Code of Conduct

APDT Online Community Etiquette/Terms of Use

APDT’s online communities on the members-only portion of its website (“Communities”) are a member service provided for APDT members to share ideas, thoughts, and experiences pertaining to professional dog training and behavior. As the host of these communities, APDT is committed to creating a positive educational and beneficial experience for all. The posts and threads recorded in our community are posted by individual APDT members and may not reflect the opinions or policies of the organization. These Communities do not exist to foster attacks against APDT or other members. APDT will monitor the Communities and reserves the right to remove any posts or threads that violate this Code of Conduct, including attacks, personal criticisms, or threats are outside of the defined purpose for APDT’s online community.

1. Stay on topic. Good contributions help the entire community by providing relevant, insightful information or asking important questions. If your post contains anything unrelated to the topic of the forum or article, it may be removed or redirected to the correct forum for further discussion.
2. Make your topic concise, accurate and specific. This makes it easier for people to respond appropriately and to search the archives by subject. Remember your readers and try to follow standard email etiquette.
3. Be honest, be yourself. The community is intended to be used for the helpful exchange of information between members. False, inaccurate, or otherwise misleading information is not helpful. Please be sincere in your community participation by only contributing content you know is accurate. Be mindful to respect the “closed” environment of APDT’s online communities, and forwarding messages to non-members is prohibited.
4. Keep it clean, keep it friendly. Every post should make a positive, relevant contribution. The community is open to all points of view on the intended topics; mature, respectful, polite debate is encouraged. Attacks or cyber-bullying will not be tolerated. The communities are meant to stimulate conversation and trigger the exchange of best practices, not to create contention. Contradictory opinions are of course welcomed, but should always be thoughtful and respectful, rather than emotional, impulsive or anger driven.
5. Keep marketing efforts separate. Respect the community’s purpose by not using it as a marketing channel or submitting any content you’ve been paid or otherwise rewarded by a third party to write. Consistently with this, please:

 

No marketing or sales related content

 

No sales or promotional offers, messaging, or materials for your business.

 

Any of the above posts will be removed immediately. If you have information regarding upcoming educational events, you may post those at https://apdt.com/m/educational-events/.

 

6. Use the correct channels for feedback. If you suspect a violation of the Code of Conduct on the Communities, please report it to the Community Manager here.
7. Submit only your own, original content. Help us maintain the Community’s integrity and observe the intellectual property rights of others by only submitting content you have personally written or else used with permission and properly attributed. The Community should not be used to distribute unauthorized copies of any copyrighted material.
8. APDT embraces diversity and is committed to maintaining an environment that rejects racism, discrimination, and prejudice in all its forms.
9. Help look after your Community. There is a permanent record of your posts across all online Community platforms. APDT’s online platforms are here for the benefit, education and enjoyment of members like you. If you notice content within the community that does not abide by the Code of Conduct guidelines, please report it to our Community Manager.

Violations of APDT Online Community’s Code of Conduct and Terms of Use

APDT reserves the right to take immediate action on any Community post or thread that we feel, in our sole discretion, violates the rules of conduct outlined above. That action includes, but is not limited to, warnings, removing content, and/or terminating Community accounts and/or membership.

APDT reserves the right to remove any content we deem inappropriate for use in the Community, and/or to revoke any member’s access to the community at any time and for any reason. However, because situations and interpretations vary, we also reserve the right to take no action. These will be thoroughly evaluated on a case-by-case basis before action is taken.

We may modify these guidelines or our Terms and Conditions at any time, and your continued use of the Community signifies your assent to such modified terms. If you are the subject of, or witness to, inappropriate content in any of the APDT online Communities’ discussion threads, resource libraries, or member profiles, please notify APDT immediately by emailing our Community Manager.

Thank you for your continued support of the APDT!