The Terms of Use are not intended to cover every conceivable eventuality, though more info will be added as and when necessary. As a general rule - the moderators' decision is final! Date of last major revision: 10th April 2008.
Registering for the Agility Addicts Forums
1. Click on 'Register' in the navigation menu (the navbar above the forum banner).
2. The username you choose must be your own real name, in Firstname Surname format (e.g. Joe Bloggs).
Correct username example: Joe Bloggs
Incorrect username examples: joe bloggs, joebloggs, joe.bloggs, jbloggs, bloggy
Nicknames are not accepted, and such registrations are deleted without further comment.
Please also note that you must not post using someone else's username
(e.g. on shared computers) but register for your own instead. 
3. Fill in the remaining information as required (remember passwords are cAse-sensitiVe!) and Submit the registration form.
4. Registrations are admin-activated, so there will be a short delay before your registration is activated. Once it is activated, you should receive an email – but these sometimes go astray or end up in junk folders! Normally you should be able to log in within a few hours of registering, or check the Newest Members list on the Portal to see if you're listed there.
Agility Addicts reserves the right to reject registration applications.
General notes on posting messages
1. Please keep comments constructive. All should feel able to voice their opinions, but must also respect each other's views. So please keep it polite!
2. Do not use ALL CAPITALS, especially in subject headings. It is the Internet equivalent of shouting and is considered rude. If you persist in posting with words in ALL CAPITALS you may find your messages are deleted as it’s quicker for the moderators to do that than keep taking the time to edit your post.
3. Subject headings should clearly identify what your message is about.
4. Always use the Preview mode to check what your message will look like before clicking Submit. It will be obvious if you’ve made any mistakes with embedded pictures or videos, as they won’t appear.
5. There is an Edit button to the right of messages that you post. Use it to correct errors you spot after submitting a message. If someone else has already posted a reply to the topic in the meantime, your post will have a Last edited … line with date and time automatically added underneath.
6. Spamming the forums, and bumping topics, will not be tolerated and in extreme cases can lead to your username being suspended.
7. Messages posted by registered users are added to the Forums immediately. Agility Addicts therefore does not accept responsibility for any offence that might be caused by messages posted. However, if you are worried about a post on the forum, please send a private message to one of the moderators, or use the ‘Report this post’ warning triangle to the right of the message you’re concerned about.
Cross-posting
Cross-posting of lengthy messages from other forums and websites is not permitted and will be treated as spam. The use of short extracts, or links to the full text, is acceptable. Please remember that it is your responsibility to seek the permission of the original author before cross-posting to the Agility Addicts Forums.
If you wish to cross-post from the Agility Addicts Forums to another forum, you need to seek and receive the permission of the person who wrote the message here. Do not assume such permission will be given without checking first, unless of course they state in their posts that cross-posting is acceptable.
Copyright and Intellectual Property
Please note that if you wish to include quotations or other material from the Agility Addicts Forums on any other website or publication, you need to seek and receive the permission of both the person who wrote the original message and the forum owner (Fiona Hulse/Agility Addicts). You must also fully acknowledge sources in your website or publication.
Agility Addicts supports the concept of Intellectual Property on the Internet.
Advertising
The forums are provided free of charge to Agility Addicts readers.
They are therefore not places where advertising is permitted.
If you wish to advertise your agility services, or sell agility items, please do so on the Agilitynet and Agility Eye websites, or in the Agility Eye and Agility Voice magazines. For items wanted, please check the above website or magazine ads first to see if what you want is already on offer there.
The only general exceptions to the no-advertising rule are:
a) replies to queries from other Forum users passing on information about services etc, but only where these replies are not made by the companies or associates themselves, and are not interpretable as promotions.
b) information, including show schedules, about dog agility shows.
Other exceptions at the moderators' discretion. If you are unsure whether your post is affected by the no advertising rule, it is your responsibility to contact us before posting your message.
All forms of advertising for dogs (including but not limited to dogs for rehoming, puppies for sale, stud dogs) will be deleted.
Images
When including images (show courses, pictures of dogs etc), please use Preview to check the image displays properly, and ideally keep the images to under about 150 kb in size so they don't take too long to load. Maximum 10 images per post, each maximum 800x800 pixels, if they’re externally linked (e.g. Photobucket). Maximum 6 images per post, each maximum 800x800 pixels, if using the attachment system.
There are guides and tutorials at the top of the Photo and Video Gallery with more information on permitted image sizes and how to get your photos online.
Links
All readers posting to the Forums are welcome, as part of their messages, to include a link to any agility and dog-related websites that they feel will be of interest to other readers, as long as those links abide by the rest of the terms of use here. Links are not allowed in signatures, or at the bottom of posts as pseudo-signatures. Links to your own sites should be added via your profile in the User Control Panel.
Please send us a PM if you are concerned about any link included in a message or user's profile. The moderation team reserves the right to remove or edit links, and Agility Addicts takes no responsibility for the content on other sites!
Avatars and Signatures
Each user is welcome to personalise their contributions to the forum by means of signatures and avatars, via the User Control Panel.
Avatars are the images that display just above a user’s username. Maximum size 160x120 pixels, 50kb. See the Board Suggestions and Questions section for guidelines on adding an avatar. Avatars should be in good taste, and should not contravene other forum rules (e.g. advertising).
Signatures appear in the area below the dotted line on users’ posts. Images and links are not permitted in signatures, and there is an 80 character/2 line limit on text signatures. Signatures should be in good taste, and should not contravene other forum rules (e.g. advertising).
Attachments
Attachments can be added in certain forums. In the various Shows and Show Schedules forums, users can attach schedules and entry forms for upcoming agility shows. These schedules/entry forms can be in Word DOC, Adobe PDF and Excel XLS formats.
In the Photo and Video Gallery and a couple of other forums, users can attach images as a way of posting their photos online. See the tutorial at the top of the Photo Gallery for more information on how to do this.
There is a 1 Mb size limit on attachment files posted to the forums. Smaller attachments can also be sent via private messages.
Private Messages
Registered users are able to send Private Messages (PMs) and emails via the board to any other registered user.
Private messages are just that – private! – and are not read by anyone other than the sender and recipient, unless either the sender or recipient chooses to send the text to a third party or report it to a moderator.
However, you should not be using the PM system to spam or abuse other users. Be aware that what might seem an acceptable use of the PM system to you might not be seen as such by the recipient and the forum admin team. Individuals that misuse the PM system risk having the facility deactivated from their user accounts, or in extreme cases having their registration suspended or terminated altogether.
Deleting messages
Messages posted by registered users are added to the forums immediately. The moderators read most messages, but it is not realistically possible to read all, and we aren't online all the time. If you are concerned about anything on the forums, send us a PM or use the 'Report this post' system.
As a general guide, Agility Addicts reserves the right to delete any messages, including ones:
- that are rude, hostile or excessively argumentative in tone
that contain excessively large or inappropriate images
that are not abiding by the "no advertising" rule
that include quantities of text or headings in all capitals
To ensure we can all enjoy the Forums, registered users will have their messages placed on moderation for a period of not less than two weeks if:
- they persist in contributing to unnecessary or hostile arguments
their messages are persistently rude or upsetting to other readers
they persist in posting off-topic or inappropriate material or advertising
Where necessary, Agility Addicts reserves the right to fully terminate the registrations of users who continue to break the rules above, and/or are hostile towards other users either on the forums, via private messages or emails sent via the board, and/or who are hostile towards the moderating team either on the forums or via private message or email.
Please enjoy reading, and posting messages to, the Agility Addicts Forums.
The more the merrier!
Many thanks to Agilitynet
and Agility Eye for their continued support of the forums.
