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OUR COMMUNITY COMMITMENT · SEPTEMBER 30, 2026

Policies, privacy & belonging

This policy covers trailslayers.org and the TrailSlayers app. The service is operated by William R. Walker III DBA TrailSlayers Off-Road. Each app uses the same community account and records; access still depends on your assigned permissions.

An organization bringing people together

TrailSlayers.org is a community-organizing platform. The platform is not itself an accredited, certified, or verified off-road club. The separately listed TrailSlayers Club in Copperopolis is our founder’s local club. Clubs on this platform operate independently.

Our .org address does not assert nonprofit or tax-exempt status. The platform may conduct commercial activities. Prices and paid placements will be disclosed when offered. We do not claim that payments to TrailSlayers are tax-deductible.

Community data is not for sale

We collect data to operate this community. We do not sell personal data, rent member lists, or share personal data for cross-context behavioral advertising.

TrailMail and TrailSlayers email newsletters do not include third-party advertising placements. Opted-in newsletters may include our own TrailSlayers merch catalog link. We do not give advertisers access to recipient lists or message contents. Email delivery providers process messages to deliver the service; messages sent by outside senders and advertising in an external inbox provider’s interface are outside TrailSlayers’ control.

We collect first-party traffic statistics to understand which pages and controls are useful. A random browser identifier and a session identifier record page paths, clicked buttons or links, device class, broad country or state region, and a general traffic-source category. These identifiers are pseudonymous, not a guarantee of anonymity: a page path or control label may relate to a member or their activity. We do not store a raw IP address in these analytics records. Only authorized TrailSlayers administrators can view the analytics dashboard. Clearing browser storage resets the browser identifier. A short-lived hashed network counter limits automated traffic from polluting these statistics; it expires automatically and does not retain a raw IP address.

Issue reports store the reporting account, verified email, description, page path, browser and viewport details, approximate region, status history, and an optional screenshot. Reports and screenshots are private to the reporter and authorized TrailSlayers administrators. Screenshots may capture other information visible on the screen; crop or remove sensitive details before sending.

Automated-abuse controls keep short-lived per-account activity counters for sensitive actions such as messaging, invitations, room creation and public posting. Activity that exceeds a limit may be slowed, blocked or challenged and recorded in a private security event with the account, action, reason, time and broad region. Authorized administrators review these events for abuse and false positives. Routine velocity counters expire automatically.

We use account identifiers and email verification to provide sign-in; profiles, artwork, vehicles, membership and team roles to connect people; messages and recent presence to run conversations; saved regions, rooms and contacts for quick access; and event, map and administrative records to operate clubs and resolve disputes. We receive approximate region information from our hosting provider to suggest local rooms. This room suggestion does not require device GPS; the optional map tools below request precise location only when you choose to use them.

Your display name, chosen username, insignia, declared affiliations and roles, member-since date, optional wheeling-since date and vehicle are public profile information. Organization artwork, pins and calendar events are public. Email addresses, authentication credentials and verification evidence are not public profile fields. Do not publish your home address or confidential documents in artwork or chat.

Google Firebase provides authentication; our hosting and storage providers process data needed to serve the website. Google or Apple sign-in follows the provider you choose. OpenStreetMap receives normal browser requests when the street map is shown. USGS The National Map receives normal browser requests when satellite imagery or USGS Topo is selected. The USDA Forest Service receives requested map areas through our map service, or directly from your browser if that connection fails, to render its published MVUM layers. Open-Meteo receives coordinates rounded to one decimal degree through our weather endpoint to provide current conditions and a five-day regional forecast near the selected pin; the exact recovery coordinate is not sent to the weather provider. These providers are needed to deliver the service; this is different from selling data. Sign-in uses browser storage to keep your session and remember your selected map layer and day, night or automatic map appearance. We have not added advertising trackers.

Club, leadership, vendor-team and direct conversations are limited to authorized participants. Messages persist for later replies. Recent chat presence expires after inactivity. An owner’s authority to manage ranks does not automatically grant access to private conversations. Messages are not end-to-end encrypted.

TrailMail stores mailbox addresses, access roles, message headers, message text, delivery status, storage usage, and original email files so members can send, receive, search, and download their mail. Shared operations inboxes are visible only to accounts explicitly granted access. Mail is not end-to-end encrypted. Our hosting, routing, storage, and outbound-delivery providers process message content and addressing data to deliver the service. Automated limits and audit records help prevent spam and misuse. Deleted messages may remain briefly in backups or abuse and delivery records where needed for security, disputes, or legal obligations.

Your information, retention and deletion

We retain account and community records while needed to provide the service and handle support, safety and disputes. To request access, correction or deletion, contact TrailSlayers support. We verify identity before releasing or changing private records. Some records may need to remain for an unresolved dispute or legal obligation. Policy changes will be posted here with a revised date.

You can edit available profile fields, remove supported posts or images, choose your sharing audience, stop location broadcasting, change optional newsletter delivery, and withdraw camera or location permission in your device settings. Signing out or deleting the app does not delete your community account. Account deletion must also address your associated content and provider identity; it is not the same as hiding a profile. If a request requires limited retention, we will explain the reason and restrict those records to the relevant purpose. Copies other people have independently downloaded or received are outside our direct control.

For a privacy request, send your account email and the request type. Never send your password, verification code or private sign-in key. We may ask for proportionate identity confirmation. We respond according to applicable law and explain any additional information or time needed. You may also contact the privacy authority available in your jurisdiction. Our hosting and service providers may process information in other countries; the exact protections depend on the service and applicable law.

Maps and live location

“Share location” requests device permission and stays off until you choose Friends only, Club only, or Global. Friends only uses selected mutual contacts across any clubs. Club only uses one accepted club. Global sharing exposes your precise reported position as an anonymous traffic dot to signed-in members; your friends can recognize you. Anonymous dots do not make the physical location itself anonymous. Contacts and club membership alone do not turn sharing on.

We store the latest shared coordinates, accuracy, audience and session timing, without a travel history. Browser coordinates refresh at the selected interval. In a compatible iPhone app, device location callbacks update an active broadcast, with uploads limited to once every 15 seconds; actual timing depends on the device and connection. The map refresh setting controls how often you read other positions. Separate short presence checks remove ended sessions. Stop sharing removes the current session; a lost signal expires within 45 seconds of its last successful update or heartbeat. Expired positions are hidden and pruned on subsequent location requests. We cannot guarantee an instant close signal from every device.

On the website and older app previews, sharing stops when you turn it off or leave the TrailSlayers page. iPhone versions that display background broadcasting at the sharing control request Always location permission so an explicitly started broadcast can continue while the screen is locked or another app is open. Swiping the app closed stops updates, and a cold reopening leaves sharing off. Denying permission keeps other community features available. Loss of permission, connection or the live session can stop broadcasting; return to TrailSlayers to check its state. The app does not save the broadcast credential to restart it later.

USDA MVUM roads, trails and their original legend come from the Forest Service map service. Published motor-vehicle designations are not live closure or condition reports, and coverage varies. Check the current forest’s official MVUM and closure notices before travel. Live locations may be imprecise and are not an emergency service.

The recovery page accepts an optional device position, a manually dropped pin, or a place search. Place searches send the words you enter to OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim service; do not enter confidential information. A recovery pin remains in your browser until you choose to share, save, or download it. Shared recovery links contain exact coordinates and any displayed place label, so send them only to people or services you intend to involve. Trail Talk prepares the alert for your review and does not send it automatically. Saved points use browser storage on that device, and downloadable recovery cards contain the place and coordinates in a readable local file. These cards do not contain terrain tiles. Public OpenStreetMap servers prohibit bulk offline tile downloads; future offline map packs will use a source whose license and service terms expressly permit offline storage.

Independent merch and fundraising

Active club presidents and verified company R5 leaders, or current R4 leaders explicitly assigned the relevant duty, can link their own third-party merch stores and donation or fundraising campaigns. They manage designs, products, recipients and payouts with the chosen provider. TrailSlayers does not collect or route these payments. Check the destination, recipient, provider fees, shipping, refund terms and campaign details before paying. A page title such as Non-Profit Org. is self-declared and does not establish charitable status or tax deductibility.

TrailMerch links to an independent print-on-demand storefront whose provider handles checkout, production, shipping, returns, and customer service under its own terms. Affiliate shopping links are limited to Buy & Sell, carry a visible disclosure, and may earn TrailSlayers a commission from a qualifying purchase. A shopping link does not make the manufacturer a TrailSlayers partner or imply its endorsement. Affiliate logos remain disabled unless the brand-permission register separately records approval for that exact commercial use. Club and vendor pages do not carry TrailSlayers affiliate advertising.

Ages 18 and older

TrailSlayers accounts are for adults age 18 or older. By creating an account, you confirm that you meet this minimum age. Do not register on behalf of anyone under 18.

Independent clubs and honest affiliations

A club may be an informal group or a formally organized association. Its leaders can explain its status, publish bylaws and disclaimers, and link badges they are authorized to use. These claims are self-reported unless explicitly reviewed. Membership in an advocacy organization does not automatically constitute a license or accreditation.

Learn about organizations supporting recreation access: BlueRibbon Coalition and CORVA. These informational links do not claim a partnership, membership or endorsement.

Ranks, teams and verification

Clubs manage their own roster and bylaws. R5 is the president and R4 is the vice president; organizations can define their displayed titles. Presidents can assign ranks directly or use elections under their bylaws. Members may join multiple clubs and hold a separate R1–R4 rank in each. R5 is club ownership and is limited to one club per person, except for the recorded TrailSlayers founder provision. Event Coordinators organize their own public events without gaining site administration or private club access.

Vendor company claims and team applications have a 48-hour verification window. The site owner verifies the company and initial R5. A verified R5 approves their team. Pending and expired claims do not receive company badges or private team access. Expired claims require owner review. Reapplying does not restart the clock.

Vendor defaults are R1 Brand ambassador, R2 Affiliate, R3 Sales, R4 Support and R5 Boss. Vendors and manufacturers may define titles such as Authorized dealer, Certified mechanic or Service center. A club may hold a company affiliation at R1–R4; this is an organization listing and grants no person access to that vendor’s team chat. Each person needs separate verified team membership.

Authenticity and leadership disputes

Duplicate listings of the same organization within 15 miles of its first-known location are blocked. Different legitimate clubs and businesses may operate nearby. Spelling-based screening cannot detect every impersonator; report disputed identities to support.

Creating a page does not establish exclusive ownership of an existing club or company. After reviewing conclusive evidence of verified identity and legitimate leadership, TrailSlayers may reassign ranks, hold operations, or disband/remove a listing. Credible contact starts a review; it is not automatic proof. Interventions are recorded with private evidence references and reasons. Members retain their independent accounts.

Photos, reports and account enforcement

Keep it clean. Be respectful—mixed company may see your photo. Profile pictures may be a vehicle or another appropriate image you have permission to share. We prohibit nudity, sexual content, hate imagery, exploitation and unlawful material. Every uploaded image publishes immediately without pre-approval. No automated legal certification is claimed.

TrailSlayers has zero tolerance for objectionable content or abusive users. Members can report any message, guestbook entry, profile, photo or listing and can block any member. We review reports within 24 hours. Complaints trigger review and may result in content removal, account suspension or a permanent ban. A complaint alone does not automatically establish a violation. Decisions are recorded. You may contact support about a decision. Do not redistribute suspected unlawful content; report the existing image link.

TrailCam and brand logo permissions

TrailCam can open a device camera or photo library after you choose the capture control. Timestamp and precise latitude and longitude overlays are separate options. Location stays off unless you turn it on, and the preview shows the coordinates before upload. Re-encoding removes hidden EXIF location metadata, while coordinates deliberately burned into the image remain visible. TrailCam images publish immediately. All published images remain subject to reporting and administrative removal.

TrailSlayers provides original muddy-trail, snow, Christmas, desert, beach and TrailSlayers club frames. Manufacturer, model and product logos remain disabled unless our brand-permission register contains written approval for the exact asset, surface, territory, term and commercial context. Permission-pending marks display PEND. LIC. Restricted or prohibited marks display a fictional TS Motors emblem. Plain-text vehicle identification may remain where permitted. A media-kit download, vehicle purchase, dealer relationship or member upload is not platform permission. Active approvals are reviewed every six months and before materially new uses.

Trail Network, friend requests and recruiting

Trail Network lets members search for people, send friend requests, accept or decline incoming requests, message accepted friends, and invite eligible friends into clubs they lead. A search result does not become a friend until the recipient accepts. Friend lists and request status are private to the signed-in member; public profiles do not expose a complete friend list. Team labels indicate a shared accepted club or verified vendor team and do not grant new permissions.

A member’s Connect QR code links to their recruiting page. Completing a deliberate Connect flow may create a mutual connection immediately so people meeting in person can keep talking. Verified new accounts created through that link give the recruiter one credit. Existing accounts and repeat scans do not add credit. Recruiting totals are public; friend lists are private. The mobile app is coming soon.

Club views, delegated powers and platform intervention

Club pages have three permission-aware views. Public view shows the club information its leaders choose to publish. Member view adds internal bulletins, member-only runs, member chat and the roster with club ranks. Control panel access appears only to the club R5, members holding delegated responsibilities, and authorized TrailSlayers Administration R4/R5 reviewers.

The club R5 assigns ranks and configures rank responsibilities. R5 always retains all club powers. Every accepted R1–R5 member receives a personal control panel, which displays only the member view and controls available to that account. Enabled responsibilities accumulate upward so a higher rank includes duties granted below it. Delegated duties can include invitations, membership decisions, lower-rank assignments, internal bulletins, events, roster management, club chat moderation and leadership chat access. Rank assignments must remain below the acting leader’s own rank. A displayed rank alone does not create a power unless the club policy enables it, except for the R5 authority defined here.

Authorized club chat moderators may temporarily silence a lower-ranked member or remove that member from club chat for a selected period of up to 72 hours. These controls apply only to that club’s private rooms, are recorded in the club audit history, and do not affect direct messages, regional rooms or vendor-team rooms. A moderator cannot act against the R5 or an equal or higher rank. An R5 may assign chat-moderation or roster-enforcement authority through the club’s rank policies and member exceptions.

An authorized club roster enforcer may move a lower-ranked member to R0. R0 ends active membership and all club functions, retains the enforcement record for leadership review, and blocks invitations, automatic acceptance and reapplication. Restoring R1 eligibility removes that block but does not rejoin the former member; the person must apply again and receive the club’s normal acceptance. Ban and restoration actions are logged.

TrailSlayers Administration R4 and R5 may inspect a club roster and make an audited rank correction or temporary chat intervention when credible evidence requires it. Each action requires the affected member, decision reason, private evidence reference, exact club-name confirmation and an affirmative evidence verification. Platform R5 may also impose or restore R0 and change a club’s operating status. Administrative access does not grant access to private chat history.

TrailSlayers chapters

New branded chapters keep the founder as R5. The applicant becomes the R4 Trail Boss and selects distinct R3, R2, and R1 contacts, each of whom accepts their nomination. Applicants can prepare a private chapter page; public membership opens only after founder review. Approved Trail Bosses receive a separate administration invitation, starting at R1 upon acceptance. Club rank does not grant site authority.

Business listings and the community bulletin

Businesses can submit public directory information without a member account. We keep the submitter’s contact name, company role, and email private for review and support. Business listings require owner approval; their attached photos do not receive a separate image approval step. A private management link controls the listing; keep it secure. Losing it requires an ownership review through support. Approved mobile businesses can move their pin. Public business pins appear within two miles of the viewed map center.

The Trail Wire automatically assembles recruiting highlights, new clubs, approved business welcomes, and reviewed announcements. Offers can target 10, 50, or 100 miles from a chosen point, or a global audience. Location-based announcements require your chosen area or location permission; this choice does not enable live location sharing. Submissions expire within 90 days. Business claims, appointment terms, discounts, and eligibility are provided by the business. Approval is not a warranty or endorsement.

Weekly recruiting periods start Monday in Pacific time; monthly periods follow Pacific calendar months. Only verified new registrations count, excluding suspended accounts. Tied leaders share recognition. A reserved recruiter’s credit and contacts wait for verified activation. The bulletin is a website publication; it does not automatically subscribe you to email. To limit abuse, public submissions use a short-lived hash of the request’s IP address and daily counters.

Recognition, challenges, and optional newsletters

Recognition points and recruiting milestones celebrate community contributions. They do not grant ranks, moderation powers, cash value, or a right to prizes. Recruiting milestones count active verified new registrations. R5 reviews spotlights and challenge results. Scheduled challenges show their organizer, entry period, eligibility, judging criteria, rules, prizes and fulfillment details before entries open. Entry is free; entries close automatically, remain private during review, and selected winners and their submissions become public after results are approved.

The weekly Trail Wire has a personalized web edition with community news, regional and global events, app changes, recognition, Rig of the Week, member growth and reviewed offers. Newsletter delivery requires a separate, optional opt-in. Members choose account email, TrailMail, or both, and can stop both deliveries from newsletter preferences or an unsubscribe link without signing in. Verified vendor team members and active Event Coordinators may submit one global or regional ad for a future edition. An active club R5 may submit a club update shown only to that club’s active members who receive the personalized edition. TrailSlayers reviews every submission before publication. Ads identify the submitting organization, link to its chosen page, and do not constitute an endorsement or warranty. Consent, preference changes, submissions and review decisions are recorded. Weekly delivery is scheduled for opted-in members after TrailSlayers saves the required public mailing address and enables the sender. Each email includes the mailing address, preference controls and a one-click unsubscribe link. Empty newsletter sections are omitted rather than filled with sample content.

Member marketplace

Buy & Sell hosts member listings for vehicles, parts and gear. Sellers are responsible for truthful descriptions, condition, ownership and the right to sell their goods. Stolen, counterfeit or illegal goods, weapons and adult content are prohibited. Listing photos publish immediately when the listing is public. Photo and listing reports go to administration; images or listings may be removed, and serious or repeated violations can lead to account action under our community policies.

Buyers and sellers arrange payment, delivery and any returns directly. TrailSlayers does not process marketplace payments, inspect goods, guarantee sellers or provide buyer protection. Account and organization badges identify community affiliations; they do not certify an item or transaction. Listing details and town or city are public; do not post a home address, payment information or private contact details. Archived and removed listings are hidden publicly while their records and moderation history are retained.

Marketplace reputation uses numeric buyer and seller scores from real sales confirmed by both participants; these are member confirmations, not payment verification by TrailSlayers. Each participant can submit one final rating per sale. No public listing comments or written review thread is provided. Rating history is retained when visibility is off. You control whether your seller score appears on your profile and can hide it on individual listings. Viewing the other participant’s reputation requires both members to share ratings and the listing to show its seller rating. Buyer scores are limited to the relevant private sale view and your own account.

Optional social links

You choose which social profiles appear on your member or organization page. Only links you explicitly show are returned to visitors. Hidden links stay saved for your editor. Following a link opens the external platform under its own privacy rules; TrailSlayers does not import your social activity.

Rig of the Month and guestbooks

Registered individual members may vote for any number of member rigs, once per rig each calendar month. Votes are stored with member IDs and month; voter lists are not public. Voting resets at midnight Pacific on the first, and the previous month’s top three and two honorable mentions appear in the public showcase. Ties favor the earlier final counted vote, then a stable member ID. Closed results are preserved, while profile links and published photos stay current. Suspended profiles and removed photos are not displayed.

Guestbooks are optional and off until a member enables theirs. Entries are public while enabled. The profile owner and original author can edit or remove entries; edits by the profile owner are labeled. Turning a guestbook off hides its entries from visitors and stops new comments, while preserving them for the owner. Removed entries are hidden rather than immediately purged. Keep comments respectful and contact support to report abuse.

Respect the people around the fire

Do not impersonate another person or organization. Use truthful role and certification claims. Vehicle custom descriptions allow up to 25 letters, numbers and spaces. Keep descriptions free of blatant profanity. Report abuse or false affiliation claims to support.