In order to facilitate the free and respectful exchange of opinions about all things equine, the following board etiquette should be observed. If you ever have a question about why a post was removed, please consult this list. This board is monitored by a team of unpaid administrators. This team is responsible for keeping this message board fun, informative and clean. If a visitor reads an offensive post before an administrator encounters and removes it, please e-mail an alert to admin@bayequest.com. We expressly reserve the right to deny authorization to any person at any time, for any reason, as well as to delete in its entirety any post or link to material which we, in our sole discretion, deem to be offensive to the sensibilities of ordinary persons, or which might subject us to legal liability.

1. Age Limit: Posters must be at least 13 years of age.

2. Flaming: Posters will be expected to maintain basic courtesy toward the opinions of others. Please avoid flame wars or anything you KNOW will cause others to flame, aka "flame bait." We expect members to agree or disagree in a civil manner. Personal attacks will not be tolerated. Negative posts against named individuals, businesses or organizations will not be tolerated. Do not verbally abuse, attack, embarrass, or threaten anyone else using the message boards. This will get you banned from the board.

3. Bigotry: Posts containing racial, sexual, ethnic or religious slurs will be promptly deleted. Repeated posts with these slurs will be considered cause for banning. Discrimination and/or bigotry will not be tolerated in any way, shape or form.

4. Spamming/Ads : No spam (posts containing advertising) are allowed. If you're not sure if something is spam, ask the board administrator for confirmation, info@bayequest.com. Please do not advertise horses, items or services for sale on any of our boards. These belong in our Classified Ads. Please do not post the same subject on more than one board; cross-posts will be removed. BAEN does not sell or share visitor contact information, but if you post your email address here it will be public and accessible to anyone, thus you may find yourself the victim of spammers. Please read our Privacy Policy.

5. Offensive Language: The use of profanity is discouraged. Continued use of profanity will be cause for deleting a message. Obscene language and/or graphics are not acceptable. If it can't be said or seen in polite company, then don't put it into a post. The same rule applies to vulgar innuendoes and jokes.

6. All Caps: Please refrain from posting using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. Capital letters are OK for occasional emphasis, but it is annoying to read posts that are all caps. On the Web, all caps is the same as screaming, shouting or yelling. If you want to *emphasize* a word or phrase, better to type an asterisk in before and then directly after your word or phrase. This is a widely recognized way to get your point across.

7. Posing and Shilling. Do not pose as another user with a screen name well-known to the group. Do not register multiple screen names in order to post under different identities; this is called shilling and can result in removal of posts and board access. Always use your registered username as your screen name; for example, if your username is "Sam", then enter "Sam" in the name field when posting.

8. Photos and Correspondence: Do not post photos without the photographer's permission, or without the permission of the horse's owner, or without the permission of the person(s) appearing in the photo. Do not post photos taken by professional photographers, signed or unsigned, whether your own or someone else's, unless you have the photographer's permission to do so. When in doubt, post a link to the photo so visitors can see it in context on its own site rather than display it in your message. Do not use photos to ridicule, insult or otherwise put down people or horses, whether they post on this board or not. Private correspondence, such as private e-mails, instant messages, or chats in private channels, should not be posted without the consent of the writer(s).

9. HAVE FUN: Have fun talking about horses and all that goes with the equine lifestyle. Different opinions about horse-related topics are what this board thrives on, but always be respectful. On the faceless Internet, it's easy to forget that behind every message is a person with feelings. Be respectful and you'll earn more respect. Don't say anything in a message you wouldn't be willing to say to someone's face.

10. For People Who Just Don't Get It: If you have nothing constructive to provide to this forum or if you are repeatedly disruptive (determined by any of the board administrators), your posts can be removed without warning. If you continue to make posts that offend this group, you may be banned.

By accessing these boards you also agree to the terms of our Visitor Contract and Legal Disclaimer.