Community Guidelines

Version 2.0 · Effective 24 September 2026

Mountain Diary is a place to share real mountain experiences — the summits, the retreats and the lessons learned — and to help each other get out there safely. These guidelines describe how we want to treat each other here. They are part of the Terms of Use, which also explain what happens when they are broken.

1. Be respectful

  • Discuss routes and ideas, not people. Disagree politely and stick to the facts.
  • No harassment, insults, threats, bullying or hate, including on the grounds of nationality, ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age.
  • Beginners are welcome. Answer their questions the way you would have liked to be answered when you started.

2. Share honest, dated reports

  • Describe what you actually did and saw, on the day you did it. Real conditions are what make a report useful to others.
  • Give the real date of your adventure and describe the conditions as they were: snow, ice, water, closures, rockfall.
  • Be clear about what you are unsure of (“I think the path continues…”) and about what you did not do (“we turned back below the ridge”).
  • If you notice a mistake later, correct it. If someone else’s report is outdated or wrong, say so politely in a comment.

3. Photos of people only with their consent

  • Publish photos in which people can be recognised only if they agree.
  • Take special care with children. Publish recognisable photos of children only with the consent of their parents or guardians, never in a way that could embarrass or endanger them, and without details that would reveal where they live or go to school.
  • If someone asks you to remove a photo of them, remove it.

4. Share your own work

  • Publish only photos, texts and GPS tracks that you created yourself, or that the author has allowed you to share.
  • Don’t copy texts from guidebooks, websites or other members, and don’t upload maps or screenshots of maps protected by copyright.
  • Short quotations are fine if you name the source.

5. Respect nature and local rules

  • Don’t encourage access to closed or protected areas, to private land where access is prohibited, or to routes closed for safety or wildlife reasons, such as seasonal closures during the breeding season.
  • If a route passes through an area with special rules — for example on camping, drones, dogs or leaving marked paths — mention them.
  • Leave no trace, and don’t reveal the exact location of places that publicity could harm, such as rare plants or nesting sites.

6. Encourage safe decisions

  • Share warnings about the hazards you came across.
  • Don’t present risky behaviour as easy or harmless, and don’t pressure others into taking risks.
  • When you answer in Gear & Advice, share your experience, but make clear where your knowledge ends. If a question calls for a professional — a mountain guide, an instructor or a doctor — say so.

7. No advertising or hidden promotion

  • Mountain Diary is not a place for advertising. Don’t post commercial offers or promote products, services or events for commercial gain.
  • If you write about gear or a trip that you received for free or were paid to write about, or if your post contains affiliate links, say so clearly at the beginning of the post, for example “Sponsored” or “I received this jacket for free to test”.
  • You are welcome to link to your own website or Instagram profile on your profile page.

8. Find a Partner

  • Find a Partner is for adults (18+) looking for companions for mountain activities.
  • Be honest about your experience, fitness and plans, and about what you expect from a partner.
  • It is not for paid guiding, instruction or other commercial offers, and it is not a dating service.
  • Arrange the details through private messages. Don’t publish your phone number, address or other contact details in a partner request.
  • Read the safety tips on the Safety & Liability page before you meet someone.

9. Private messages

  • Private messages are for real conversations. Don’t send spam or unsolicited offers, and don’t keep writing to someone who has not replied.
  • Don’t publish other people’s private messages without their consent.

10. Protect other people’s privacy

  • Don’t publish other people’s personal data — such as addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, car registration numbers or details of their private life — without their consent.
  • Don’t reveal who is behind a username if that person has not made it public.

11. Zero tolerance

Some content is removed immediately and may be reported to the authorities: child sexual abuse material or any sexualisation of minors, terrorist content, credible threats of violence, and content that puts someone’s life or safety at risk. Accounts that publish such content are closed.

12. Report problems

  • If you see something that breaks these guidelines or the law, report it using the report link next to the content or on the Report Content page. Anyone can report, even without an account.
  • Don’t answer abuse with abuse, and don’t take matters into your own hands. Report it and let us deal with it.
  • In an emergency in the mountains, call the emergency services (112 in Europe), not us.

13. What happens if the guidelines are broken

Depending on how serious the case is, we may remind you of the rules, hide or remove content, temporarily restrict some features, suspend your account or, in serious or repeated cases, close it. Every decision is made by a person, we explain our reasons, and you can appeal. The details are in section 7 of the Terms of Use.

Thank you for helping to make Mountain Diary a good place to share the mountains.