Community guidelines

Welcome to Club Together

Club Together is a place for caravan, motorhome and touring enthusiasts to come together, swap notes and explore the highs and lows of life on the road. We want you to enjoy Club Together and enjoy being a part of the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s online community.

Every person who is part of a community - both online and offline - needs to know what is expected of its members.

These Community Guidelines have been put in place in order to ensure Club Together is a safe and friendly online environment for all to enjoy being a part of and contributing to. By using Club Together you have agreed to abide by these guidelines and if we feel you are contravening them we may remove or suspend your access to our website, with or without prior warning. Please read the guidelines before you start using the Club Together community and check them regularly for updates.  

If you have any questions, please contact your Community Manager at communitymanager@camc.com.

Your rights and responsibilities

To ensure Club Together stays a safe, informative and fun online environment, we would like you to agree to a few ground rules. This will help to avoid unpleasantness in the community and keep Club Together a friendly and welcoming place to be.

The Golden Rules

Be kind - this is your community, so please make it a pleasant place to be. Any posts that are deemed to be antagonistic, condescending, offensive or disrespectful will be removed and the poster may have their web privileges suspended or removed. We have a zero tolerance policy towards cyber bullying and abusive or offensive posts.

Be respectful - please don't swear or use avatars, pictures or images that contain offensive language or that could upset other people - although it may not offend you, please take a moment to consider whether other people may find it offensive. If we see language or images which we deem to be inappropriate we may moderate or remove without explanation.

Be polite - to other people on the community and please don't discuss anyone disrespectfully. If you have an issue with another contributor please contact us directly about this and do not voice your complaint on the community. If you do your post will be removed and we will review your use of the community. We also request that you are courteous to staff on the community. The Caravan and Motorhome Club has a duty of care to their employees and as such needs to protect them within their working roles. Any abuse aimed towards staff or other members of the Club will be removed and may result in your web access being immediately suspended without prior notification. 

Be considerate - don't post anything that is racist, homophobic or intolerant to other people's views, beliefs or cultures. We ask that you are mindful of what you are posting and are tolerant and respectful towards other members of the community. As such we ask that discussions and posts on politics, religion and race are avoided as these discussions can get very heated at times and cause upset to other members who inadvertently stray into these discussion threads. There are a multitude of other online communities that welcome debates on politics and religion, which are more appropriate for this type of discussion. By no means does this mean you cannot wish another member a happy Christmas, Ramadan, Eid, Hanukah or any other religious occasion or celebration. We ask that members do not enter into debate about religion, politics or any other potentially sensitive subject for the reasons given above. 

Take responsibility - don't say anything you know would or could offend or is against the law, for example, anything that is indecent, racist, defamatory, harassing or threatening. Do not make allegations of others that are unfounded. Remember you are legally responsible for what you post, so please be aware of this when contributing on Club Together. As such we ask that you be considerate of other contributors. Posts that are deemed to be inappropriate, or any posts or issues that are taking a lot of time and resource to manage, or are making our community an unpleasant place to be, may be closed or removed by staff or moderators, without an explanation. We ask that decisions are respected and they are not open for debate on the community as this will also be removed and your web access may be suspended. If you do see something offensive, please report it to the Community Manager. You may also want to look at our takedown policy within the guidelines.

Be aware - You are ultimately responsible for what you post so please be aware of what you say and ensure your comments could not be considered as libellous or unlawful as it could result in expensive legal action for both yourself and the Club. If we feel that a comment or discussion could potentially be libellous or unlawful we may remove it without an explanation. We are not able to consult a lawyer every time a comment is reported that may be libellous and as such we will remove it if we think it could potentially be unlawful. Please note that the Caravan and Motorhome Club is not able to check every discussion so it is your responsibility to ensure your comments could not be deemed as libellous or unlawful. You are the owner of your posts on the community.

Be relevant - Our focus is for posts to fundamentally be about caravans, motorhomes, trailer tents, touring and the great outdoors. There are other forums and communities where debate on politics and religion are welcome, but Club Together is not one of these. Please keep conversations on topic and relevant to our shared hobby of caravanning touring and the great outdoors.

Be pleasant - Don't antagonise, cause disharmony or try and make the community an unpleasant place to be. If we feel you are deliberately creating negative feedback, we reserve the right to suspend your website account without prior warning.

Have fun - Enjoy Club Together and make it a community that you are happy and proud to be a part of.

First post moderation

On Club Together we welcome both members of the Caravan and Motorhome Club and non-members to post and share information on our forum. Please note, that new non-member accounts will have their first three posts on Club Together moderated, and these comments will be approved by a member of staff before they appear on the forum. If we believe that these first posts are inappropriate, or contravene any of the guidelines, the Club reserves the right to lock the users account for use. If you have any queries about this, please contact the Community Manager at communitymanager@camc.com.

Uploading photos and video

On Club Together you have the option to upload up to 5 photos or a video alongside each post. When uploading please consider the guidelines, and do not post anything that could be considered offensive to other members of the community. This includes, but is not limited to, political or religious content, or making offensive or derogatory comments relating to sex, gender reassignment, race (including nationality), disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief or age.

Please note that if the Caravan and Motorhome Club deems any content inappropriate, it is within its rights to remove said content without warning.

Here are a few other guidelines to help you enjoy Club Together

• Don't shout BY POSTING IN CAPITAL LETTERS.
• Be aware that jokes or comments that work face-to-face might appear mean or insensitive online.
• Try to stay on-topic. We all stray off topic from time-to-time but please don't hijack discussions that are about a specific subject or that are asking for advice. You may mean it as light hearted fun, but it can be interpreted as troll like behaviour to other users and can put new contributors off from taking part.
• Let others have their say. It can also be off putting for other contributors when someone is dominating discussions, so please let other people have the opportunity to have their say, especially if you are just reiterating your original point. Remember, wanting to have the last word does not necessarily mean you are right.
• Be civil, even if you don't agree with someone's point of view.
• Count to five before posting in a way that you might regret later. Not everyone is used to posting. Try and think what the person posting is trying to get across. It may not be what you think they mean.
• Do your own research. Please note any views expressed by contributors are not the views of the Caravan and Motorhome Club. Members have shared some amazing advice on Club Together, however, sometimes posts can occasionally be misleading, inaccurate or incomplete. This is not something we can monitor and as such it is your responsibility to do your own research.
• Do not post anything that could be interpreted as self-publicity, including spamming and advertising (as well as pyramid selling or chain letters, selling or soliciting).
• Be truthful about your experiences.  For example, don't contribute a review unless you have actually visited the site in question.
• Stay positive. Don't post anything intended to disrupt or vandalise the community.
• Don't post any third-party material that infringes any legal rights - for example, copyright.
• Don't intentionally misquote another member or Club representative. Do not alter another contributor's comments in a quote to misrepresent them. If you quote someone legitimately, credit them. Don't quote someone if they specifically asked you not to.
• Don't falsely represent yourself.
• Don't be shy - your comments are always more valuable when people know who you are and can put a face to a name. You can also add your photo as your profile image, but if not, why not post a photo of your van.
• Don't worry - your details are safe with us. You can amend your personal details at any time. Other members cannot access your email address or contact details and we advise that you don't add contact details to your posts. The Caravan and Motorhome Club will only ever use your details to contact you if necessary or otherwise in accordance with our privacy policy.
• Log out when you use a public machine to minimise the chance of intruder access.
• Don't provide your log in details to another person and don't post anyone else's personal details.
• Report any transgressions to the Caravan and Motorhome Club Community Manager at communitymanager@camc.com. If you report a transgression we will endeavour to respond as soon as we can.
• Do not misuse the channels for complaint - if you have a complaint please contact the relevant department directly.

Representatives of the Caravan and Motorhome Club may remove any contribution, or take action against any online community account, at any time, for any reason and this is not open for debate on the community.

Takedown policy

The Community Manager and Community Moderators will regularly moderate posts, discussions, stories and other content added to the community, ensuring that each adheres to these guidelines. Items not adhering to the guidelines may be temporarily or permanently removed, and an opportunity will be provided for the member to revise their contribution, if appropriate.

If you come across something the Community Manager may have missed, please let the Community Manager know, by using the 'Report' button or by sending an email directly to communitymanager@camc.com.

Please include the URL of the page in question. We will endeavour to respond and action if necessary within the next available working day.

If you feel that you would like your own contributions to be removed, please send a message to the Community Manager with your reasons. Please include the URL of the page with the contribution you want removed. Removing posts and discussions is not as straightforward as it first appears. Very often the removal of one post makes the flow of a discussion nonsensical and often has an impact on subsequent posts made by other members. Likewise where removed discussions were referenced elsewhere in the discussion forum, continuity is compromised. We usually try and avoid removing posts and try to work with the post author to find a resolution which remains meaningful to all.

We will delete posts where we feel appropriate and if we feel a person has contravened our guidelines we will contact the person to advise and, depending on the situation, we may decide to suspend their website access without prior warning. If we have contacted the person previously to ask them to abide by the guidelines and they ignore our advice and continue to post in a way that contravenes guidelines, it may result in their account being locked.

If the person's online account has been unlocked, and they continue to deliberately cause offense, disrupt the community, create disharmony and/or be abusive to other people on Club Together, the Caravan and Motorhome Club will review the person's membership and appropriate action will be taken. If a person re-registers on the community under an alias when their account has been locked we will take this very seriously and again will review the person's membership and appropriate action will be taken.

When suspended users re-register as a under an alias this can prevent the Community Team from carrying out their day-to-day duties, which is essential for the smooth running of the community.

It may also cause distress to other users of Club Together and as such we may report such offenders to their Internet Service Provider. If their actions breach the Computer Misuse Act 1990 or any other relevant criminal legislation we will also report offenders to the authorities.

Our Community Moderators

Club Together is growing into a great resource of information supplied by the Caravan and Motorhome Club and also by you. However, its vibrancy and effectiveness depends on your participation. Like any other community we need its contributors and its moderators.

What is a Community Moderator?

Our Community Moderators are all members of the Club who have volunteered to help keep Club Together a happy place to be where members feel welcome to contribute. We have asked them to help us keep discussions on topic, close or remove contentious discussions or posts, delete spam, direct new members around the community, move discussions to the right areas and help Club Together grow and develop by being positive contributors to the community.

What to do if you are not happy with a decision a Moderator has made

Community Moderators are ordinary members of the Caravan and Motorhome Club who contribute their free time to help support Club Together. They do a superb job under often difficult circumstances, and as such we want to make sure that our Moderators are treated with respect. They are not paid and are not responsible for the site, they have volunteered because they want to see Club Together grow and develop and be a community we can all be proud of. As such we ask that users of Club Together respect the Moderators at all times.

If you are not happy with a decision a Moderator has made, please be aware this is not open for debate on the community and any comments of this nature will be removed. This is because it can often antagonise situations and we do not wish for our volunteers to be open to abuse. If you are querying a Moderator's decision please first check our Terms and Conditions and Community Guidelines. If you are still not happy with the decision and you feel we should be made aware of it, then please email communitymanager@camc.com. Please do not post your query in a discussion as it will be removed. If you continue to post, it may result in your web access being suspended.

How do I become a Moderator?

As a contributor to the discussions you may well wish to consider a more proactive role in the community as a Community Moderator. Our Community Moderators are volunteers who are helping us to establish this community as a healthy, active space which we can all enjoy together. Some of our Moderators also help to moderate Club Together to ensure the community remains a safe and welcoming online environment.

To find out about becoming involved as a Community Moderator, or if you have another idea for how you'd like to get more involved with this community, please contact the Community Manager via email at communitymanager@camc.com.

Caravan and Motorhome Club staff

A number of Caravan and Motorhome Club staff on Club Together are there to help and support the community, offer advice to members and help keep Club Together a pleasant and welcoming place to be.

At times the staff may need to moderate the community and we ask that you respect the decisions made, as these are not open for debate. Please note, it is not always possible for the staff to read every post and as such the team rely on users reporting posts to them through the 'report' link to make them aware of any issues.

The Community Team are employees of the Caravan and Motorhome Club and as such the Club has a duty of care to their staff to protect them in their working roles. Any abuse aimed towards staff will be removed and may result in your web access being immediately suspended. Any comment that criticises an individual member of the team shall be removed and appropriate action against the contributor will be taken.

We know that most Club Together users would never be rude to a member of staff, but we do need to make this clear within the guidelines.

Reviews

Reviews are something we value at the Club. It can be very useful for other members when deciding to book a site and also to the Club when it comes to constructive feedback. However, we do have a few ground rules and we ask members respect these.

What we ask:

That there are no offensive or abusive comments on reviews.

We ask that at all times posts are constructive and are not offensive towards members of staff, owners of CLs or Affiliated Sites or other members of the Caravan and Motorhome Club. The Wardens work hard at all times and do their utmost to ensure member's visits are pleasant and enjoyable. The Caravan and Motorhome Club has a duty of care to staff and as such we ask that members be polite in their reviews and don't post abusive or offensive comments. If you have a complaint please contact us directly about this. We will remove a review with or without explanation if it contravenes these guidelines or singles out a member of staff.

That you have stayed on the site you are reviewing.

We know it sounds obvious, but if you haven't stayed on the site please don't rate it or leave a review. This has happened on many occasions and it means that the ratings are unfairly represented. We will remove reviews with or without explanation if you have not stayed on the site.

That your stay was within the last 12 months.

We do make improvements and changes to sites and as such we ask that all reviews are current. If your visit was a while ago, your review may misrepresent the site or be confusing to other members. For example, you may post about an old toilet block, when actually this has had a refurbishment since your last stay. Therefore, in order to make reviews fair, please make them about recent stays only. We will remove older reviews from the site pages. 

We ask that reviews are not used as a means of complaint. If you have had an issue on site please contact the relevant department by visiting the contact us page. We reserve the right to remove any reviews that we feel would be better dealt with as a complaint.

Third party companies

Any complaints you have with 3rd party companies i.e. products or services not associated with the Club, should be dealt with directly with the company in question and not aired on Club Together. Please be aware that if the third party company feels you have exaggerated a complaint or not given a full or honest account, you are responsible for your posts and accept any liability for content you have written on Club Together.

Meetings and get togethers

Since the launch of Club Together many new friendships have been formed, which is great to see. However, we do ask that members be careful when meeting other people from the community alone, and if you choose to meet with anyone from Club Together we recommend that you always meet and stay in a populated location and that you always keep your mobile phone switched on and charged. We cannot take responsibility for anything that occurs when meeting with other people from the community.

Solo caravanners and tourers

The solo discussions area of Club Together is a fantastic place to get help and advice from other Club Together contributors on travelling by yourself in a caravan, motorhome or trailer tent. This section of Club Together was introduced following the commitment and enthusiasm of a few regular contributors of Club Together who campaigned to have a dedicated area of the community to share their experiences and advice on solo touring.

Please be aware this is not a 'singles' site and is not for meeting with the intention of dating or to arrange a date. Any groups or meetings are arranged independently by contributors of Club Together and are not in association with the Caravan and Motorhome Club.

The solos discussion is an area we are proud to have on the community but we do ask that people please read our Solo Community Advice as contributor's personal safety is paramount to the Caravan and Motorhome Club.

We would recommend that you do not put a sticker up to indicate you are travelling alone for your personal protection, although this is of course your own choice. We understand the solo sticker has been popular and although we feel it is a great idea in principle, unfortunately the world is not always a safe place and there are people who will take advantage of solo travellers.

Do not divulge or post your personal information on Club Together, such as telephone number or email address.

If you choose to arrange to meet with anyone from Club Together we recommend that you always meet and stay in a populated public place or area and that you always keep your mobile phone on you, switched on and charged.

Any groups or meetings that are arranged on Club Together in the solos area are independent of Club Together and not in association with the Caravan and Motorhome Club. 

Further information

When you registered to join Club Together, you accepted our Terms and Conditions and these Community Guidelines of use which created a binding agreement between us. These guidelines provide information about Club Together and guidance on how to comply with those terms and we ask that you follow them, and any amendments to them, when using Club Together.

Note: These Community Guidelines were updated in February 2017