Code of Conduct

Membership and Attendance

Though we work to ensure that all interested individuals may join us, Furry Takeover reserves the right to deny or revoke memberships for any reason including but not limited to safety concerns and Policy violations.

Furry Takeover does not permit membership or attendance by any individual who is a convicted sex offender or who appears on any federal or state sex offender registry. In addition, Furry Takeover reserves the right, at the staff's discretion, to deny membership or attendance to anyone with a documented history of sexual violence, including inappropriate conduct towards minors.

By registering for or attending Furry Takeover, you attest that you meet all eligibility criteria outlined in this document. Memberships or attendance revoked or terminated as a result of Policy violations, illegal activities, ineligibility, or breach of contract with Furry Takeover are not eligible for refund, except at the staff's discretion. Furry Takeover may, but has no obligation to, investigate the background of any member or attendee, or follow-up on any credible reports of behavior that may impact their eligibility to attend.

Members granted access to Furry Takeover and its convention space will be identified by a convention membership badge. Member badges are Furry Takeover property and must be displayed at all times when in convention space, whereupon they must be presented, or surrendered to any staff member upon request. Surrendering your badge voids your ability to participate on any premises leased, used, or associated with the convention in any of it's duration.

Furry Takeover badges are issued to a single individual only and are not to be shared, or duplicated in any way, shape, or form. Using a badge other than your own will result in ejection from the convention space until you purchase a valid membership badge. Failure to purchase a convention badge after this fact will result in your permanent ejection. Any member knowingly allowing someone else to use their badge will have their membership revoked and may be banned from the convention and convention spaces indefinitely.

For lost and stolen badges, you must visit registration to have the badge replaced for a fee. Badge replacement will cost $25. If Furry Takeover staff determines that there's suspicious activity involved with your membership badges, Furry Takeover staff reserves the right to request that you purchase a full-price membership to replace the lost badge.

Registration

Registration is the primary source of income for Furry Takeover and therefore, acts of forgery or falsification of registration information are taken very seriously. Anyone found with a forged badge, or to have provided false registration information, including payment information, will be removed from the convention space and barred from attending future Furry Takeover conventions, or sponsored events.

Anyone repeatedly attempting to enter the convention without a legitimately purchased or obtained membership will be turned over to local authorities on charges of theft and trespassing.

Convention Space

Convention space is anything that we lease or have permission to use while at the Fontana Dam Resort. This includes our Artist Alley, Dealers Den, and Main Room, among others. Anything not considered convention space still requires you to obey our codes of conduct, resort rules, and state laws.

Behavior and Convention Rating

Furry Takeover is a PG-13 space. This applies to all areas in use by Furry Takeover and any associated activities. If you wouldn't wear it or say it in a mall, then don't do it here at Furry Takeover. We require all attendees of Furry Takeover to dress appropriately: what this means is shirts, pants/shorts, and shoes are required at all times for safety purposes.

Offensive messages and imagery are not allowed to be worn or on display during the convention. If it raises an issue, it will be deliberated on by a member of Furry Takeover staff. staff reserves the right to remove anyone caught in violation of this.

Unnecessarily revealing clothing is the same as not wearing any at all. We ask that you exercise good judgment and common sense regarding these decisions, as staff members, including staff, will remove those committing these offenses.

Please be mindful of other guests at the resort. While attending, your behavior will be a reflection on the fandom as a whole to others not associated with it. Fighting, horseplay, excessively loud noises, harassment, and assault will not be tolerated at Furry Takeover. We reserve the right to eject anyone who is a threat to themselves and others. Purposefully being antagonistic will also result in ejection and possibly banning from Furry Takeover, and all future events related to Furry Takeover.

There will be no sleeping in public spaces at Furry Takeover, including lobbies, hallways, meeting rooms, or other public areas. staff reserves the right to remove people from the con space for sleeping, as these are potential safety and fire hazards.

Lewd and sexual acts are not permitted outside of the hotel rooms or cabins. With this as guidance, you are reminded to be respectful of all resort guests, including those not participating in our convention.

We also understand that non-sexual behaviors, such as petting, scritching, and hugging will occur. As always in these circumstances, consent matters. It is important to speak with and determine the consent of any party before making physical contact.

Finally, no illicit substances currently illegal by state law in North Carolina are permitted at this convention.

Participation of Minors

The minimum age to attend Furry Takeover is 13.

Participants 17 and under require a parent or adult guardian to attend and supervise them the duration of Furry Takeover. Badges will identify participants who are minors.

Guests MUST have their con badge in order to enter any con spaces.

Room Parties

It is the policy of Furry Takeover that what goes on in the privacy of a hotel room is not our concern. In lieu of this, we do still ask that hotel parties be kept to a reasonable size due to fire safety reasons, and that the noise level be kept within reasonable levels. Event staff and resort security will break up parties that receive complaints. However, if Furry Takeover staff have a reason to believe that illegal activities are taking place, or activities that threaten the welfare of convention participants, they have a duty and a responsibility to act to ensure the safety of all attendees.

Alcohol and Drugs

We take all state and federal laws regarding the use and sale of alcohol and tobacco products seriously. Sale or consumption of these products under the age of 21 is illegal. Anyone caught sharing or selling any of these products to anyone under the age of 21, by contributing to the delinquency of a minor, will be expelled from the convention and reported to the local authorities.

Furry Takeover absolutely does not condone and will not tolerate the use or distribution of illegal substances during the convention. Any attendee who appears to be under the influence of an illegal substance during the convention will be asked to retire to their rooms or forcibly removed by authorities. Anyone who is forcibly removed will be barred from attending future conventions.

Any individual caught or found to be selling any illegal substances -- whether in public or in a room -- will be immediately expelled from the convention, barred from attending future conventions, and turned over to local authorities.

Alcohol is strictly only allowed in your cabins or rooms.

Weapons

No firearms are allowed at Furry Takeover and this includes any and all of the convention floor space. Firearms are also prohibited from the Fontana Dam Resort, Fontana Dam Resort Village, and Marina. Fontana Dam is a Federal TVA area controlled by TVA Agents, and as a result, all firearms are not permitted on the property.

Projectile weapons, like bows and arrows, or slingshots, are strictly prohibited from all convention and resort spaces. Sharp edged weapons are strictly prohibited from all convention and resort spaces as well, as are dull, or blunt faced weapons. No open carry is allowed on any of the convention floor spaces, or spaces not leased by the convention. If it looks like a weapon, and could be easily mistaken as a weapon of any kind, we don't want to see it in the convention area.

Functioning weapons will absolutely not be tolerated as well. Exceptions can be made for PROPS used during costuming events, and is at the discretion of staff, but must be tagged and cleared through staff, and must otherwise be kept out of sight.

Staff will have the discretion as to what is inappropriate regarding weapons, such as nerf guns. Water guns, silly string, and lasers will not be permitted unless cleared with Furry Takeover staff.

Pets

Fontana Dam does allow pets but only in cabins and outdoor spaces.both dogs and cats are welcome, but be aware that if your pet stays with you in your cabin, housekeeping will not be provided for the duration of your stay.

If intending to stay overnight at Fontana Dam, also be aware of the fact that if you rent a cabin, you will be responsible for a fee to the resort in the amount of $25.00 USD, per pet (up to $150 dollars per pet). Relief areas are available for pets that have additional waste stations on the property.

Furry Takeover staff also requests that one pet, per attendee, be observed as a rule for attending with a pet. Please keep your pets on a leash in all public spaces at all times, please ensure before attending the convention that they are well behaved and capable of obedience, and finally, please ensure that you have a proper means of restraining them during emergencies.

Please clean up after your pets regardless of the circumstances. Furry Takeover staff reserves the right to eject guests who are not compliant with these rules and expectations.

Merchandise and Sales

Please report all sales to the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer. Please document and record all sales accurately for this purpose. No outside sales are allowed. All sales need to be contained in the convention space at all times, and only from registered artists and dealers (merchandisers.) See the Vendor Rules for more information

Video and Audio Recording, and Photography

Personal and archival use is permitted and encouraged. However, absolutely no commercial or media usage of any video, audio, or photographic recordings collected at Furry Takeover, by any source or obtained through any third party, is allowed unless permitted by Furry Takeover staff.

When recording individuals or costumes, please use common courtesy and ask before recording them. Please respect their rights if they do not wish to be recorded. If someone asks or otherwise indicates (remember, many folks in costume do not speak) that they do not wish to be recorded, do not photograph them!

Our policy at Furry Takeover is that you must refrain from recording or photographing any person who expresses disinterest, or does not provide consent to the activities of documenting them if they so choose. In addition, you may not share or distribute photography, video, or audio of individuals wishing not to be filmed or documented. You may however distribute or share these media items provided you have censored from appearance the individuals in question and distorted any audio that may have been recorded from them, provided you remain compliant to all codes of conduct as outlined by Furry Takeover and its staff's discretion.

Undercover or “hidden” microphones or cameras utilized for the purpose of undercover recordings are prohibited for the safety and security of convention attendees. Attendees found using such devices will be asked to leave until these devices are disabled.

Photography or videography for the purpose of sale or publication to the press is expressly forbidden unless written permission has been obtained from Furry Takeover. Individuals may take pictures and videotapes for private viewing or sharing with friends. We ask our attendees to be courteous to those they wish to take pictures of, especially if you wish to place those pictures or video clips onto any internet archive. In this case, please ask your subjects for their explicit permission to do this.

Attendees should be aware that footage gathered by volunteers in public areas of the convention, including events and panels, may be used on the website or in a highlights reel and that attendees may appear on either or both without compensation. Furry Takeover will require a release only for footage that is obtained in areas that are not fully public (i.e., private functions and personal interviews). These rules apply to all attendees (dealers, guests, or any level of regular membership).

Chairman and Staff Rights

The chairman shall have the final say in any interpretation of or dispute involving these rules. Staff will enforce these rules and have discretionary power to stop any activities that may pose a danger to the convention or the welfare of individual attendees. Unless stated above, a first offense will result in a warning and a mark on the con membership. A second offense will result in the offender being expelled from the convention. Anyone who is expelled from the convention for rule violation is not entitled to any form of refund or compensation.

Waiver of Liability & Indemnification Agreement

All Participants are required to have a valid, signed Liability Waiver on file before admission or participation in Furry Takeover or any associated activities.

Furry Takeover is an “At-your-own-risk” activity. By participating in Furry Takeover and any associated activities, you acknowledge that you do so of your own free will and assume all risks that may come from participation. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Furry Takeover, Inc., it's directors, staff members, the providers of it's convention space, or any spaces, any facility and space used for the sale or exchange of goods and services, any facility or space used by the convention organizers to host any event, speaker, guest, artist of honor, owners, participants, or guests, as well as the directors and staff of the convention facilities utilized by Furry Takeover, Inc., from any liability, direct, indirect, consequential, incidental, known, unknown, special, or exemplary damages resulting from any action, or inaction on your or our behalf while attending Furry Takeover.