them are not necessarily those of Acorn Internet Ltd.

8.

Registration indicates acceptance of all of the terms and rules stated on this page and the Site Terms and Conditions.

Revisions of Membership Rules

9.

Acorn Internet Ltd may at any time revise the Membership Rules without notice. By using the membership areas of this site, members agree to be bound by the full rules and any such revisions. It is advised that members periodically read the Membership Rules to ensure they are familiar with, and abide by, the current rules.

Forums

Please read carefully the terms and rules below which relate specifically to the site forums. Particpation on the forums will be deemed as acceptance and understanding of these terms and rules.

10.

By posting on the forums, members authorise Admin and/or the Moderators to edit, move, lock or remove any post or thread for any reason considered appropriate by them. Any queries or comments relating to the editting, moving, locking or removal of any post or thread by Admin and/or the Moderators should be addressed to Admin and/or the Moderators by private message and not within forum posts. All decisions regarding the editting, moving, locking or removal of any post or thread by the Admin and/or the Moderators are final and no correspondence will be necessarily entered into.

11.

Messages posted on these forums are not pre-screened by Acorn Internet Ltd and so any member using the forums do so at their own risk and accept the risk that they may be exposed to offensive or inappropriate material posted by members. Acorn Internet Ltd do not guarantee that every post will be viewed by the Admin and/or the Moderators after it has been posted or edited by any member.

12.

Any member who sees a post that they consider to be in violation of the Forum Rules should report the post promptly using the "Report to Moderator" link in the left hand column under the poster's name alongside the offending post. Any reports made this way are annoymous. The site Admin and/or Moderators will then deal with the post as they deem appropriate.

13.

Acorn Internet Ltd reserve the right to activate a pre-screening process on any forum(s) they may deem appropriate and for any length of time that they deem appropriate without giving reason. Where any pre-screening process is in place posts submitted will not appear on the forum until reviewed by the site Admin and/or Moderators.

14.

Acorn Internet Ltd accepts no responsibility or liability for any content in posts made by members, including Moderators and the site Admin, in their posts including but not limited to any accuracy of information given, views and opinions expressed, advice given or any claims to professional status or experience whether posts are subject to any pre-screening process or not. Any information posted on the forums is given by way of exchange of views and opinions by members only, and any views or opinions expressed by members, including Moderators and the site Admin, are their own and not necessarily those of Acorn Internet Ltd.

15.

The forums are intended for the discussion of pets and related topics. Posts on any other topic should not be posted in any pet themed forums provided.

16.

The forums should not be used as a means of veterinary diagnosis or prescription, and should not be used as a substitute for a consultation with a qualified veterinarian. It is possible that advice given here may be dangerous, and members should make their own checks that any advice given is safe.

17.

Members should consider the wording of posts carefully and thoughtfully to ensure they are constructive, polite and not likely to cause offence to others. Members should not swear and should be respectful of other members' opinions. When joking with other members members it can help to avoid misunderstandings by adding a smiley to posts.

18.

Members should not post anything that is rude, abusive, offensive, disruptive, intended to cause trouble, threatening, racist, homophobic, sexist, ageist, pornographic, obscene, defamatory, libellous, insulting, name-calling, false, misleading, illegal, promotes illegal activity or inflammatory. Members should not post anything that infringes the intellectual property, copyright or other rights of any third party or breach any applicable laws. Members are solely responsible for any messages posted by them, and agree to indemnify and hold harmless Acorn Internet Ltd in full and permanently against any third party liabilities, claims, costs, loss or damage incurred by Acorn Internet Ltd that may be caused by messages submitted by them, including consequential loss.

19.

Members should bear in mind when posting that members and non-members are able to view the forums, including children who may or may not be site members, and should therefore ensure that topics and content posted are suitable for a general audience and word posts appropriately.

20.

Post titles or content should not be typed in all capitals as this is considered as "shouting" and therefore rude.

21.

Post headings should be relevant and indicate the post topic. Avoid vague headings on posts such as "Help Needed", "Please Read", etc.

22.

Advertising of any kind is not permitted within forum posts, member signatures or member profiles - this includes, but is not limited to, the posting of items for sale, businesses, web sites, etc. Any member wishing to advertise on this site should visit the Advertising Section for details.

23.

To ensure posts are easily readable by all members the use of internet shorthand, slang or "text speak" is not permitted within forum posts.

24.

As web addresses posted on these forums cannot easily be monitored to ensure they remain up-to-date, relevant or suitable for all forum members, the posting of any web site address not owned by Acorn Internet Ltd is not permitted within member posts, member profiles or member signatures in any format eg including www.sitename.com, sitename.com, sitename dot com, etc. Any references to web sites not owned by Acorn Internet Ltd on these forums should be by web site name only. Web addresses may however be shared with other members by private message where requested.

25.

Members should post within the most appropriate forum and not duplicate posts on more than one forum.

26.

Members should keep threads on topic and start a new thread for a new topic.

27.

Any image or combination of images within a member's signature file should not exceed an area of 30,000 pixels ie 200 x 150 pixels, 300 x 100 pixels, etc and should be no larger than 30Kb file size. See the Forum FAQ for examples of the maximum size allowed.

28.

Members should consider carefully before posting any personal details about themselves within forum posts as doing so makes these details available to viewers of the forums. Members should not post personal details or pictures of any other person unless they have that person's permission to do so.

29.

Members should not add a post to a thread purely to "bump up" a old topic above more recent topics or topics with more recent responses.

30.

The discussion of members whose membership has been terminated or cancelled and/or the reasons for the termination or cancellation of their membership accounts on the forums is not permitted.

31.

Members should not post requests for financial donations from members for any reason whatsoever on the forums.

32.

The forums are intended for public discussion between all members. Please do not post messages intended for the attention of individual member(s) on the forums. Personal conversations should be conducted using the private messaging system.

Site Private Messaging System

Please read carefully the rules below which relate specifically to the site private messaging system. Use of the site private messaging system will be deemed as acceptance and understanding of these rules.

Private messages over 45 days old are periodically deleted during system maintenance so if any member wishes to retain information contained in any private message long term that information should be copied elsewhere, such as cut and pasted into a Word document and saved on the member's computer.

33.

Any member using the private messaging system do so at their own risk and accept the risk that they may be exposed to offensive or inappropriate material.

34.

Members sharing any personal information with any other member using the private messaging system do so at their own risk.

35.

Acorn Internet Ltd does not pre-screen or monitor private messages posted between members and accepts no responsibility or liability for the content of private messages posted by site members. However, the site operators are able to access private messages if needed to verify any complaint made against a member's use of the private messaging system.

36.

Consider the wording of private messages carefully and thoughtfully to ensure they are not likely to cause offence. Do not post anything that is rude, abusive, offensive, disruptive, intended to cause trouble, threatening, racist, homophobic, sexist, ageist, pornographic, obscene, defamatory, libellous, insulting, name-calling, false, misleading, illegal, promotes illegal activity or inflammatory. Members should not post anything that infringes the intellectual property, copyright or other rights of any third party or breach any applicable laws. Be polite to other site members at all times, do not swear and be respectful of other member's opinions.

37.

Do not share the personal details or pictures of any other person unless you have their permission to do so.

38.

Do not use the private messaging system to post unsolicited messages to any other member of an advertising nature including, but not limited to, promoting items for sale, businesses, web sites, etc.

39.

Any member receiving a private message in violation of the rules should forward the message and give the username of the person who sent the message to Admin and/or the Moderators by private message who will deal with as deemed appropriate.