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# Terms Of Use for www.parkstamps.org
## 1. Do not post content that is offensive, vulgar, crude, defamatory, or illegal.
**Examples (including but not limited to):**
- **Posting racist, sexist, or homophobic slurs or jokes.**
E.g., "People from [specific group] don't belong in the parks community."
- **Posting disdain towards someone for their political affiliation.**
E.g., "People who voted for [specific politicians] don't belong in the parks!"
- **Sharing false claims about a user that could damage their reputation.**
E.g., "User123 was banned from another forum for stealing park merchandise."
- **Promoting or linking to illegal activities.**
E.g., Here's how to sneak into a national park without paying.
- **Sharing graphic or violent imagery.**
E.g., Posting disturbing photos or videos.
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**Personal attacks against other users are strictly prohibited.**
**Examples (including but not limited to):**
- **Insulting another user's intelligence or appearance.**
E.g., Only an idiot would think that's the best trail.
- **Mocking someone's trip report or park experience.**
E.g., Your write-up was trash, do you even know how to hike?
- **Calling someone a liar or accusing them of bad intent without evidence.**
E.g., You're just making up your mileage to look impressive.
- **Using sarcasm or passive-aggressive comments to belittle others.**
E.g., Wow, what an expert we have here - you must have Googled that all by yourself.
- **Writing passive-aggressive, derogatory, or otherwise disparaging commentary directed at groups of individuals based on shared characteristics including but not limited to political affiliation, religion, or identity even where no specific person is named.**
E.g., Unfortunately, this entire thread is ruined by the three or four bad apples, you know, the usual suspects who always resist common sense.
## 2. No Commercial Activity - Do not post items for sale or solicit services.
**Examples (including but not limited to):**
- I'm selling my extra park passport stamps - PM me for prices.
- Check out my Etsy shop where I make custom hiking gear!
- I can plan your entire park road trip for a fee - message me.
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**Non-promotional travel suggestions are permitted.**
**Examples (including but not limited to) of what's allowed:**
- We stayed at Glacier View Motel just outside the park. It was clean and affordable.
- I highly recommend Joe's Trail Shuttles for getting to the trailhead.
**Examples (including but not limited to) of what's not allowed:**
- Book your room at Glacier View Motel using my affiliate link!
- Joe's Trail Shuttles gave me a discount to promote them - use code NPTC20!
## 3. Political and Election Content
All political or election-related content must be confined to the designated forums.
**Examples (including but not limited to) of violations:**
**Posting in a general park forum:**
- Vote for me in the upcoming club election. I'll make big changes!
**Adding political slogans to your avatar or signature line:**
- Signature: Re-elect Jane Doe for Club President!
**Starting a discussion in the trip reports forum like:**
- Let's talk about the proposed bylaw amendment that affects all of us!
**Examples (including but not limited to) of acceptable behavior (in correct forum):**
- Posting a candidate Q&A thread within the Political/Elections Forum.
- Debating a proposed bylaw only in the Elections Forum.
- Including political messaging only in posts made within the designated forum.
## 4. Use and Sharing of Content
**Do not extract or use data for commercial purposes.**
**Examples (including but not limited to) of violations:**
- Downloading user-submitted stamp logs to build a paid app.
- Scraping forum posts to create a monetized blog or guidebook.
- Using club member data (e.g., usernames or activity) to market products.
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**Do not share member-restricted content externally without approval.**
**Examples (including but not limited to) of violations:**
- Copying detailed park visit reports from member-only forums and posting them on a public Facebook group without permission.
- Sharing internal club documents or databases (like stamp location spreadsheets) with non-members.
- Uploading screenshots from private threads to Reddit or a blog.
**Acceptable example:**
Sharing your own trip summary on a blog as long as it doesn't contain proprietary content from the club or other members, and it's based solely on your personal experience.
## 5. Copyright and Attribution
**Always attribute material that is not your own and provide a link to the source.**
**Examples (including but not limited to) of violations:**
- Copying a blog post word-for-word and pasting it into a forum post with no credit.
- Sharing a photo you found on Instagram without naming the photographer or linking to their account.
- Posting a paragraph from a guidebook without saying where it came from.
**Correct example:**
"According to the National Park Traveler article, The Hidden History of Acadia, [link], the old carriage roads were funded by John D. Rockefeller."
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**Only brief excerpts are allowed under Fair Use.**
**Examples (including but not limited to) of violations:**
- Copying three full pages of a copyrighted park guide into a post.
- Posting the entire content of a newspaper article on the forum.
**Acceptable example:**
Quoting two sentences from a news story to support your point, with full attribution and a link:
"Visitation to Yellowstone hit a record high in June, reports the Bozeman Daily Chronicle [link]."
## 6. Quote Integrity
**Do not alter the content of quoted posts.**
**Examples (including but not limited to) of violations:**
**Original post:** I really enjoyed the trail to Hidden Lake.
**Altered quote:** I really hated the trail to Hidden Lake.
**Adding sarcasm or jokes into someone else's quote:**
I really enjoyed the trail to Hidden Lake because I was hallucinating from boredom.
**Removing key context to misrepresent a point:**
Quoting only ...the trail... from a post that said I don't recommend the trail because it's dangerous right now.
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**Emphasis (bold/underline/highlight) is allowed but the quote must remain unchanged.**
**Acceptable example:**
**Original:** I think the trail to Hidden Lake is a must-do in July.
**Quoted with emphasis:** I think the trail to Hidden Lake is a **must-do** in July.
## 7. Trolling, Gaslighting, and Derailing
Comments that intentionally provoke others (trolling), distort the truth or minimize someone's feelings in order to make them doubt their own memories or reality (gaslighting), or deliberately derail the topic of discussion are strictly prohibited.
**Examples (including but not limited to) of violations:**
**1. Trolling:**
**Original Post:** Yosemite is my favorite national park, nothing beats the views!
**Comment:** Only people with no taste like Yosemite. Try going somewhere that's not for tourists.
**2. Gaslighting:**
**Original Post:** I visited the Washington Monument last summer and was able to do a walk down tour to see all the commemorative stones.
**Comment:** You're losing it. Everyone here knows they haven't offered those tours for many years so that wouldn't have been possible.
**3. Derailing:**
**Original Post:** Does anyone have tips for camping in Yellowstone?
**Comment:** Why are you even camping? Hotels exist for a reason.
**4. Trolling:**
**Original Post:** I love seeing wildlife, especially the bears!
**Comment:** Hope you get eaten. That'd be natural selection at work.
**5. Gaslighting:**
**Original Post:** I'm concerned about how crowded the trails at Hawaii Volcanoes have become.
**Comment:** You're overreacting. Are you one of those people who needs to have every trail to themselves?
**6. Derailing:**
**Original Post:** Lets share our favorite hikes in Zion National Park.
**Comment:** Zion stinks. Let's talk about how the government wastes money on these parks.
**7. Gaslighting:**
**Original Post:** I am very upset that so many of these park employees are suffering.
**Comment:** You're too sensitive. People get fired everyday and it wasn't that many employees anyway.
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## Procedure for Administering the Terms of Use (TOU)
**As established by the Executive Board and the TOU Moderators.**
### 1. Review of Reported Posts
TOU Moderators will review all reported posts and take action appropriate to the severity of the potential violation. Possible actions include:
- Immediate redaction or removal of the post.
- A request to the user to edit their post.
- No action, if the post is determined not to violate the TOU.
### 2. Thread Management
Moderators may take the following actions to maintain forum order and prevent potential violations:
- Lock a thread if excessive verbal sparring occurs that could escalate into a TOU violation.
- Temporarily move a thread to the moderators forum for review; the thread will be returned to public view upon completion of the moderation process.
### 3. Escalation to the Executive Board
If a violation warrants punitive action beyond standard moderation, moderators will refer the matter to the Executive Board for further review and action.
### 4. Appeals Process
Users who believe their post was moderated unfairly, or Users who believe their report was not adequately moderated, or those who have been the recipient of a punitive action by the Executive Board and wish to contest that action, may appeal the decision:
- Submit an appeal via email to tou-appeals@parkstamps.org within 5 days of the action. All appeals should include a User's reasoning for the Appeals Committee's consideration as a part of the request.
- The Appeals Committee will acknowledge the appeal and respond as a group within 7 days. All Appeals Committee decisions are final.
<small>(Adopted July 9, 2015. Amended March 24, 2018. Amended June 13, 2025)</small>
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