Post by safehorse on Jan 26, 2006 13:26:22 GMT -5
Let me start off by saying that I have managed celebrity message boards on which the celebrity was actually posting for over seven years...so I have seen it all when it comes to the crazy things people will say and do thanks to the anonymity of the Internet.
This is why we have rules and it is also why I reserve the right to delete your account if you do not follow them. This is not a sidewalk - it's a privately owned forum and you do not have freedom of speech here. So, if you intend to insist that you do, you will lose.
The good news is that these rules are simple and easy to follow.
1. Want to flame? Flame Cavel. All you want. Flame Bob Goodlatte - have fun. Flame the French for eating horses. But don't you dare flame other board members or you will be gone. Consider this board like a family holiday - you may not like everybody present but it's in your best interests to be polite.
2. There are going to be a wide range of beliefs here. I am a vegetarian, animal rights activist, but you don't have to be. The only requirement for membership is you love horses and want to see them safe from slaughter, neglect, and abuse. Again, respect each other. You may debate but you may not personally attack. If you don't know the difference, don't go there.
3. Privacy is important. If you post a member's real name, address, phone number of any personal information here without their consent, you are banned. One strike and you are out.
4. This is the Internet. Please take information posted here with a grain of salt and then some. Don't send money to someone five states away who claims they are rescuing an animal and then cry when you find out they lied. You need to use your brain. Donations should go to reputable rescues that have web sites and allow you to visit. I am happy to recommend rescues that I think highly of, but cannot verify information on those I'm not familiar with.
5. I'm sorry that I am a cynic, but you cannot trust people just on their word. Someone posting offering to give a horse a retirement home COULD BE a slaughter buyer. YOU need to verify. YOU need to visit their facilities. YOU need to follow up. I cannot stress this enough. Don't hand over any animal without planning on following up and ensuring the animal's safety. If something doesn't seem right - IT ISN'T. Trust your instincts, you have them for a reason.
6. Horse dealers are not the enemy. Horse dealers can be our friends if we use a little common sense. Again, use your brain. Be nice to the dealer and he may let you come to his farm to photograph horses and post them here. After all, he wants them sold, he doesn't care to who. That saves lives. Yowling about how horrible the dealer is to take horses to auctions does not do a bit of good or save any lives. So don't do it - I will delete you.
7. George Bush is not the enemy, either. Please recall George Bush signed the bill to take the funding away from the slaughterhouse inspectors. A Republican has led the fight to ban slaughter, Rep. John Sweeney. I am a Republican. Deal with it and don't blame the Republicans for slaughter. (Bob Goodlatte, you can blame, but not because he is a Republican, because he simply sucks and is the beef industry's hand puppet).
8. A good rule of thumb on the net is to re-read your post at least twice before hitting send.
9. I shouldn't have to say this but I will - I hope you have enough sense not to say anything racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. here. If you don't, you're gone.
10. Again, this board is private property. If you cannot be civil and act like an adult (and you know what that is even if you are 13 or 14), you're gone. I can and will ban you. I do not care if you think I am mean. I have been through this all before and I will not tolerate flame wars.
That said, let's get busy making horses safe!
This is why we have rules and it is also why I reserve the right to delete your account if you do not follow them. This is not a sidewalk - it's a privately owned forum and you do not have freedom of speech here. So, if you intend to insist that you do, you will lose.
The good news is that these rules are simple and easy to follow.
1. Want to flame? Flame Cavel. All you want. Flame Bob Goodlatte - have fun. Flame the French for eating horses. But don't you dare flame other board members or you will be gone. Consider this board like a family holiday - you may not like everybody present but it's in your best interests to be polite.
2. There are going to be a wide range of beliefs here. I am a vegetarian, animal rights activist, but you don't have to be. The only requirement for membership is you love horses and want to see them safe from slaughter, neglect, and abuse. Again, respect each other. You may debate but you may not personally attack. If you don't know the difference, don't go there.
3. Privacy is important. If you post a member's real name, address, phone number of any personal information here without their consent, you are banned. One strike and you are out.
4. This is the Internet. Please take information posted here with a grain of salt and then some. Don't send money to someone five states away who claims they are rescuing an animal and then cry when you find out they lied. You need to use your brain. Donations should go to reputable rescues that have web sites and allow you to visit. I am happy to recommend rescues that I think highly of, but cannot verify information on those I'm not familiar with.
5. I'm sorry that I am a cynic, but you cannot trust people just on their word. Someone posting offering to give a horse a retirement home COULD BE a slaughter buyer. YOU need to verify. YOU need to visit their facilities. YOU need to follow up. I cannot stress this enough. Don't hand over any animal without planning on following up and ensuring the animal's safety. If something doesn't seem right - IT ISN'T. Trust your instincts, you have them for a reason.
6. Horse dealers are not the enemy. Horse dealers can be our friends if we use a little common sense. Again, use your brain. Be nice to the dealer and he may let you come to his farm to photograph horses and post them here. After all, he wants them sold, he doesn't care to who. That saves lives. Yowling about how horrible the dealer is to take horses to auctions does not do a bit of good or save any lives. So don't do it - I will delete you.
7. George Bush is not the enemy, either. Please recall George Bush signed the bill to take the funding away from the slaughterhouse inspectors. A Republican has led the fight to ban slaughter, Rep. John Sweeney. I am a Republican. Deal with it and don't blame the Republicans for slaughter. (Bob Goodlatte, you can blame, but not because he is a Republican, because he simply sucks and is the beef industry's hand puppet).
8. A good rule of thumb on the net is to re-read your post at least twice before hitting send.
9. I shouldn't have to say this but I will - I hope you have enough sense not to say anything racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. here. If you don't, you're gone.
10. Again, this board is private property. If you cannot be civil and act like an adult (and you know what that is even if you are 13 or 14), you're gone. I can and will ban you. I do not care if you think I am mean. I have been through this all before and I will not tolerate flame wars.
That said, let's get busy making horses safe!