Community guidelines
Marks are only useful if other boaters can trust them. These rules apply to everything on Breaking Wind: posts, photos, comments, profiles, fleet names and fleet chat.
The short version
- Share what you really saw, and be honest about what you don't know.
- Be decent to other boaters. Ordinary swearing is fine, and hate isn't.
- Don't reveal where someone else or their boat is without their consent.
- Report or block anything that's wrong. A person reviews reports within 24 hours.
01Be accurate
Someone may plan their day around your post. Say what you actually saw, when you saw it and what your boat draws, if it matters. Don't make up a hazard, conditions or a report, and don't knowingly give false information about a place. Every mark carries a reminder that it's a skipper's report and not a chart, but that doesn't excuse a careless one.
02Be decent
Disagree about anchorages all you like. No harassment, bullying, threats or piling on. Don't attack or demean people for their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or age.
03Not allowed
- Anything illegal, including fraud, scams, theft and poaching.
- Threats of violence, or encouraging someone to put a person or vessel in danger.
- Sexually explicit content. Any sexual content involving a minor is removed, reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and ends the account.
- Spam, advertising or selling without our written permission.
- Pretending to be another person, a brand, Breaking Wind or a government agency.
- Posts or fake accounts made to game likes or followers.
04Respect other people's privacy
A mark can show where a boat is, and when it's unattended. Don't post another person's location, schedule, berth, phone number or other personal details without their consent, and don't use Breaking Wind to follow or track someone. If a photo shows other people or their boats, make sure they're comfortable with it. Only post photos you have the right to share.
05Fleets
Fleet chat is private to the fleet, but these rules still apply. Share an invite code only with people you mean to sail with. If someone reports a message, we may read it in order to act on it.
06Reporting and blocking
You can report a post, comment, person or fleet message from inside the app, and it's hidden from you straight away where that applies. Press and hold a comment or a fleet message to find Report and Block. Blocking applies everywhere: you won't see each other's posts, comments or messages. If you can't get to the app, write to support@breakingwind.app.
07What we do
- Automatic filter: text with slurs or explicit terms can't be posted. Photos aren't screened automatically.
- Several reports: a post or comment reported by three different people is hidden until we've reviewed it.
- Review: a person reviews reports within 24 hours, and either removes the content or restores it.
- Accounts: we may suspend or close an account that breaks these rules or puts others at risk. Where it's safe to, we'll tell you why. If you think we got it wrong, write to us.
In an emergency, or if someone is in immediate danger, don't report it here. Use VHF channel 16 or call your local emergency number.