Three Levels of Exposure
Personal information on this site falls into three levels, ranked by how widely it can be seen. Background information is seen only by this site and the companies that help run it. Private information is what you send us in confidence. Public information is what you ask us to publish. This Privacy Policy explains each level, because the right precautions depend on which one you are dealing with.
A note on scope. This site may lack some of the features described, such as accounts, contribution tools, analytics, or adverts. Descriptions of those features apply only if this site has them. Other websites, including those linked from this site, are beyond the scope of this Privacy Policy.
Applicable law
This Privacy Policy is intended to address applicable privacy and data-protection requirements. Where they apply, these include the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK GDPR and applicable UK data-protection legislation, the California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA), other U.S. state privacy laws, cookie and electronic communications rules, and other national, state, or regional privacy regulations. Not all of them will apply to you. Your location, the activities of this site, the information involved, and the technologies used decide which do.
Level One: Background Information
What it includes
This is the technical data that a visit produces without any effort from you:
- IP address
- General geographic information
- Browser type, device type, and operating system
- Referring URLs
- Pages visited, and the date and time of visits
- Data from cookies and similar technologies
- Analytics information
Who sees it
Background information is not published. It may be processed by this site and by outside companies that provide hosting, content delivery, security, spam prevention, analytics, advertising, embedded media, social media features, and other technical services. Those companies may process information under their own privacy policies and legal obligations.
Cookies in more detail
The cookies this site may use are of five kinds: essential, functional, analytics, advertising, and third-party. Pixels, tags, and similar tracking technologies may be used with them. Because websites differ in what they deploy, some of these kinds may not be in use here.
You can manage cookies in your browser settings. You can also use cookie controls on this site, where it provides them, and a consent management mechanism, where one applies.
Analytics
We may use third-party analytics services to understand how visitors interact with this site and to improve its performance.
Advertising
This site may or may not carry third-party advertising. If it does, advertising partners and advertising networks may use advertising cookies, device identifiers, and other advertising technologies. The adverts may be contextual, personalized, or interest-based. You may have advertising choices, including the opt-out mechanisms that applicable law requires.
Browser signals
If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, it may be recognized where applicable law requires. Do Not Track signals have no agreed standard, and this site may not respond to them unless the law requires it.
Level Two: Private Information
What it includes
Private information is what you give us for a purpose other than publication. The two main examples are the details you enter in a contact form and, if registration is available, your registration or account information.
Who sees it
Private information is not displayed on this site. Like background information, it may be handled by service providers acting for this site.
A sensible precaution
Give only what the form or your inquiry needs. There is rarely a reason to include highly sensitive details in a message.
Level Three: Public Information
What it includes
Public information is content you submit so that it will appear on this site. Where this site accepts contributions, that content may be an article, a business listing, a directory listing, a press release, a URL, a website submission, a bookmark, a comment, or a profile. It may include business information, contact information, images, documents, and other content.
Who sees it
Potentially anyone. Once published, the content may be accessed by every visitor, indexed by search engines, cached by search engines, viewed by third parties, shared through external websites, and copied or redistributed outside our control.
A necessary precaution
Never place confidential, private, or sensitive personal information in content intended for publication. In particular, government identification numbers, financial account credentials, medical information, and other highly sensitive personal details should generally stay out of public submission forms, unless we specifically ask for them and they are necessary.
How Information at Every Level May Be Used
We may use information to operate and maintain this site and to provide its functionality. We may use it to process submissions, review submitted content, publish approved content, and manage listings. We may use it to respond to inquiries, to prevent spam, fraud, and abuse, and to maintain security. We may use it for analytics and performance measurement, to understand usage, and to improve functionality. We may use it for legal and regulatory compliance, to enforce site policies, and, where applicable, for advertising.
Legal bases
In jurisdictions that require a legal basis for processing, including those where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, the basis may be consent, performance of a contract, legitimate interests, or compliance with legal obligations. Which one applies depends on the specific processing activity.
Disclosures Beyond Service Providers
In limited circumstances, and only where applicable and legally permitted, information may be disclosed to professional advisers, to legal authorities, courts, regulators, and law enforcement, and to successors in connection with a merger, acquisition, restructuring, sale, or transfer of assets.
Sale or sharing
Privacy laws in some places attach a specific meaning to the "sale" and "sharing" of personal information. If activities conducted through this site come within that meaning under applicable law, eligible users may have the right to opt out.
External websites
Links to external websites may appear on this site, especially in articles, press releases, directory entries, bookmarks, and listings. We do not control how external websites treat personal information. Each has its own privacy policy. Please read it before you provide personal information there.
Keeping Information Safe
Retention
We aim to hold personal information for a reasonable period and no longer. What is reasonable is judged against the reasons for holding it: providing functionality, processing submissions, maintaining published content, administering this site, security, fraud prevention, recordkeeping, legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing agreements.
Security
Administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards of a reasonable standard may be used to protect personal information. It would be misleading to promise more than that. No system for transmitting or storing data over the internet is 100% secure, and complete security cannot be guaranteed.
International transfers
The information described at each level may be processed, stored, or transferred in countries other than your country of residence. Where the law requires safeguards for those transfers, they may be used.
Children
This site is not intended to knowingly collect personal information from children below the age required by applicable law. A parent or guardian who believes a child has submitted personal information may contact us through the Contact Us page.
Your Rights
You may have rights over information at all three levels. They depend on applicable law, may be subject to exceptions, and may require us to verify your identity.
GDPR
Where the GDPR applies, the rights may include access, correction or rectification, deletion or erasure, restriction of processing, objection, data portability, withdrawal of consent, and a complaint to an appropriate supervisory authority.
UK GDPR
Where the UK GDPR and applicable UK data-protection legislation apply, you may have corresponding rights and may complain to the UK supervisory authority.
CCPA and CPRA
Where California law applies, you may have the right to know, the right to access, the right to correct, and the right to delete. Where applicable, you may also opt out of the sale of personal information, opt out of sharing for cross-context behavioral advertising, and limit certain uses or disclosures of sensitive personal information. You have the right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights.
Other U.S. states
Other states may grant privacy rights to their residents. Whether you have them depends on your place of residence, applicability thresholds, this site's activities, and applicable law.
How to make a request
To ask for access, correction, deletion, data portability, or restriction, to object, to withdraw consent, to opt out of advertising or of sale or sharing, or to use any other privacy right available to you by law, please write to us through the Contact Us page on this site. We may ask for additional information to verify your identity and the request. Some requests may be subject to legal exceptions. Authorized agents may make requests where applicable law requires us to accept them.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
From time to time we may revise this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in site functionality, data-processing practices, technologies, cookies, third-party services, business practices, applicable laws, or regulatory requirements. Revised versions will be posted on this site. This Privacy Policy is effective once published here, and it is superseded when a newer version is posted.
Contact
If you have a question about any of the three levels, about your rights, about a privacy request, or about this Privacy Policy, please contact us through the Contact Us page on this site.