How to Adopt

By posting a claim on a pet or going through the FPA program, I am assuming that you have read all of the rules here and will hold you accountable to following them. 

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References:
- TBN: "To Be Named"----- can be used on all claims, unless otherwise specified. Anyone who uses it has 16 hours after I okay the adoption (from my comment time stamp) to come up with a name or the creature will go back up for adoption.
- Errors in Claiming - If you claim incorrectly, you will not be notified and you will have to wait an hour before trying to claim that pet again.
- For Condition/Contest Pets: Your entry and your claim must be in the same comment. :c
- Remember that you have to be a watcher to own Springs pets!

Check out the 'Featured' section of the Springs (you can click on the 'Up for Adoption' link in the header to go there) Ones marked with 'Up for Adoption' are available to adopt. Make sure you determine what kind of adoption they are under then follow the correct format as outlined here.

24 Hour Rule
To be fair, you can only adopt one creature per day; which means once per 24 hour period. If you adopt one at 11:59pm on the 7th, you are not eligible to adopt again until 11:59pm on the 8th.

Comment Editing
If you edit your claim comment in anyway, unless otherwise given permission, it will be disqualified.

Normal Claims
First come, first serve.
24 Hour rule applies to all Normal Claims.

Ex - "Claim: Buttercup"

Up for Adoption: Conditions
Read what their conditions are in their description. You must meet the conditions.
First come, first serve for those who meet the condition.
For Age Requirements, the Springs goes by the year posted on the front page of your account unless otherwise specified. Keep in mind that depending on your location in the world, your join date may be different than the one that the Springs sees. We will go by the date that we can see.
24 Hour rule applies to all conditional pet.

Ex - "I joined in February. Claim: Buttercup"
(on the condition 'You must have joined dA in the month of February')

Up for Adoption: Contest/Raffle
Follow the rules to enter and cross your fingers.
24 Hour rule DOES NOT apply; generally because contests have a deadline for entries.

Ex - "Bananas! Claim: Buttercup"
(on the condition 'Guess what this creature's favourite fruit is.')

Up for Adoption: Event
Usually related to a specific date on the Calendar.
May be Conditional Pets or they may be Contest pets; make sure you read the description to find out which one it is.
24 Hour rule DOES NOT apply.

Ex - [your entry will go here if an entry is needed], Claim: Buttercup"

Up for Adoption: Kiriban
These have to do with a specific pageview stat on the main page of the Springs.
If the exact pageview is missed, a new one will be selected. Someone must get the exact number.
24 Hour rule applies to all Kiriban pets.

Ex - "[link to kiriban in scraps], Claim: Buttercup"

Up for Adoption: Pokemon
Throw a pokeball (use :*iconcatchplz: (take out the *)) and give it a name.
It must be this icon, no others. Forgiveness given to those who mistype it (all the letters still have to be there though).
The catch rate for pokemon customs is 25%, which means that even if you are the first person to throw a pokeball, that doesn't mean that it will be yours. However, if no one has successfully caught the pokemon, you are welcome to try again after an hour.
24 Hour rule applies to Pokemon pets.

Ex - Buttercup

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Re-trying a Claim
Should you fail to claim a creature (due to a mistake on the claim form or by the nature of the conditional claim process) you may attempt it again after an hour if the creature is still available.

Renaming a Creature
If you would like to rename one of the creatures that you have gotten from the Springs, simply post a comment on the creature with the request. The only restrictions on renaming is that a creature can only be renamed once a year, and only after a month after the initial naming. Previous names will be recorded in the creature's description.
The year limit will be reset if a creature is put up for re-adoption or traded.
Mind that pets that named themselves are highly resistant to name changes and must like the new name your are trying to give them in order for the change to happen.


Agency Pet Trades
In order to qualify for a pet trade, you must be an agency that has existed for (1) at least three month and (2) you have to have at least twenty pets adopted out at the time of the request. After the request is filled, (3) the agency has to remain active, or the ownership of the pet will be revoked. This is to make sure that you're not just trying to invent something that you'll never touch again just to get a free pet.

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I N A C T I V I T Y P O L I C Y

(This policy covers inactivity, renamed accounts, moved accounts, watchlist removal, banned/deactivated accounts and unnamed pets.)

In any of the cases below, owners will be given two weeks to make their situation correct unless otherwise stated.

Inactivity
You are consider inactive if you do not log onto your account for 26 weeks in a row. After this time, your pet(s) will be eligible for inactivity claims. Once the Springs sends you a note regarding inactivity, you have two weeks to reply to that note in order to retain ownership of your pet(s). Once that two weeks expires, your pets will be put in Fat Rabbit's hat.
*if your online activity is hidden, I will go by what I can see: for some accounts that's a different activity list and for others that's going by the date of the last deviation/journal submission (whichever is most recent).
*if you do return after the note period has expired, you may note the Springs. Any pets that have not been readopted may be returned to you.

Renaming Accounts
If you have renamed your account, it is your responsibility to note the Springs about your changes. Whenever a renamed account is noticed and notification is not received from the owner of the renamed account, a note will be sent, asking about your intentions. A reply must be received within two weeks or your pets will be put in Fat Rabbits hat.
*if you do return after the note period has expired, you may note the Springs. Any pets that have not been readopted may be returned to you.

Moved Accounts
If you move accounts, it is your responsibility to note the Springs about your changes. When a moved account is noticed, a note will be sent to the account that the pet(s) is/are currently owned by, NOT to your new account. If a reply is not received within two weeks, your pet(s) will be put in Fat Rabbit's hat.
*When you are informing me of your move, you do have to add the Springs to the watchlist of your new account.
*if you do return after the note period has expired, you may note the Springs. Any pets that have not been readopted may be returned to you.

Watchlist Removal
If you remove the Springs from your watchlist for any reason, you will be notified and asked to re-watch the Springs. If this is not done within two weeks, any pet(s) you own will be put in Fat Rabbit's hat.
*if you, for some reason, think that you are getting too many notifications from the Springs, feel free to edit your watch conditions to remove notifications. I would prefer that you didn't do this, as journals are how I put information out there.
*if you do return after the note period has expired, you may note the Springs. Any pets that have not been readopted may be returned to you.

Banned/Deactivated Accounts
There are two divisions of banned/deactivated accounts and both will be dealt with differently. Pets on a deactivated account are not immediately available for readoption - they will spend one month from the deactivation (or when the deactivation was brought to my attention) in a "quarantine" - after this time, if I have not heard from the owner in some way, the pets will begin to find new homes. 

if you are banned/forced to deactivate, you NEED to email me to let me know! springsofiyore@gmail.com
I can't know when something bad has happened if you don't tell me, which causes me to assume that you just didn't want to be on dA anymore. :c
If you contact me after a month has passed and are able to explain to me that you involuntarily left dA, you will be able to reclaim your pets. Pets that may have been readopted by other members will be discussed privately. 

- Involuntary Deactivation/Banned
This is defined as situations in which you were more or less forced to leave your account, including hackings, being banned, or extenuating life situations. In these cases, you can request that your pets remain under your name until such a time that you either return to the Springs or decide that you would like them to have other homes. If you are gone for an extended period of time, I may contact to update my awareness on your intentions. 
If you fall into this category, you need to contact me! I prefer if you email me yourself to explain the situation in enough detail that I understand that your absence is involuntary (I don't need life details). 

- Voluntary Deactivation
This is defined as a situation in which you decide, under no outside force, that you are leaving the dA community. I prefer that if this is the method you are using, that you contact me prior to deactivation to give me permission to rehome your pets (this relieves any confusion and stress later on). If I do not hear from you after a month, I will assume that you left voluntarily and that your participation in the Springs was not overly important to you.

- Account Wills
The Springs will accept 'account wills' in the case of banned or deactivated accounts. These must be emailed to the Springs' account (springsofiyore@gmail.com) with the header "[your username]'s Springs Will".

Unnamed Pets
Pets that do not receive a name within a month of them finding an owner (generally through FPA or breeding), the pet will name itself (this will be made known in the comments). If the pet's owner does not visit them within a month of the pet naming itself, the pet will seek ownership elsewhere.


Inactivity Claims
Have you noticed a pet whose owner falls under one of the categories above? If this is the case, then you may be able to adopt it! As incentive to find owners who have neglected their pets, you may note the Springs to notify me of the situation. If the two weeks clears without the owner replying to our note, then the pet will be reassigned to you instead of going to Fat Rabbit's hat.

When you note the Springs, please make sure your note header is 'Inactivity Claim: [situation being violated]'. This allows me to keep track of the claim notes properly.

If an inactive owner owns more than one pet, you may only choose one to keep, the rest will go to Fat Rabbit for redistribution.
If another member has already notified me about an inactive owner, the rest of that owner's pets are not available for the inactivity claims. You will be able to tell by looking at the comments under the pets whether notification has been received.
You may only have one inactivity claim active at any time.

Deactivations are not valid under the Inactivity Claim Policy. 

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