Updated August 6, 2026

Privacy Policy

Who we are

I am a real human. There is just me working on this site. See the Meet Mark Page for details

Comments

I will read and attempt to answer all comments. Before each comment is displayed on the website, I will moderate it. I will determine if the comment is appropriate for my site. My decision is final and not appealable. It’s my site; I make the decisions and the rules. If you don’t like it, build your own site.

Subjects not allowed:
  • Hate of any kind
  • Everyone has a right to their opinion. If it does not violate the rules, it stays. No matter what you say.
  • Everyone is equal with the same rights.
  • Preaching religious ideas is frowned upon; discussing religion in historical terms is allowed. We can’t discuss history without talking about religion. Excessive preaching will be banned.
  • Excessive political comments. I have strong political opinions. I post them where it is appropriate. This site is not appropriate for politics.
  • I’m old-fashioned, and just plain old. Discussions with excessive swearing indicate a lack of vocabulary and thought, and possibly intelligence. It will not be tolerated. You used to be able to say something along the lines of, ” If you wouldn’t say it in front of your mother, it is not appropriate. That’s gone away. But on my site, the rule is if in doubt, don’t use that word.
  • If you asked me about my thoughts on the excessive sexualization, you would be shocked by my opinion. However, on this site, I want it to be family-friendly. If you can’t say it in public in the bible belt, you can’t say it here.

Cookies

I don’t personally collect or use cookies. But they are important to how the software works. This is the suggested cookie policy.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set several cookies to save your login information and screen display preferences. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

Embedded content from other websites

The only content embedded in this site comes from other internet properties I own and control. They have the same privacy policies as this site.

Who we share your data with

I don’t share your data with anyone, other than you. It’s your data, not mine to share.

How long we retain your data

In general, I retain your data for as long as I own this website. If I close the website, your data will be destroyed within 7 calendar days of the closure. If for some reason, ownership of this website changes, your data will be destroyed before the site is transferred to new ownership. I will not include your data in any sale or other transfer of this website.

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

For users who register on our website, we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

What rights you have over your data

If you have an account on this site or have left comments, you can request an export of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Where your data is sent

Visitor comments may be screened by an automated spam-detection service.

Affiliate Policy

Definition

For this website, an affiliate Link is any link, code, form, or any other device that, if used by you, will provide me with a benefit, either financial or otherwise.

Display of the Policy

The following notice will appear next to any affiliate link.

Affiliate Links Policy

Unless you are a brand new Internet user, you know the drill about affiliate links. They do NOT add to the cost of any product you purchase. And I get a few micro-cents from the purchase.

My personal policy on affiliate links I have on my website is this: I only promote a product or book that I use or read myself and personally paid for the item. This is not a review site where every product is great, every book should be the next best seller, and as Garrison Keillor said: “. . . all the children are above average”.

I also don’t hide affiliate links in the text of an article. All affiliate links are in a separate box at the end of an article. In addition to links at the end of articles, there is a page where I give my reason for every link on the site. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, email me. I am a real human, not some chatbot. Email address: adminmark@markstravels.com or use the contact form on this page.

Affiliate Policy Discussion

I want to be clear. This website is not designed or operated to be profitable. This is my gift to other travelers. At the same time, if anyone would like to support my efforts to operate this site, they can do so by using the affiliate links. I do believe in capitalism. I hope this policy makes it abundantly clear that I have links that provide me with a benefit. I do not hide those links.

Another aspect of my affiliate policy is that any item with an affiliate link I personally purchased or obtained without any help or remuneration by anyone. I use, or have used, the product and have found it helpful for my travel. Most of the links will be for books on Amazon. I use both Kindle and paper copies of books and may have bought the book elsewhere, such as at a bookstore on the site.

As an aside, I never understood why you can’t get a guidebook before you visit some places. It would help me understand what I am looking a lot more if I had read about it before.

Use of AI Policy

I will not use generative AI to create any text or image on the website. Ever. End of it.

I do use software to help me with spelling, grammar, and sentence structure. Currently, that program is Grammarly. While it does have AI features to rewrite an article, I do NOT use that feature.

All images on the site (except a very few that I know the photographer) have been created by me. I do not use AI to enhance or edit the images in any way. I don’t use filters, which to me are a type of AI. All videos have been created and edited by me. No AI was used in any of the videos, to the best of my knowledge. I have to add that because AI is becoming so prevalent, I can’t be certain it isn’t in the software I use.

My one use of generative AI is in the description of the site listed on Google. That paragraph is nowhere on my site and only appears in Google searches. Please email me, mark@markmarkstravels.com, to let me know your thoughts on this use. I do have some concerns.