Community Guidelines
Forum Code of Conduct
Community Guidelines & Standards
Our Purpose
The BTRN Forum exists for one reason: to help bull terriers find homes and stay in them. Whether you are coordinating transport, navigating the first brutal weeks with a newly adopted dog, sourcing a vet who actually understands the breed, or just needing someone who gets it at 11pm when the dog has eaten another shoe. This is the place.
This Code of Conduct exists to protect that purpose. It is not a list of rules for rules' sake. It is a commitment we ask every member to make to the dogs, to the humans trying to help them, and to each other.
Who This Applies To
This Code of Conduct applies to everyone who participates in any part of the BTRN Forum, including:
- Registered members posting threads or replies
- Rescue organizations and their representatives
- Fosters, adopters, volunteers, and transport coordinators
- Anyone reading the forum and interacting with its content in any way
Participation in the forum, by creating an account or posting, constitutes acceptance of these guidelines.
The Standards We Hold
2.1 Be Honest
Accuracy matters when animals are involved. Share information you believe to be true. If you are not sure, say so. If you make a mistake, correct it. Do not misrepresent a dog's health, temperament, or history. Do not impersonate another rescue or individual.
2.2 Be Respectful
Bull terrier people are a passionate and sometimes blunt group. That energy is part of what makes this community work. But there is a line between direct and unkind. Do not:
- Attack, demean, or belittle other members
- Use language that targets someone's race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, or sexual orientation
- Name-call, bait, or deliberately provoke conflict
- Post content designed to humiliate a specific person or rescue
Respectful disagreement is welcome. Personal attacks are not.
2.3 Stay On Topic
The forum categories exist to make information findable when someone needs it fast. Please post in the right place. Keep threads on topic. If a thread drifts, moderators may redirect it. Off-topic posts that do not serve the community will be removed without warning.
2.4 Protect Privacy
Do not post identifying information about other members, adopters, or fosters without their explicit permission. This includes names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, or any combination of details that could identify a private individual. If you need to share contact details as part of a transport or adoption coordination, do so through the rescue directly.
2.5 No Solicitation Without Approval
The forum is not a marketplace. Commercial solicitation, fundraising campaigns, and requests for donations must be approved by a moderator before being posted. Rescue-related fundraising follows the same rule: please contact a moderator first. Unsolicited commercial posts will be removed immediately.
No Adoption or Rehoming Posts
BTRN is a network hub, not a rescue. We exist to connect people with the professional rescues who have the experience, vetting processes, and resources to place bull terriers safely. We do not operate an adoption or rehoming board, and that distinction matters.
The following posts will be removed immediately, without exception:
- “Free to good home” or private rehoming posts of any kind
- Posts seeking to adopt or acquire a bull terrier directly through the forum
- Stray or found-dog posts asking the community to take or place a dog
- Litter announcements or breeder posts
- Any post that asks forum members to act as intermediaries in placing a dog outside of a registered rescue
This rule exists because we cannot verify a dog's history, health, or the safety of a placement made through a public forum post. That is exactly what professional rescues are trained and equipped to do, and why they exist.
If you have a dog that needs help, we want to make sure that dog gets it. The right next step is our Rescue Directory. Every rescue listed there is equipped to assess the dog, provide any care needed, and find a vetted placement. That is the path that keeps dogs safe.
Repeat violations of this rule will be treated as a conduct issue and may result in suspension.
Dog Safety Is Non-Negotiable
The following will result in immediate removal from the forum, no appeal, no warning:
- Posting, facilitating, or coordinating the rehoming of a bull terrier to an unvetted individual or organization
- Sharing information about dogfighting, animal abuse, or any activity that puts a dog in danger, in any context, including ‘research’ framing
- Deliberately providing false health or behavioral information about a dog in an adoption or transport context
- Publicly posting a dog's location in a way that could endanger the animal
If you see content that poses an immediate risk to a dog's safety, report it to a moderator and, if appropriate, contact local animal control. Do not attempt to handle it through the forum.
What Is Not Allowed
In addition to what is covered in Sections 2, 3, and 4, the following content is prohibited anywhere on the BTRN Forum:
- Spam, repetitive posts, or content designed to flood threads or categories
- Graphic imagery of injured, abused, or deceased animals, even when shared with good intent
- Misinformation about breed legislation, legal issues, or veterinary guidance, especially if it could affect an adoption decision
- Posts that mock, shame, or discourage someone from seeking help for their dog, regardless of how the situation came to be
- Content promoting or disparaging specific rescues in ways that are unsupported by facts
- Political, religious, or ideological content that is not directly related to animal welfare or rescue policy
- External links that lead to harmful, illegal, or misleading content
Not Allowed Here
- No selling, buying, or rehoming dogs. Bull Terrier Rescue Network connects adopters with verified rescues. It's not a marketplace or a rehoming board. If you need to surrender or rehome a dog, work with a verified rescue and we'll help you find one. This includes “free to good home” posts.
- No selling animals of any kind: no puppies, no litters, no breeder or sales posts. This is a rescue community, not a sales channel.
- No selling products or services, advertising, or commercial promotion. The forum is for support, advice, and community, not commerce.
Posts that break these rules are removed, and repeat offenders lose access to the network.
A Note on Difficult Conversations
Some of the most important conversations on this forum are also the hardest. Someone asking for help before returning their dog. A foster reporting concerning behavior. A rescue navigating a situation with no good options. A new adopter who is overwhelmed and scared.
These conversations require honesty and patience in equal measure. The goal is always to help the dog. That sometimes means telling someone something they do not want to hear. It never means humiliating them in public or driving them away from the community before they get the help they need.
If you disagree with advice someone is receiving, add your perspective. If you see something that concerns you, flag it for a moderator. If you are struggling with a situation involving your own dog, ask. No judgment, no interrogation.
Moderation
7.1 How Moderation Works
Moderators are volunteers. They are not referees, and they are not here to manage every disagreement. They step in when the standards in this Code are being violated or when a situation poses risk to the community or to a dog.
Moderation actions include, but are not limited to:
- Editing or removing posts that violate this Code
- Issuing a formal warning to a member
- Temporarily suspending a member's posting privileges
- Permanently banning a member from the forum
The severity of the action will reflect the severity of the violation and whether prior warnings have been issued. Some violations, as noted in Sections 3 and 4, result in immediate removal without prior warning.
7.2 Reporting a Violation
Use the report function on any post to flag it for moderator review. Do not post accusations publicly. Do not attempt to moderate other members yourself in thread, as that tends to escalate things and rarely helps. Flag it and let the moderation team handle it.
Reports are reviewed confidentially. You will not receive a detailed account of what action was taken, but every report is read.
7.3 Appealing a Decision
If you believe a moderation action against your account was applied incorrectly, you may submit an appeal to the moderation team via the contact form within 14 days of the action. State your case clearly and without hostility. Appeals are reviewed by a second moderator. The outcome of an appeal is final.
Rescue Organizations
Rescues listed on BTRN are held to the same standards as individual members, with a few additional ones, given the trust the community places in them.
- Rescue representatives must accurately represent dog availability, health status, and adoption requirements
- Rescues may not use the forum as a primary channel for soliciting donations without moderator approval
- Transport and handoff requests posted by rescues are subject to the same accuracy standards as all other posts
- Rescues whose conduct on the forum reflects poorly on the broader rescue community may have their listing visibility reviewed
Being a verified 501(c)(3) on BTRN does not exempt a rescue from this Code. It raises the expectation.
Changes to This Code
This Code of Conduct may be updated as the community grows and as new situations arise that require clearer guidance. Members will be notified of material changes via a pinned announcement in the forum. Continued use of the forum following a posted update constitutes acceptance of the updated Code.
Suggestions for improving these guidelines are welcome. Post them in the designated Site Feedback category or reach out via the contact form.
Thank you for being here.
Every person who shows up for a bull terrier, whether that's a transport run at 5am, a reply at midnight, or just posting that someone's situation is not hopeless, makes this network work. This Code exists to keep it worth showing up for.
Go to the Forum