Terrier Fans Policy Statement

Terrier Fans, an online community at groups.msn.com/terrierfans, is pleased to clarify the community’s guiding principles:

1) TFs is a family-safe site with members of all ages from around the world. R-rated language and porn spam will be deleted. In the case of porn spam, the "member" will be banned immediately. In the case of an exchange that gets heated, only the message will be deleted, but the member will not be. (After all, it is so Terrier to have strong opinions!) In short, Terrier Fans is a group that enjoys different opinions but not attacks.

2) TFs welcomes mixed-breed dogs, purebreds, terriers in competition, terriers happily lounging on the couch, and dogs with the heart of a terrier(!). But given the extreme overcrowding of today's animal shelters, we encourage members to have their terriers neutered or spayed. Although the puppies of a cross-bred match may be spoken for, following generations may not be so lucky...

3) We believe that breeding should be left to responsible breeders, whether those breeders work from a kennel or out of a private home. Responsible breeders are a wonderful and valuable part of TFs, giving a unique perspective of the various stages of our terriers’ lives.

4) Because the TF managers know that our fellow TFs are well-spoken and knowledgeable, we will not always jump into issues that may evoke strong and varied TFs' opinions. Often our fellow TFs have a broader perspective than we managers may have.

Finally, we managers would like to reiterate that the many members of Terrier Fans are wonderful. We feel truly blessed to be a part of this community with an incredible variety of people and terriers who so freely share their wonderful support, tips, advice, pictures, and stories.

Sincerely,

Hope McPherson and Joy Williams
Terrier Fans Managers

August 13, 2004