Community Guidelines
Last updated: March 2026
The short version
SplashEdit is a dive log and photo editor for people who love being underwater. We’re building a community of divers, freedivers, and snorkelers who share dives, swap stories, and occasionally argue about whether a 3mm wetsuit counts in cold water.
These guidelines exist because every community needs a floor. Not a ceiling — a floor. We’re not here to police your language, judge your dive style, or tell you how to interact with marine life. We’re here to keep the illegal stuff off the platform and make sure nobody ruins the experience for everyone else.
Think “bar bouncer,” not “hall monitor.”
What's welcome here
Pretty much everything a diver would share with dive buddies:
- Dive logs, photos, and videos from your underwater adventures
- Gear reviews, dive site recommendations, and trip reports
- Profanity in your dive notes (“that was a f***ing amazing dive” is fine)
- Adult humor in bios and buddy messages
- Spearfishing content — it’s a legitimate and respected diving activity. Lionfish culls are literally conservation.
- Photos of dead marine life encountered during dives (bycatch documentation, natural reef death)
- Photos involving marine life interaction — holding a sea cucumber or petting a nurse shark isn’t a crime. We encourage responsible interaction, but we’re not the reef police.
- Critical reviews of dive shops, instructors, or equipment (opinion, not harassment)
- Conservation content, even when it shows environmental damage
- Politically incorrect opinions that don’t cross into targeted hate
Zero tolerance — the stuff that gets you banned instantly
No warnings. No second chances. Immediate account termination and law enforcement notification where required by law.
- Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) — any sexual content involving minors, real or AI-generated. All detected CSAM is reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) as required by federal law.
- Terrorism and violent extremism — content promoting terrorist acts, recruitment, or attack planning.
- Non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) — revenge porn, voyeurism, or deepfake intimate imagery. If you are depicted in non-consensual intimate imagery on SplashEdit, submit a removal request or contact [email protected]. We will remove it within 48 hours as required by the TAKE IT DOWN Act.
Prohibited content — stuff we'll remove
This content gets taken down. First time: warning. Second time: 7-day upload restriction. Third: 30-day suspension. Fourth: permanent ban.
- Hate speech — attacks on people based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin. This applies to usernames, bios, dive notes, and buddy messages.
- Harassment and bullying — targeted abuse, doxxing, threats, or coordinated harassment.
- Graphic violence and gore — explicit depictions of violence against people or animals.
- Sexual content — explicit sexual imagery or sexually explicit text. Wetsuit skin is fine. Explicit sex is not.
- Dangerous activities promotion — glorifying life-threatening behavior without safety context (promoting skip-breathing, solo cave diving without training, etc.). We handle this with community nuance, not auto-bans.
Community standards — the lighter stuff
These get a warning and the content gets removed. Repeat offenders escalate to the enforcement ladder above.
- Spam and scams — phishing, commercial spam, or deceptive content.
- Impersonation — pretending to be another diver, instructor, or dive shop.
- Intellectual property — watermarked photos from other photographers. We’re a photo editing platform — this matters.
- Wildlife cruelty — photos or videos depicting genuinely cruel or sadistic treatment of marine life. Touching marine life is not a violation. Intentionally injuring animals is.
- Offensive usernames — slurs, sexual references, hate symbols, or impersonation of public figures.
What happens if you break the rules
We follow a structured enforcement ladder. Consequences are proportional:
| Step | Action | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warning | Content removed. You get a heads-up. No restrictions. |
| 2 | Upload restriction | 7 days. You can browse and view but can’t upload, share, or invite. |
| 3 | Suspension | 30 days. You can’t log in. Session invalidated. |
| 4 | Permanent ban | Account terminated. Email blocked from re-registration. |
Zero-tolerance violations (Tier 0) skip the ladder entirely — straight to permanent ban and law enforcement.
How to report
If you see something that violates these guidelines, report it. You can flag content directly in the app (coming soon), or email us at [email protected].
We take all reports seriously. Reports are reviewed within 48 hours (faster for Tier 0 content). You won’t be penalized for reporting in good faith.
Appeals
Made a mistake? We might have too. If you believe an enforcement action was taken in error, email [email protected] with your username and a brief explanation. We’ll review within 72 hours.
Age requirement
You must be at least 16 years old to use SplashEdit. If we learn that a user is under 16, the account will be terminated.
The legal stuff
These guidelines are part of our Terms of Service. By using SplashEdit, you agree to follow them. We may update these guidelines as the platform grows — we’ll note the date at the top when we do.
Questions? Email [email protected].