We all have varying interests, beliefs, ideas, and opinions. One thing that we all have in common is our interest in camping and the outdoors.

General Rules

Facebook only allows us to post 10 rules on the Gay Camping Friends Facebook Group and limits how much we can say about each. This page serves as our official rules and explanations for what is allowed to be posted in the Facebook Group.

We pre-screen posts before they are posted and we have tools which decline some posts automatically. We rely on members to help identify problem comments by using the Report to Admin feature as there is no functionality available to have automated moderation of, or pre-approval of comments. Learn more about our moderation procedures by visiting our our Facebook Group Moderation Procedures Page.

Rule 1: No Explicit or Artful Nudes

We do not allow any nude photos to be posted on the Facebook group. This includes anything that Facebook deems as nudity as well as any images of penis, vagina, butts, or testicles.

We do not allow any artful or “almost” nudes including any images of exposed butts, penis outlines, vagina outlines, sexual acts (even if clothed), or excessively sexual or intimate imagery. This may include images that Facebook normally would allow.

Reason 1: Every time someone posts a “butt” photo people invariably comment “Nice Ass”. Facebook automatically removes harmless comments like this under their “Sexual Harassment and Bullying” rule. This hurts our group in their algorithms and hurts the commenter as well.

Reason 2: Many people love nudes but Facebook is not the place for them. First and foremost Facebook does not allow them and we could be in trouble if too many get removed by them. Additionally, we know that many of us are sexual creatures but in the same respect many don’t want to see it. If you enjoy sharing your nude experiences we do have a by-request-only area of our Official Discord Server in which nudist expression and explicit material is allowed.

Rule 2: No Thirst Traps or Thirsty Posts

We do not allow selfies which are completely irrelevant to the group to be posted, especially if it is an obvious reach for attention. Saying “I wish I was camping” does not make the photo relevant.

Reason: Gay Camping Friends is not in the business of growing your self esteem or your following. Our members like to see real camping related posts. If they wanted to see non-camping related selfies they can see those in a different group.

Exception: If you are legitimately camping or doing some tangential outdoor/travel related activity we would love for you to post about it. Feel free to post photos of yourself enjoying the outdoors – even if you are shirtless and attractive.

Exception: We have an exception for first posts (introductions). If you are introducing yourself to the group for the first time we think it is reasonable that your introduction would include an image of yourself and it is fine if that image is shirtless and you are trying to make a good impression. If your introduction doesn’t have enough content or is just a “thanks for the add” post, it will likely not be posted.

Rule 3: No Discrimination of Any Kind

Everyone is allowed in this group including but not limited to:

  • Men
  • Women
  • Transgender
  • Non-Binary
  • Democrat
  • Republican
  • Monogamous
  • Polyamorous
  • Triads
  • Christians
  • Muslims
  • … get what we are saying? Everyone!

If we believe that any post is discriminatory we may decide to ban the offender from the group without warning or questions asked.

Here are a few specific items that are not allowed:

  • Vocalizing that you don’t like to see (women, trans, etc.) when you are camping. Keep that to yourself.
  • Commenting on another group member’s political affiliation. I.E. a Democrat commenting on the fact that someone in the group is a Trump supporter.
  • Disparaging someone for wanting to be monogamous.
  • Disparaging someone for not wanting to be monogamous.
  • Commenting negative thoughts about a church or religion as a concept.
Rule 4: No Unauthorized Group, Fundraiser, Page, or Product Promotion

All promotions or ads for personal gain or on behalf of a business (whether for profit or non-profit) must be pre-approved before posting.

We have over 100,000 members and we are all charitable. We love to sign up to help with causes and we want to get the word out. Gay Camping Friends is not the space to do so. There are so many scams surrounding fundraising, 501c(3) charities that pay their leaders salaries, and there is a huge volume of issues that are important to LGBTQ+ people in general but not necessarily camping.

To be very clear, we recognize the importance of fundraisers for the following topics – but they are not allowed in our group:

  • Personal Medical Fundraisers
  • Personal Hardship Fundraisers
  • Gay Pride Fundraisers
  • HIV/AIDS Runs, Bikes, or Other Activities
  • Raffles for a Cause (Even for Camping Equipment)
  • LGBTQ+ Charity Fundraisers
  • Political Fundraisers

We do not allow fundraisers or advertisements to be posted that are “tangentially” camping related. If you are having a Gay Pride and people “could” camp at it that doesn’t make it a camping event. Only Gay Campgrounds in our directory are allowed to post fundraisers or advertisements without prior approval.

Reason: We need to control spam and advertisements in our group. We have our own costs to operate and few revenue streams. To take advantage of our popular platform for advertisement please email info@gaycampingfriends.com

Exception: Any event that a gay campground listed in our Gay Friendly Campground Directory hosts (on its own accord I.E. not a different business throwing the event or accepting ticket sales) is pre-approved and can be posted without asking.

Rule 5: No Irrelevant Posts

Your post must be relevant to the group. In this group that means it needs to be camping related or similar.

We are an LGBTQ+ group, but we do not allow “general” LGBTQ+ topics to be posted or discussed. This includes:

  • Medical news that “everyone should know” such as new HIV variants or medical breakthroughs.
  • LGBTQ+ events that are not camping related.
  • Political issues that affect LGBTQ+ people.
  • Memes, photos, or other posts which you might find on an LGBTQ+ person’s timeline because they are interesting or funny but not camping related.

Here is a non-comprehensive list of relevant post topics that will give you an idea of what topics are allowed:

  • Asking for suggestions on where to camp.
  • Asking about what one should bring while camping.
  • Asking about RV maintenance issues.
  • Asking who is in a specific area.
  • Posting that you are camping or planning to camp somewhere.
  • Posting a selfie while camping with a relevant caption.
  • Posting a photo of your camping group with a relevant caption.
  • Posting a question about camping.
  • Posting about camping tangential activities such as hiking, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, beachgoing, hunting, forging, etc.

Here is a non-comprehensive list of irrelevant post topics that will likely be removed:

  • Posts looking for a boyfriend or husband.
  • Posts looking for companions based on some sexual or physical criteria. I.E. I’m looking for a vers top to camp with. I’m looking for a submissive or sir to camp with.
  • Posts which mention camping in a selfie or post just for the sake of mentioning it in an effort to force a post to appear relevant to the group.

Reason: This is a camping group and is meant to be informative and relevant at all times.

Rule 6: Nudist and Sex-Positive Group

Camping nude is not everyone’s thing. Hooking up in the woods with a stranger isn’t everyone’s thing. However, it is important to note that both of those things are integral to many gay mens’ versions of camping and to gay camping culture in general.

Historically, gay campgrounds have provided a safe space for gay men to be themselves and to meet other men in times when that was much harder to do than it is now with the internet and general acceptance of gays in society. Many (dare I say most) gay campgrounds continue to be clothing-optional and some even have designated areas at which sex can occur.

With all of that said, public judgement of someone based on interests in nudism, outdoor nudity, sexual encounters while camping, sexual interests, hooking up, etc. is not allowed. This group is supportive of everyone’s “version” of what camping is.

Rule 7: No Drama, Debates, or Negativity

We do not allow critiques of beliefs, posts, selfies, content, etc. If you do not like someone’s post or comment for any reason and you choose to engage with them (whether justified or not) it is likely that your comment will be deleted.

The correct way to resolve issues with content is to report the post or contact a moderator.

We do not allow debates of any sort (unless camping related and non-accusatory I.E. tents versus RV is allowed but telling someone that RV camping is not camping is not allowed). If the topic at hand solicits for back and forth of counter opinions we will delete the post. This includes debates where the original poster posted something true but controversial. We do not have the bandwidth to respond when comments get heated or ugly in a timely manner. We are not here to babysit, we are here to provide a place for people to discuss camping.

We believe and know that Trans men are men, Black Lives Matter, that LGBT marketing is overly white-washed, that people need to recognize the role trans women of color played in the history, present, and future of the “gay rights” movement, and we believe that everyone has the right to choose who and how many love or sexual partners they want to have. However, in our group Facebook page we do not allow social justice commentary, advocacy, activism, critiques, observations, non-camping-related historical or holiday commentary, etc. We love Pride Month for example, but the group isn’t the place for non-camping related discussion about Pride as a concept. It brings out the worst in some people and we don’t want our feed to be filled with negativity, back and forth, and arguments.

We do not allow unsubstantiated comments or critiques about businesses. Did you have bad service with AT&T at a certain campground? Did you not have strong water in your shower? That is fine to post. Is the campground office manager “an asshole” or is the campground “cliquey”? That is not something that can be substantiated and thus would likely be deleted.

We do not allow posts whose purpose is to provide negative commentary about a person, the group in general, a gay campground, the content of the group, the moderation of the group, a post or comment that was previously deleted, or most other topics.

If you have a disagreement with someone in a post and then in turn become ugly in private messages that get back to us we may remove you from the group. Just because you don’t put it out in public doesn’t mean we don’t try to be cognizant of who may be a bad apple.

Rule 8: No Admin or Moderator Callouts

Had a post deleted and don’t know why? See a post that should be removed? Wonder why your post was removed but someone else’s wasn’t? Ask an admin or moderator directly – the whole group does not need to see the exchange.

The way to get a moderator’s attention is to report a post or comment, message one directly, message the GCF page, or email info@gaycampingfriends.com.

Rule 9: Follow Facebook Guidelines

Although our group is a private group, that does not mean that any Facebook guidelines do not apply. Facebook removes posts and comments from the group often and we do not have any control over that.

Rule 10: No Under 18

Our group allows members who are 18 years of age and older. If you are under 18, we respectfully ask you to leave until you are. If you are suspected of being under 18, you will be removed.

Rule 11: Saying Our Group is Not About Camping or Is the New Grindr

Everyone in the group is in the group because they love camping. We all have that in common. We have a growing website, camping events, and hundreds of camping related posts a day.

If you think that guys posting shirtless selfies outdoors makes our group the “New Grindr”, you may be overly sensitive in that respect and our group is not for you. We ask that you leave rather than subject us to your thoughts in a post or comment.

Rule 12: No Announcing Your Departure

This is not LaGuardia – you can hit that runway without announcing your departure.