Off Trail Market – Basecamp Community Forum Rules

Effective Date: May 1, 2026
offtrailmarket.com

Welcome to Basecamp. Basecamp is Off Trail Market’s community forum — a place for hunters, hikers, makers, outfitters, and outdoor enthusiasts to share knowledge, swap stories, ask questions, and connect with people who share a passion for the outdoors. These rules exist to keep it that way.

1. About Basecamp

Basecamp is the community forum built into the Off Trail Market Platform, powered by wpForo. It is open to all registered Off Trail Market users, including buyers, vendors, and Outfitter service providers.

Basecamp is not a customer support channel, a sales floor, or a social media feed. It is a genuine community space organized around the topics that matter to people who spend time outdoors — gear, technique, public lands, hunting and fishing reports, trip planning, conservation, maker craft, and everything in between.

Participation in Basecamp is a privilege, not a right. By posting in Basecamp, you agree to these Community Forum Rules, the Off Trail Market Terms of Service, and the Acceptable Use Policy, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Violations of any of these documents may result in action against your forum access or your Platform account.

2. The Core Rules

The following rules apply to all participation in Basecamp. Additional guidance on each rule is provided in the sections that follow.

Rule 1: Be Real

Participate as yourself. No fake identities, no impersonation, no manufactured personas. The best communities are built on honest people having honest conversations.

Rule 2: Be Respectful

Disagree with ideas, not people. Treat every member of this community — regardless of experience level, background, or viewpoint — with basic human respect.

Rule 3: Stay On Topic

Basecamp is organized into forums and threads for a reason. Keep your posts relevant to the section you’re posting in and to the thread you’re contributing to.

Rule 4: No Spam, No Solicitation

Basecamp is a conversation, not a marketplace. Do not post unsolicited promotions, affiliate links, referral codes, or commercial content outside of designated areas.

Rule 5: Know the Law

Do not share information that facilitates illegal activity, including illegal take of wildlife, trespass, or anything that puts others at legal risk.

Rule 6: Keep It Safe

Do not post content that endangers people. This includes dangerous misinformation about firearms safety, wildlife hazards, backcountry conditions, or medical advice.

Rule 7: Respect Wildlife and the Land

This community is built on a love of the outdoors. Content that glorifies poaching, wanton waste, or disrespect for wildlife and public lands has no place here.

Rule 8: Protect Privacy

Do not share personal information about other members, vendors, or anyone else without their consent.

Rule 9: Report, Don’t Retaliate

If you see something that violates these rules, report it. Do not engage in public call-outs, pile-ons, or retaliatory posts.

Rule 10: Moderators Have Final Say

Moderator decisions about content and conduct are final. If you disagree with a moderation decision, use the appeals process — do not argue it out in the forum.

3. Participation Standards

3.1 Authentic Identity

You must participate in Basecamp under your registered Off Trail Market account. Creating secondary or anonymous accounts for the purpose of evading moderation, posting content under a different identity, or otherwise misrepresenting who you are is a violation of these rules and the Terms of Service.

You are welcome to use a username or handle rather than your full legal name, but your account must be genuinely yours and must comply with the account requirements in the Terms of Service.

3.2 Respectful Disagreement

Outdoor topics attract strong opinions — about gear, technique, conservation, hunting ethics, public land policy, and more. Debate and disagreement are welcome in Basecamp. What is not welcome is personal attacks, insults, condescension, or hostility directed at other members.

The standard we apply is simple: would you say it face-to-face at a hunting camp? If not, reconsider posting it.

Specific conduct that is not permitted:

Name-calling, insults, or personal attacks on any member.
Mocking or belittling less experienced members for asking basic questions.
Dogpiling — multiple members targeting a single user in a hostile way.
Passive-aggressive or sarcastic responses designed to demean rather than inform.
Threats of any kind, whether explicit or implied.

3.3 Constructive Contributions

We encourage posts that add value to the community — sharing hard-won knowledge, honest gear reviews, trip reports, technique discussions, and the kind of practical advice that only comes from people who have actually done the thing. Low-effort posts, content-free reactions, and repetitive commentary that adds nothing to a thread may be removed at moderator discretion.

3.4 New Members

Every experienced outdoorsman or woman was a beginner once. New members asking basic questions are welcome in Basecamp. The community is expected to respond to newcomers with patience and genuine helpfulness. Posts that mock or discourage new members from participating will be removed.

4. Content Standards

4.1 Permitted Content

Basecamp is organized around the following topics and content types, which are actively encouraged:

Gear reviews, recommendations, and comparisons — honest, experience-based, and not commercially motivated.
Hunting and fishing reports, including conditions, locations (where publicly shareable), and results.
Trip planning questions and advice for hunting, hiking, camping, and backcountry travel.
Technique discussions covering any legal outdoor pursuit.
Public land access, conservation, and wildlife management topics.
Maker craft — materials, techniques, tools, and processes for handmade outdoor goods.
DIY projects, builds, and modifications relevant to outdoor pursuits.
Questions about vendors, products, or experiences available on Off Trail Market, where asked in good faith.
Outdoor photography, wildlife observation, and nature writing.
Community events, meet-ups, and collaborative outings.

4.2 Prohibited Content

The following content is not permitted in Basecamp under any circumstances:

Illegal Activity

Information that facilitates illegal take of wildlife, including poaching, baiting where prohibited, hunting out of season, exceeding bag limits, or taking protected species.
Information about illegal trespass on private land.
Content that facilitates any other illegal activity, including the illegal sale, transfer, or modification of firearms.
Detailed instructions for illegal firearm modifications, including the manufacture of suppressors, conversion to automatic fire, or other NFA-regulated modifications without proper licensing.

Harmful and Dangerous Content

Firearms safety misinformation that could lead to injury or death.
Dangerous wilderness survival advice presented as reliable that could lead someone into a life-threatening situation.
Medical advice beyond basic first aid that could cause harm if followed.
Content that encourages reckless behavior in dangerous environments.

Hateful and Offensive Content

Hate speech, slurs, or content that demeans individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, or any other protected characteristic.
Graphic violence, gore, or disturbing imagery beyond what is normal and expected in the context of legal hunting and harvest documentation.
Sexual content of any kind.
Content targeting or inappropriate for minors.

Harassment and Privacy Violations

Targeted harassment of any individual member, whether a Basecamp participant, a vendor, an Outfitter, or any other person.
Sharing another person’s private information — including home address, phone number, workplace, or identifying documents — without their explicit consent.
Content designed to humiliate, intimidate, or drive another person off the platform.

Misinformation

False information about wildlife regulations, legal seasons, bag limits, or licensing requirements presented as factual. This community relies on accurate information about hunting and fishing law. Getting it wrong can put people at legal risk.
Deliberately false product safety information.
False claims about other members, vendors, or Outfitters.

4.3 Harvest and Hunt Photography

Photos of legal harvests — including field dressing, game animals, fish, and similar content that is a normal part of hunting and fishing culture — are welcome in Basecamp where contextually appropriate. The community understands and respects this content.

The following standards apply to harvest photography:

Photos must depict legal, ethical harvests. Content depicting poaching, illegal take, or wanton waste will be removed.
Gratuitously graphic or gory imagery beyond what is typical in a hunting and fishing context is not permitted.
Photos should be posted in appropriate sections of the forum and should include context.
Off Trail Market reserves the right to remove or relocate harvest photos that generate significant community complaints, even if the content itself is within these guidelines.

4.4 Political and Divisive Content

Outdoor pursuits intersect naturally with conservation policy, public land management, wildlife regulation, and Second Amendment issues. Discussion of these topics, where relevant to the outdoor community, is welcome in Basecamp.

What is not welcome is general partisan political debate, culture war content, or inflammatory posts designed to provoke division rather than generate genuine discussion. Moderators will distinguish between outdoor-relevant policy conversation and divisive political content, and will make judgment calls accordingly. Moderation decisions in this area are at moderator discretion and are not subject to formula.

5. Commercial Activity in Basecamp

5.1 What Is Not Permitted

Basecamp is a community forum, not a marketplace. The following commercial activity is not permitted in forum posts or private messages:

Promoting your own products, shop, or services through unsolicited posts outside of designated areas.
Posting affiliate links, referral codes, or tracked URLs of any kind.
Soliciting other members to purchase from you directly, outside the Off Trail Market marketplace.
Paid promotional posts of any kind without prior written authorization from Off Trail Market.
Negative posts about competitors designed to steer members toward your own shop or products.

5.2 What Is Permitted

Vendors and Outfitters are full members of the Basecamp community and are welcome to participate authentically. Specifically:

Vendors may reference their OTM shop when genuinely and organically relevant to a discussion — for example, if someone asks where to find a specific type of product and the vendor makes it.
Vendors may share genuine expertise and knowledge related to their craft, product category, or outdoor experience without it being considered commercial solicitation.
Outfitters may share genuine knowledge about the areas, species, or experiences they work with.
Off Trail Market may create designated sections or threads where vendors and Outfitters can introduce their shops and services to the community. Commercial activity within those designated sections is permitted.

The test for whether commercial participation is appropriate is whether it is genuinely contributing to the conversation, or whether it is primarily serving a sales purpose. When in doubt, contribute first and let your shop profile speak for itself.

6. User-Generated Content

6.1 Your Content Is Yours

You retain ownership of all original content you post in Basecamp, including text, photographs, and other media. By posting content in Basecamp, you represent and warrant that:

You own the content or have the right to post it.
Your content does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party.
Your content does not contain personal information about any individual posted without their consent.
Your content complies with these Community Forum Rules, the Terms of Service, and the Acceptable Use Policy.

6.2 License Grant to Off Trail Market

By posting content in Basecamp, you grant Off Trail Market a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, sublicensable license to use, display, reproduce, distribute, and promote that content in connection with operating and promoting the Platform and Basecamp community. This includes use of your posts and photographs in Off Trail Market marketing materials, social media, and community highlights, with appropriate attribution where practicable.

This license remains in effect for as long as your content remains on the Platform and for a reasonable period afterward for existing promotional materials. You may request removal of your content at any time, though Off Trail Market cannot guarantee removal from all archived or cached locations.

6.3 Content Responsibility

You are solely responsible for all content you post in Basecamp. Off Trail Market does not pre-screen all user-generated content and is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or legality of content posted by community members. The presence of content in Basecamp does not constitute endorsement by Off Trail Market.

Off Trail Market reserves the right, but not the obligation, to review, edit, move, or remove any content from Basecamp at any time, for any reason, without notice.

6.4 Intellectual Property of Others

Do not post copyrighted content belonging to others without permission. This includes:

Articles, blog posts, or news stories reproduced in full. Sharing a link with brief commentary is appropriate; reproducing the full text is not.
Photographs taken by others without credit and permission.
Maps, guides, or instructional content that belongs to another creator.

Brief quotations for the purpose of discussion or commentary, with attribution to the source, are generally acceptable. If you are unsure whether sharing content crosses the line, link to it rather than reproducing it.

7. Intellectual Property Complaints

Off Trail Market respects intellectual property rights and responds to valid notices of copyright infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

If you believe that content posted in Basecamp infringes your copyright, please submit a written notice to Off Trail Market at Admin@OffTrailMarket.com that includes:

A description of the copyrighted work you believe has been infringed.
A description of the content you believe is infringing and its location in Basecamp.
Your contact information, including name, address, telephone number, and email address.
A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on their behalf.
Your electronic or physical signature.

Off Trail Market will respond to valid DMCA notices by removing or disabling access to the allegedly infringing content. Repeat infringers may have their accounts terminated.

If you believe your content was removed in error, you may submit a counter-notice to Admin@OffTrailMarket.com in accordance with DMCA procedures.

8. Moderation

8.1 Who Moderates Basecamp

Basecamp is moderated by Off Trail Market staff and may also involve designated community moderators who are experienced and trusted members of the community. Community moderators are volunteers or appointed members who have agreed to uphold these rules and Off Trail Market’s moderation standards.

Off Trail Market retains final authority over all moderation decisions. Community moderators act within guidelines established by Off Trail Market and do not have authority to override staff decisions.

8.2 What Moderators Can Do

Moderators have the authority to:

Edit posts to remove rule-violating content while preserving the rest of a post.
Move posts or threads to more appropriate forum sections.
Lock threads that have run their course or become unproductive.
Remove posts or threads that violate these rules.
Issue formal warnings to members for rule violations.
Temporarily restrict a member’s posting privileges.
Recommend permanent bans to Off Trail Market staff for serious or repeated violations.

8.3 How Moderation Works in Practice

Moderation is not algorithmic — it is judgment-based and context-sensitive. A moderator’s response to a violation will depend on the severity of the violation, the member’s history, and the impact on the community. Not every violation results in the same response.

Minor violations may result in a post edit or removal with a private message to the member explaining the issue. Serious violations — including harassment, illegal content, or repeated rule-breaking — may result in immediate suspension or permanent ban without prior warning.

Moderators aim to be consistent, but Basecamp is a human community and moderation involves human judgment. If you believe a moderation decision was applied inconsistently or unfairly, use the appeals process described in Section 9.

8.4 Moderator Conduct

Moderators are held to the same standards as all community members and are additionally expected to:

Apply rules consistently and without personal bias.
Recuse themselves from moderating threads or disputes in which they have a personal stake.
Not use moderator access to gain competitive or commercial advantage.
Maintain confidentiality regarding private reports and moderation discussions.

If you have a concern about moderator conduct, contact Off Trail Market directly at Admin@OffTrailMarket.com rather than raising it publicly in the forum.

9. Reporting Violations and Appeals

9.1 How to Report

If you see content or behavior that you believe violates these rules, please use the report function within Basecamp to flag it for moderator review. When reporting, include as much context as possible about why you believe the content is a violation.

Please do not:

Respond to rule-violating posts by engaging publicly or aggressively with the person who posted them.
Post publicly calling out another member for a violation — report it and let the moderation team handle it.
Use the report function to harass other members or to flag content simply because you disagree with it.

All reports are reviewed by the moderation team. We cannot respond to every report individually, but all reports are taken seriously and investigated. Frivolous or retaliatory reports are themselves a violation of these rules.

9.2 Appeals Process

If you believe a moderation action taken against your account or content was applied incorrectly or unfairly, you may submit an appeal to Off Trail Market at Admin@OffTrailMarket.com within 14 days of the action.

Your appeal should include:

A description of the moderation action taken.
Your explanation of why you believe the action was incorrect or unfair.
Any relevant context or supporting information.

Appeals are reviewed by Off Trail Market staff. We aim to respond within 14 business days. Appeal decisions are final. Do not create a new account or use another member’s account to circumvent a moderation decision while an appeal is pending.

9.3 Escalation for Serious Concerns

If you believe content in Basecamp represents an imminent threat to someone’s safety, or if you become aware of content involving the exploitation of minors, contact Off Trail Market immediately at Admin@OffTrailMarket.com in addition to using the in-forum report function. Off Trail Market takes these matters seriously and will involve law enforcement where appropriate.

10. Consequences of Violations

Violations of these Community Forum Rules may result in the following consequences, depending on the nature and severity of the violation and the member’s history:

10.1 Warning

For minor or first-time violations, a moderator may issue a formal warning via private message. A warning documents that a violation occurred and advises the member that further violations may result in more serious consequences. Warnings are retained in the member’s moderation history.

10.2 Content Removal

Posts, threads, photographs, or other content that violates these rules will be removed. In some cases, the content may be edited rather than removed entirely — for example, if only a portion of a post is problematic. Members will generally be notified when their content is removed, with a brief explanation.

10.3 Temporary Suspension

Members who repeatedly violate these rules, or who commit a single serious violation, may be temporarily suspended from posting in Basecamp. Suspension durations are determined by the moderation team based on the circumstances and may range from 24 hours to 30 days.

10.4 Permanent Ban from Basecamp

Members who commit egregious violations or who demonstrate a persistent pattern of rule-breaking may be permanently banned from Basecamp. A permanent Basecamp ban does not automatically affect the member’s ability to buy or sell on the Platform, unless the underlying conduct also violates the Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy.

10.5 Platform Account Action

In cases where conduct in Basecamp also violates the Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy — including harassment, threats, illegal activity, or intellectual property infringement — Off Trail Market may take action against the member’s Platform account, up to and including permanent termination of their buyer or vendor account.

Zero Tolerance: The following violations will result in immediate permanent ban from Basecamp and may result in termination of the member’s Platform account, without warning: posting content that sexually exploits or endangers minors; making credible threats of violence against any individual; doxxing any community member; and facilitating or celebrating illegal poaching of wildlife in a manner that is egregious or public-facing.

11. Off Trail Market's Rights

Off Trail Market reserves the right to:

Modify, reorganize, or discontinue Basecamp or any section of it at any time.
Update these Community Forum Rules at any time, with notice to registered users.
Make moderation decisions that are not explicitly addressed by these rules, using good-faith judgment consistent with the spirit of the community.
Take action against content or conduct that Off Trail Market determines, in its sole discretion, to be harmful to the community even if not explicitly prohibited by these rules.

Off Trail Market does not guarantee continuous availability of Basecamp and is not liable for any loss of content, access, or community relationships resulting from platform changes, outages, or discontinuation.

12. Liability for User-Generated Content

Off Trail Market is not liable for user-generated content posted in Basecamp. Members are solely responsible for the content they post, including its accuracy, legality, and any consequences that result from it. Off Trail Market’s moderation of content does not create liability for content that is not removed or for moderation decisions that are imperfect.

Off Trail Market is a platform provider and is entitled to protections available under applicable law, including Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, with respect to content posted by third-party users.

13. Changes to These Rules

Off Trail Market may update these Community Forum Rules from time to time to reflect changes in community needs, platform features, or applicable law. When material changes are made, we will notify registered users via email and post a notice in Basecamp with a reasonable amount of advance notice before the changes take effect.

Your continued participation in Basecamp after the effective date of any update constitutes your acceptance of the revised rules. If you do not agree with a change, you may discontinue participating in Basecamp.

14. Contact and Moderation Inquiries

For questions about these rules, moderation concerns, DMCA notices, or to report serious safety issues, please contact us at:

Off Trail Market — Basecamp Moderation

Email: Admin@OffTrailMarket.com

DMCA Notices: Admin@OffTrailMarket.com

Website: offtrailmarket.com

—

Last Updated: May 1, 2026 | Off Trail Market | offtrailmarket.com