Avian Avenue Community Guidelines & Etiquette

[itzmered]

We want everyone to have an enjoyable and safe experience here at Avian Avenue. That starts with you. Following these rules and guidelines will help you become a valued part of our community.

We have these rules to protect our members, the birds they care for, and to keep this a pleasant place people want to return to. If you don't like our rules and guidelines, or find them hard to follow, please don't spoil the experience for others, and find another forum or group which better aligns with your wants and needs.


AVENUE RULES AND GUIDELINES


Be Respectful to Each Other

• Intent is sometimes hard to interpret. Remember that tone can be hard to convey in text where we can't see people's faces or hear their inflections. Try to make sure what you are going to post is not going to be read as intentionally rude or harsh. Say what you mean, and mean what you say, but don't be mean just to be mean. On the other hand, don't immediately assume that someone is intentionally being rude. Clarify before getting defensive.
• Disagreements are part of forum life. You will not always agree with everyone. If you feel the need to defend yourself, please do so politely based on your own personal opinion or facts. Do not resort to personal attacks or inflammatory comments. Take the high road. If someone is being rude, feel free to report them, but please only do this if you are unable to resolve it on your own or they have made comments that do not align with our guidelines. Staff only intervenes when truly necessary.
  • There may be specific people that you learn you never can see eye to eye with. Instead of constantly clashing with them, which causes a poor experience for you, the other party, and everyone who can witness your interactions, we recommend using the ignore feature
• Free speech does not give you the right to be a jerk. When you sign up, you are agreeing to abide by the rules of a private site owner. You do not need to agree with someone to be kind.
• Know your audience. We have people from 13 years old all the way up into their 80s and from all over the world. Please remember when talking to people that not everyone has access to the same funds, resources, vets, products, or transportation that you do. We can try to help people find alternatives or resources, but it is up to them, their situation, and abilities to make use of them. Getting upset with them about something they can't change doesn't help anyone.
• Do not criticize other members for their style of writing. This includes things such as misspellings, grammar, lack of punctuation, etc. There can be a legitimate reason for a person's writing style, and they do not owe you an explanation as to what that reason is.
• Be an ally, or move on. We are a community with people from all genders, ages, races, sexual preferences, politics, religions, and occupations. Avian Avenue is not the place to argue about any of that. We will not tolerate any posts that attack someone for their gender (Binary or other), age, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. You do not have to agree with their personal life to treat them with respect.
  • This includes posting any jokes, memes, etc targeting any group.
• Treat new members kindly. Many new users are first time bird owners, and many have never been in an online community like ours. It takes time to get used to our forum. We do not want to run new people off for any reason. Let's make sure they get good, polite information here, or they may get bad information elsewhere. No one wants to be attacked the first time they post.
• Educate, but don't judge. This applies to cages, food, toys, etc. It is very hard to know the whole situation from a photo or two. For example, if someone comes here posting and is asking for help, don't immediately jump on them about their cage size being too small. Maybe that's their hospital cage, maybe it's a travel cage, etc. You simply don't know, and jumping on them about it is going to cause more harm than good. It puts people, especially new members, on the defensive, and once you do that it is very hard to educate
• Don't be vulgar. This is a family friendly forum. You may not use profanity, inappropriate words, phrases, photos, memes, videos, and using characters to replace letters to spell profanities indirectly.

• Don't bully, harass, flame or threaten other forum members for any reason.
• Respect includes the forum and its staff. Threads challenging forum rules, admins, or moderators are not allowed. If you disagree or want clarification on something you can contact us privately.

• Don't post about drugs or illegal substances, even if it is legal in some areas. Pictures or references even in a subtle fashion are not allowed.
• Post any Animal Rights, Non-pet ownership, or other controversial animal topics in the Controversial Animal Topics forum. These will only be allowed to stay open on a case by case basis. We are a pet owning community however and the forums are not to be used to promote non-pet ownership campaigns. Anything that gets too heated will be locked.

Deleting Old Threads, Posts, or Accounts

• When you post, you acknowledge that any submissions you make may be edited, removed, modified, published, transmitted, and displayed by Avian Avenue at any time.

• We do not delete old posts or threads. Unless it is in violation of a law, a threat to someone's person, or otherwise harmful, we will usually not edit or delete threads or posts. Old posts are still valuable to our community, as they help us show up in Google search, help teach people who may only read and not post, and give us something to reference if a situation comes up again. Deleting posts ruins the flow of a thread, and deleting threads because they are no longer relevant to you is unfair to the members who donated their time and knowledge to helping you.
• Locked threads - If a thread is locked, do not start a new thread to continue the conversation. The thread was locked for a reason.

• We do not delete accounts. If you would like your access to the site restricted, our admins can assist in doing this for you.
• Each member is allowed only one account. A member that creates multiple accounts may have their accounts suspended. If your account was banned, you will not be allowed to create a new account. If you want a new account name, you can change your name in your Account Settings.
• No exit posts. We hope that you enjoy your time here, but if for any reason you wish to leave, don't post a thread telling everyone. Exit posts will be deleted and you risk having your account suspended, preventing you from returning. Take a small break, and if you don't want to return, you can either leave gracefully, or contact an admin to have your account restricted.

Private Messaging

• For safety reasons, minor are unable to send PMs.
• Don't use private messages to get around forum rules. This includes advertising, soliciting, asking for donations, bypassing censors, harassment, etc. If you know you would get in trouble by posting it on the main forum, it may not be appropriate for private messaging either.
  • If you receive a private message that violates these rules, makes you uncomfortable, or feels like harassment, please report it so staff can address it.
• Don't use messages when a thread would be better. If you are asking a generic question, or a question that the experience of multiple people would be beneficial, start a thread. This means you will get more members giving you advice, and will often be faster than waiting for a specific individual.
• DO use messages when you are talking to just one person. If you are posting a thread meant for a specific individual, rather than anyone with experience, please send them a private message. This can include messages for vendors, staff, or other members. This will ensure that the message is received by the intended party, and it prevents embarrassing someone who may prefer to discuss their personal business privately.

Internet Safety, Privacy, & Minors

• Never post personal information or photos that you wouldn't want to be seen outside of the forum. This is a global community and many areas of our forum can be see by everyone, regardless if they are a member or not. Once it is out there, it is hard to get rid of. Even deleting is not permanent in the digital age.
  • For minors, this is especially important. If you are under the age of 18, never share your exact age, city and state, address, phone number, or even email address. You should also be mindful of posting personal photos from which you can be identified, and should not post photos of yourself at all.
    • Due to US Federal laws, we cannot allow members under the age of 13 to participate in our forums. For more information, please visit the FTC page on COPPA.
  • Be careful about mentioning when you will be out of town or on vacation
  • We recommend you do not post your email or phone number in a thread, as spammers will troll for these and then add them to their mailing/calling lists.
• Do not post anyone else's personal information, including email, address, or phone number, unless it is considered "public knowledge". Example: a publicly listed business number for a veterinarian.

Fundraisers & Donations

• No fundraiser or donation requests will be permitted on the board without prior approval. Most requests WILL BE DECLINED. This includes any mention of fundraiser activity on the board AT ALL without prior consent. This means if you have a fundraiser going off-site, you may NOT mention it on Avian Avenue.
  • Fundraisers will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and will likely not be approved. If a fundraiser is approved, members should still realize that this approval is a matter of consensus based on the available information, thus non-definitive, and they should therefore still exercise their own good judgement. Approval will be based on several factors and will be subject to verification,
  • Any member desiring to announce a fundraiser of any kind on the board must first notify a Staff Member. The member submitting the request is required to provide the following information:
    • Reason for fundraiser
    • Vet name, address and phone number and/or rescue group contact information (must be a licensed rescue or non-profit organization)
    • Contact info for all parties involved
    • Whether the person receiving donations aware of fundraising activities and in agreement with it?
  • If the request is approved you will then be instructed to post it on the board and the thread will then be closed. All conversation is to be conducted strictly off the board. When the fundraiser is complete please notify a Staff Member if you would like us to add a notice onto the closed thread directing members to check the off board info site for an update. No mention of money amounts will be allowed on the thread.
• If members see an unauthorized donation or fundraising request on a thread, we ask that they please report the post to make the admins aware of it.
• We advise caution and prudence whenever getting involved in a fundraiser of any sort. Avian Avenue will not be involved with or mediate any problems that may arise and any threads or posts that try to bring fundraiser drama will be deleted.

Photographs/Videos

• Please do not post photos of birds in dangerous situations.Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and opinions on bird care. We are here to educate and help each other do the best we can do for the birds' best interest. This may bring up discussions on topics such as birds & other pets. Over the years we have seen many of these situations become losses. As Avian Avenue is a close community of people, we take those losses as our own. To educate and bring awareness of these potentially deadly opportunities we ask that you do not post photos of any birds in dangerous situations. This may include:
  • Photos with predatory animals such as dogs, cats, ferrets, etc. It just takes a split second for an accident to happen even with very well behaved cats and dogs who are taken by surprise. Cat saliva can be deadly to birds. Saliva toxins can kill within a matter of minutes or a few days. Scratches and bites from both cats and dogs and other animals can cause severe injury and/or death.
    
    Be aware that dogs and cats who have been fine for years showing no interest in your birds can change as they get older. Please do not become lulled into a false sense of security. Cats and dogs can react unexpectedly for many reasons when least expected. It is your responsibility to protect your flock.
    
    Also be aware of the potential danger to the other animals in your household. A bird's bite can inflict serious damage to another animal and in the worse case scenario can result in death. Please be careful, Roadies. It is your responsibility to keep all your beloved pets safe.
  • Photos of your bird unrestrained outside (example: no harness or carrier). Please be aware if you choose to bring your birds outside without a harness or in a secure cage that you place them at risk. Even birds with clipped wings and who have never shown any interest or ability to fly can get airborne with the right gust of wind or if something unexpectedly frightens them and in the excitement of the moment can fly away or into danger. We recommend using flight suits, harnesses or closed cages when bringing birds outside.
• If you see a photo of a bird in a potentially dangerous situation, please report it. We do not need a dozen members repeating the same thing over and over again. This can feel like harassment and put the posting member on the defensive.
• Graphic Content: If you are starting a new thread and will be including a photo of a wound or dead bird, please put a Graphic Content warning in your title. If you are adding it as a post to an existing thread that does not include this warning, please use the Spoiler feature to conceal it for members who may not want to see it.

Classified Ads & Rescues

• Do not post links to Craigslist or other sites listing birds for adoption or rescue. We want to help birds find homes but the scope of our forum is not for a classifieds section. We do allow posting if you are rehoming your own bird; you can do so in the Rehome Highway.
  • Before posting your bird, please read this thread and sign that you understand or your rehoming ad may be deleted.
• Rescues must be pre-approved in order to post. Please contact a Staff Member to see if yours qualifies.
• Breeders are not permitted to sell their birds on this forum. There are websites specifically devoted to selling birds if you would like to sell over the internet.
• Do not post links, photos, or videos of birds in order to criticize, judge, or shame someone. This includes posting to comment on cage type, condition, toys, or cleanliness, food choices, bird health or looks, grammar, or spelling. We simply cannot judge others based off of one snip of time (a picture or short video, for example) and we do not want someone to find their way to our forum because someone was criticizing their care behind their back. If you have a concern about an ad/video/etc it is best you talk directly with the person that posted it.

Rehome Ads

• Please only post your own birds, or birds you know personally. This helps prevent confusion and issues.
• All posts made in the Rehome Highway are submitted for Moderator approval. This applies to new threads as well as replies. They will be approved as long as you comply with forum rules.
  • If you post your ad elsewhere on the board, it will be reviewed and, if approved, moved to Rehome Highway.
• Do not comment on a rehome ad to criticize, guilt, or otherwise make someone feel bad for posting. This includes angry/sad reacts.
• Please protect yourself and your bird when posting an ad to rehome. There are unfortunately many people out there that do not think of your bird the way that you do: as a member of the family. They see dollar signs or an egg factory, and will use your situation against you in order to secure the product. Others want to truly help but they are incapable of doing so and unintentional hoarders or abusers. Heavily research any prospects.

Advertising & Vendors

• To advertise your store or business on Avian Avenue, you must be an approved vendor. Please contact @Macawnutz to apply before you upgrade your account. We reserve the right to refuse a listing to any store for any reason.
• We do not endorse or sponsor any store or business.Please use a "buyer beware" approach and do your research before hand. While we do not endorse any one store, we feel the vendors represented here are a cut above the rest as they participate and help their fellow bird lovers. Staff is not required to promote or recommend Avian Avenue vendors only.
  • If you have an issue with an Avian Avenue vendor, please try to resolve it with them privately. A public thread is not the correct way to handle an issue.
  • If you are unable to resolve it with the vendor, you can reach out to a Staff Member for guidance. While we will not get involved with the situation, we do want to be sure our vendors are treating our members well.
  • DO NOT post threads with the sole purpose of bashing vendors- Avian Avenue vendor or not.
    • It is certainly okay to ask for feedback on products, breeders, vendors, etc - we just ask that anything posted be from your own experiences (not just word of mouth from a story you heard). It's good to be able to share experiences - it's how we learn and make better decisions in the future. However, posts or threads made only with the intention to attack or tear down a person or business may be removed.
• You may post sales for non-Avian Avenue vendors. Feel free to invite your favorite vendor to be a member.
• Unapproved Vendors: If you post a link to a vendor and it autocorrects to Unapproved Vendor, please do not try to bypass this with spaces, tinyURLs, or PMs. There is a good reason that they are blocked. Stores are only added to that list because they chose not to be affiliated with AA for some reason, they have been found to not be in line with our community standards, they took advantage of members, or they stole content from another vendor. The unapproved vendor list is very small and we do not use it lightly.
• Current Vendor List. To see the current vendors here at Avian Avenue, please check out the Vendor thread in the Marketplace.

Signatures

• Signatures may not include links unless you have an approved paid vendor account. This includes to your personal blog, Etsy shop, etc.
• Size: Please keep images no larger than 600 pixels on the long side and no taller than 250 pixels on the tall side. Smaller is better.
  • Please limit the stacking of images so that they will fit in approximately a 250x600 space.
  • Text siggies should also fit in the approximate same height and combinations of images/text please keep combined height no more than 250 pixels in height.

Other Forums, Communities & Pages

• You absolutely can be part of other forums and communities. The internet is a big world and there are many other forums available. We have NO objection to friends sharing this information with each other, or members being members of any and all boards they choose. All are welcome here regardless of other places they may roost.
• No Soliciting. You may not use AA to gather information for other public use.
• Do not use AA to recruit people. This means please do not PM members to get them to join another community, or advertise it in your signature. Posting links to threads from other forums is okay as long as it is relevant to the topic and not personal in nature. Links will be reviewed as needed on an individual basis. We reserve the right to remove links at our discretion without notice.
• Please note that the ONLY off-site page we are associated with is the official Avian Avenue Facebook page. Any other groups are absolutely not a part of this forum. All rules and guidelines below pertain to both this site and our Facebook page.

TIPS FOR POSTS

• Use the search function first. If you have a quick question, use the search feature on the forum first to see if someone else has already asked and answered it. This frees up members to help others that may not have as easy of a question to answer.
• Read through your post before you submit. There is only a 10 minute window to edit your post, and someone may read it before you get a chance to. Be confident that what you are posting is what you mean to say.
• Try to stay on topic. It can be so hard not to follow a tangent, but it is disrespectful to the person who started the thread. People usually need help when they are starting a thread, and it is very hard for them to get it if no one is discussing what they are asking about. Feel free to start your own thread to continue posting about a subject someone raised.
• If you don't know enough about a topic, don't post. This is especially true in health, behavior, and 911 threads. Wrong information can literally kill a bird. Some people post a thread, and see one or two posts and never come back, so those first few posts it is vital that they get correct information. We all make mistakes, but if you do not know about a topic, please do not post unless it is to tag a member you have seen post regarding the topic before.
  • Not sure? Ask yourself:
    • Do I have personal experience with this topic?
      • If yes, feel free to post your experience.
      • If no, then read the experiences other people post instead of commenting yourself.
    • Have I done a lot of research on this topic before?
      • If yes, feel free to share what you have found, and where. Citations help us all.
      • If no, then consider if what you are posting will help.
    • Is what I am saying definitely true?
      • If you have only heard second hand about the issue, or have any doubt about what you are stating, then posting may not help and could be harmful.
    • Do I think or do I know about this topic?
      • If you are starting off your comment with "I think", "I believe", or "I heard" then consider waiting for more experienced members to post, as you may actually cause more harm than good.
• Have a good thread title. Don't be vague (Example: "I need help") but also don't include too much information that would be better suited for the first post in the thread. A title should be an introduction to the topic, and show others in a moment what will be discussed or asked of them within. People want to know if they should click into your thread because they have something to offer on the subject.
• Don't use excessive formatting. Using a lot of colors, fonts, sizes, etc, make your posts hard to read. Same for using ALL CAPS.
• Don't start multiple threads about the same subject. This leads to confusion and frustration for both you and the other members. Some people will post in one thread, but have no idea that you've already discussed their follow up questions elsewhere. Having it all in one thread means everyone is on the same page, and you get better answers quicker.
• Check the age of the thread.
  • If you find an old thread about a similar subject you want to discuss, start a new thread. You will actually get more visibility starting a new thread than you will be bumping up an old one. If there is relevant information that you would like to reference, you can provide a link to the original thread so people can view it themselves.
  • Rehome Highway: it is important to look at how old a thread is before asking if a bird is still available. Even if there have been no updates, if the thread is several months old, it is unlikely the member will be returning

• Don't feed the trolls. A "troll" is Internet slang for a person who intentionally tries to instigate conflict, hostility, or arguments between members of an online community. They don't really want help, they just want to cause as much trouble as possible. You can think of a troll like a fire...the more posts you feed the fire, the larger and brighter the fire burns. Stop giving it what it wants though and it will eventually snuff itself out. Trolls get bored easily. If you see someone you think is being a troll, please report their post instead of posting on their thread so that moderators can deal with them.

• Don't steal content and post it as your own. Small snippets of text is one thing, but if you are going to copy and paste anything more than a sentence or two from another forum, post, or resource, please post a link. We are not looking for MLA format, but don't steal other people's hard work. Similarly, don't steal images and use them without permission or credit given. Memes are an exception to this rule as it is hard to trace them back to their original source.
  • Please do not copy/paste entire articles from other sites, even if you post a link with it.
  • Need more information on copyright laws? U.S. Copyright Office
• Contribute, don't spam. If your post is not going to add to a conversation, or move a discussion forward, consider not posting. It is perfectly acceptable to read a thread and not comment.
  • Bumping a topic is okay, but please try to not bump a thread unless there has been no activity for at least 6 hours, and not more than once every 24 hours unless it is an emergency situation. If it is an emergency and not in the right area, please consider reporting the post so a staff member can move it and get it the appropriate attention it needs.

• Be honest. Do not knowingly post anything that is false or inaccurate.

If you are unable to abide by these rules and guidelines, we reserve the right to:

• Edit or delete the offending posts
• Put your account on post approval (moderation)
• Limit your posting abilities
• Limit your ability to see the forum
• Ban you from being a member permanently.

Questions?

First, check our How-To Forum to see if what you need help with is covered there. If not, feel free to reach out to staff. If your question is about a specific post, thread, or member, you can also use the Report function, as this will send a message to all of the staff, and whoever is available can handle it rather than you waiting for a specific individual. Staff donate their time when they can and so have lives outside of the forum.


Moderators
For general inquiries, help with disputes, help with the forum, etc.

@Zara
@Shezbug
@Peachfaced
@Mizzely
@aooratrix

Minor Mentors
Moderators that we encourage our minors to talk to first when they need help or clarifications.

@Mizzely
@Shezbug

Admins
For account specific things that are outside the scope of what a moderator can do. This includes birth date changes, help with personal settings, restricting your account, etc. We encourage you to reach out to a moderator first.

@expressmailtome
@Macawnutz
@itzmered

For a complete list of staff, please see here.

Avian Avenue reserves the right to update or change these rules at anytime without notice.