Privacy Policy
(updated 7-9-10)
Thank you for visiting our website and reviewing our privacy policy. Your privacy is important to us.
We collect no personal information about you unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not rent, sell, or lease our member, customer, or email lists to third parties. In order to help provide our services, we may provide information to other third party companies that work on our behalf.
Some of our web pages (such as online forms for email lists, newsletters, publication order forms, meetings and event registration forms, web discussion forums) may let you voluntarily submit personal information.
If you want to know more about how we record non-personal information about your visit or how we use personal information that you voluntarily submit, please read on.
Non-personal Information We Record
If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the website, read pages, or download information, our website’s operating system may automatically record some general information about your visit.
During your visit, our web operating system may automatically record:
1. Website usage data. We may collect non-identifiable information to measure how our visitors and members use our website. This information may include statistics about the numbers of unique visits to our website, repeat visits, and the website pages which are viewed.
2. Our web servers automatically collect information about your computer’s connection to the Internet, including your IP address when you visit our website. The Internet domain for your Internet service may be collected. Your IP address does not contain personally identifiable information, nor does it identify you personally.
3. The type of browser (such as “Netscape version X” or “Internet Explorer version X”) that you are using.
4. The type of operating system that you use (such as Macintosh, Unix, or Windows).
5. The date and time you visit our site, and the web pages that you visit on our site for that visit.
6. The address of the previous website you were visiting, if you linked to us from another website.
We use this information for statistical analysis and to help us make our site more useful to visitors. This tracking system does not record information about individuals. This aggregated information about website traffic will not include personally-identifiable information.
Cookies
On certain web pages, we may use “cookies” to help you use our websites interactively. A cookie is a small file that a website transfers to your computer’s hard disk, usually to keep track of you while you are connected to that site.
The cookies on our web pages do not collect information about you, but only about your browser “session.” The cookie makes it easier for you to use the dynamic features of these web pages, without having to provide the same information again as you move from one page to another.
To protect your privacy, be sure to close your browser completely after you have finished conducting business with a website that uses cookies. If you are concerned about the potential use of information gathered from your computer by cookies, you can set your browser to prompt you before it accepts a cookie. Most Internet browsers have settings that let you identify and/or reject cookies.
Information from Email You Send to Us
If you decide to send us an electronic mail message (e-mail), the message will usually contain your return e-mail address. If you include personally-identifying information in your e-mail because you want us to address issues specific to your situation, we may use that information in responding to your request. In other limited circumstances, we may be required by law to disclose the information that you submit.
Also, e-mail is not necessarily secure against interception. Please send only information necessary to help us process your request.
Information Collected from Interactive Forms
On some of our web pages we may offer interactive forms that let you voluntarily submit personal information (such as your e-mail address, name, or organization). This occurs when you are registering for various email newsletters, workshops, training sessions, meetings, etc. offered by our website. This also occurs when you are ordering publications, products, or services from our website, or submitting comments to various web discussion forums. There also may be other interaction between you and our website in which you choose to voluntarily submit personal information. In those cases, all submitted information is used only for the expressed purposes for which it is intended. Those purposes may include sharing the submitted information with certain third parties such as credit card processors, shipping companies, event organizers, email or newsletter services, etc. However, when you submit a comment to a web discussion group, forum, or comments section, if you supply your name, e-mail address, or other personal information, that information may be posted along with your comment.
Links to Other Sites
Our policy discloses the privacy practices for our website. But our website may provide links to other websites. Some of these other website links may be in the form of advertisements. When you leave the our website by using any type of link, you will be going to sites that are beyond our control. These other sites may send their own cookies to users, collect data, or solicit personal information. The privacy policies and procedures described here for our website do not apply to any external links. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any site you link to from ours, especially if you share any personal information. Be informed. You are the person best qualified to protect your own privacy.
Legal Action, Compliance, and Protection of Our Website and Others
We may, in certain situations, disclose personal information that we received, An example of such a situation would be If we or one of our affiliated or associated companies is required by law to disclose such personal information. Also, examples of other such situations would include if we believed that disclosing such personal information is necessary to comply with some legal action, process, or law. Also, we may release personal information if we believe it appropriate to protect our website; enforce Terms of Use or other agreements; prevent misuse, fraud, or unauthorized use of our website; protect the rights, property, or safety of our website, our users, or the public.
Ideas, Material, Items, Images, Sent or Transmitted to Us
Our users, patrons, and members are important to us. We welcome comments, questions, and feedback about our website and the goals that we are trying to achieve. However, any and all property sent to our website shall become the exclusive property of our website, and will not be returned. Property of any kind includes all forms of communication and all other items, tangible and intangible, such as, but not limited to, ideas, information, images, books, drawings, photos, materials, comments, suggestions, and pamphlets which may be sent to us, using any and all means of transfer or communication. Property of any kind received by our website shall be retained by us and may be used by us for any and all purposes, including commercial use, in perpetuity, without any compensation to you. Property, tangible and intangible, shall also include all comments and postings to any type of forums, comments section, discussion boards, groups, or any other public or private venue provided by our website for members and users.
Organization Transfer
If our website or organization should ever merge with, transfer to, or become part of another organization, company, or party, then our email lists, membership info, and other acquired user info may be transferred to the new group, but all personal information will be subject to the pre-existing Privacy Notice applicable to our website.
Children’s Privacy
Our website is not designed to attract or be used by children. Therefore, we will not knowingly collect personal information from any person under 13 years of age. If a parent or guardian learns that a child has disclosed personal information to us, without the consent of the parent or guardian, the parent or guardian should contact us to have the personal information removed.
Consent of Use
By using our website, you agree to the collection and use of information, including personal information, as described in our Privacy Policy. You also agree to our Terms of Service as stated in this Privacy Policy, and elsewhere, as applicable, on our site. Our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service are subject to change at any time without notice. You have the right to refuse to disclose personal information to our website at any time, but this may keep you from using certain features of our website, such as email lists, making comments, or discussion groups as they may come available on our site.