Question about community rules

I know you can’t say stuff bad about specific breeders on here, but can you recommend breeders? Also, the breeder I’m thinking of isn’t on MorphMarket , so is that allowed? thanks!

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No, we can’t recommend breeders, whether they’re on MM or not. The forums are for discussions on reptiles.

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Good to know! I knew you could not trash talk breeders, but wasnt aware you couldnt vouch for one youve used previous. Thanks for the info! And thank you to the OP for asking the question i hadnt even thought of :slight_smile:

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You’re looking for the Herp Industry FBI on Facebook, there’s also a Canadian Reptile Board of Inquiry

To expound on this a bit further, when you begin to allow reviews of customers, you open up a few different cans of worms.

There is a liability issue when you allow reviews and to get around that would require that the rules here change from the ground up. Add to that that John, being the owner of the forum and also of the Market, would be painting a target on his back for accusations of favouritism or blacklisting

Then there is the nature of these forums versus BOI-type platforms. John’s goal with the MMRC was to create a platform reminiscent of the old forum days where there were good, solid discussions could take place and that they would not vaporize into the aether the way things do on FB. BOI-type boards, by contrast, are ultimately the circus freak show. Yes, people use them to review/eval breeders/sellers, but by and large they are breeding grounds for drama, fights, blood, and chaos. Allowing that kind of dynamic here completely defeats the purpose John set out to establish

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A couple other questions. are you able to promote yourself as a breeder or say the name of a breeder even if you’re not saying anything about them.

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The community guidelines state the following

Click me to expand

Specifics on Allowed Content

Each category has a description of what may be posted there. Unless otherwise stated in the category description the following rules apply:

  • No self-promotional material. The two exceptions are a post in #introductions and your personal profile. We encourage you to describe your business with links there.
  • No advertisements to buy or sell without admin approval. Classifieds ads belong in the MorphMarket.com marketplace. Any discussion about “available” items can be taken to Private Messages. There is a fine line between what constitutes sharing and advertising. While it is hard to define – and thus must be up to staff interpretation – here are some signals that may constitute a violation:
    • Language such as “up for grabs”, “for sale”, “ISO”, “looking for”, “available”, “letting go”, “re-homing”, “ready for new home” etc.
    • Posts containing single animal pictures with ID, sex, age, and weight. While we are encouraging people to share their clutches or season, certain patterns look more like advertising.
    • Instagram and other social media embedded in posts with certain hashtags, such as #available or #forsale.
    • Links, even in watermarks, containing web addresses for social media and business websites.
  • No ratings or reviews about Buyers, Sellers or Businesses. This includes “unboxing” type posts which inevitably include either promotional or review type content.
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Reading over what lumpy has posted, and going off of what ive seen, it is not a matter of never mentioning a breeder at all ( i try to credit breeders in my photos) but rather, you cannot post anything akin to a review or detailed opinion.

So if i say, i bought my snakes from ________, it isnt a review, but more a statement of fact.

Now if i say _______ is the best breeder i know, ive gotten all of my snakes from them and have had no problems at all and highly recommend them. Now it has gone from “i got my snakes from X” to “i got my snakes from X and here are my thoughts of them”.

I could be wrong and this could be a grey area, but thats at least how ive seen it handled. Some breeders are mentioned in passing, but its never the primary topic, and never in depth, rather, it is just a statement of fact.

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Yes, that is also how I read it too.

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So, as @verinium puts it, it’s a bit of a grey area.

A quick passing comment such as " I bought this snake from ***, they are amazing, I highly recommend them." Is fine.

A review isn’t. That should be saved for the review process on the marketplace.

This is it!
We want to hear about the animal, the process, the learning curves… etc, not the name of the breeder.

If you want to rant about something just don’t add any names/businesses/identifying details. :blush:

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thanks y’all! you were all super helpful.

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