Privacy Statement
Aggregate Data
In the normal course of operating our website, our servers automatically gather
certain non-personal information and business data pertaining to the use of
the site ("Aggregate Data"). For example, we may collect the number
and frequency of visitors, hits on specific pages, advertisements and promotions,
access by users of partner and other web sites, revenue collection and subscriptions.
We use such collective data in the aggregate to help us understand what aspects
of the site are most popular so we can improve our services and features. We
also may provide Aggregate Data to our partners, advertisers, members or others
so they too can understand how people use our site.
Cookies
As do many websites, we may use cookies to tell us how and when pages on our
site are visited. Our Website may use "cookies" to enable you to sign
in to our web services and to help personalize your online experience. A cookie
is a small text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server.
Cookies contain information that can later be read by a web server in the domain
that issued the cookie to you. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver
viruses to your computer.
The information collected by cookies is non-personally identifiable and is used
generally to make the users experience more friendly and convenient. If you
do not wish us to collect this non-personally identifiable information, you
can "opt-out" by setting up your browser to refuse cookies.
It is possible for advertisers and others that serve ads on our website or otherwise
add content to the site to use their own cookies. This Privacy Policy does not
cover the use of cookies by any advertisers or other third parties on our website
because we do not have access to the information collected by third party cookies.
Use of Web Beacons
Our Web pages may contain electronic images that allow us to count users who
have visited those pages and to deliver co-branded services. We may include
Web beacons in promotional e-mail messages or Newsletters in order to determine
whether messages have been opened and acted upon.
Use of your Personal Information
We collect and use your personal information to operate our website and deliver
the services you have requested. These services may include the display of customized
content and advertising based upon the information we have collected. In order
to provide services in conjunction with other products or services, personal
information collected on our Website may in rare cases be accessed and used
by other services as necessary to provide such services. Any use of such information
within our Website will remain subject to the limitations of this privacy statement.
We also use your personal information to communicate with you and to better
supply you services. We may send certain mandatory service communications such
as welcome letters, billing reminders, information on technical service issues,
and security announcements. Some services, may send periodic member letters
that are considered part of the service. We may also occasionally send you product
surveys. If we do this we may use this information to send you only information
you are interested in. We do this so you are not contacted unnessasarily for
things you have no interest in. We may also send you promotional mailings to
inform you of other products or services available from our Website and its
affiliates.
We do not sell, rent or lease our customer lists to third parties. We may, from
time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular
offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your personal information
(e-mail, name, address, telephone number) is not transferred to the third party.
We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion,
or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.
Personal Data
Whether you are registering as a member, ordering a product or taking part in
various activities on our site you may provide personal information ("Personal
Data"), including your email address, your credit card number and billing
address. In general, we do not share your Personal Data with anyone outside
our organization, except:
When you have given express permission for us to do so. Such as when you elect
to fill in information requested by us or another party that is specifically
intended to be provided to a third party (e.g., an on-line product offering
that is sent to the shipper of a book, CD-ROM, or other product.)
For legitimate business purposes, including when a third party is acting as
our agent to provide customer service, focus group testing and technical services.
In such cases, these third parties are bound by this Privacy Policy and may
not reuse your Personal Data. When necessary to enforce our Code of Conduct
or when we are required by applicable law, regulation, subpoena, warrant or
other legal process to disclose such information to law enforcement authorities
or anyone else.
Tell-A-Friend
If customers elect to use our referral service for informing a friend about
our sites and services, we may ask them for the friend's name, e-mail address,
and possibly other information. We will store and use this information to send
the friend an invitation. This information may also be used to provide information
about our company and related products and services. The friend may contact
us as specified in the tell-a-friend message to request that no further communications
be sent.
Surveys and Contests
From time to time we invite web site users and other customers to provide information
via surveys or contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely
voluntary and the website user or other customer therefore has a choice whether
to disclose requested contact information (such as name and mailing address)
and demographic information (such as zip code or job title). In addition to
the other uses set forth in this policy, contact information collected in connection
with surveys and contests is used to notify the winners and award prizes and
to monitor or improve the use of, and satisfaction with the website or our other
product or service. Subject to the given customers preferences (as described
in the "Permission" section below), such information also may be shared
with third party sponsors of such surveys or contests.
E-mail Newsletters
If users wish to subscribe to our e-mail newsletters, we ask for contact information
(such as name, e-mail address and, occasionally, demographic information). We
use this information in the same manner as we use contact information in the
registration and ordering process described above. Recipients of our newsletters
can unsubscribe using the instructions listed at the end of the e-mail newsletter.
Posting to Forums and Blogs
If you are posting to Forums or Web Logs (Blogs) any information you post may
be used by us at our sole discretion. By posting on our sites you give ownership
of that post to us. We have the right to use that post on this or other sites.
You are responsible for the information you post.
Children's Data
We do not direct or target any part of this site towards children under the
age of 13. In addition, we do not knowingly collect personal data from children
under the age of 13.
Member Access to Information
Registered members of our site may have access to their own, personal profile
information at all times in order to determine its accuracy and make changes
if necessary. If you do not feel you have access, you may email us at an email
from our site.
Third Party Linked Sites
Please be aware that advertisers, merchants, publishers and websites that have
links on our site may collect personally identifiable information about you
on their site. This Privacy Policy does not cover the information practices
of those advertisers, merchants, publishers and websites.
User Responsibility for Protection and Privacy
User Account Protection: Every registered member of our site will have a member
name and password. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential.
You are also responsible for all activity occurring through use of your account
and/or password. Specifically, users that allow access by others, including
family or household members, to their account are responsible for the actions
of those individuals, including the invasion of privacy on the user's Personal
Data.
Voluntary Disclosures: Please be aware that if you voluntarily disclose information
online, personal or otherwise, such information can be collected by others.
For example, using chat, bulletin boards, your email, or if you post personal
information online you may receive unsolicited messages from others. Our company
will have no means to control this and takes no responsibility for your use
of the Internet to voluntarily transmit information to others.
Information concerning the Privacy Act can be found on the following Web site:
http://www.cftc.gov/foia/foiprivacyact.htm