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Privacy Policy This policy covers all sites owned or operated by TalkBiz, Inc, unless otherwise noted on the site. Most recent change: January 12, 2004 Not only is this legalese required, it's a really good idea. It lets people know what's involved in their dealings with the folks they associate with online. That being said, on with the Required Law Talk. How Do We Gather Information About Our Visitors? Depends on where you are and what you're doing. If you want to use certain portions of a site, you might need to enter information into a form. An example is the Blog, at which you have to register in order to leave comments. You need to provide information in order to get our newsletters or update notifications. And, obviously, you have to provide certain information in order to purchase products. Other activities which we might engage in that would require this could be contests, discussion forums, or other interactive options, such as the "Make Your Own Business" tutorial or occasional surveys. Some information is collected automatically. The web server software collects the usual information (IP address, browser type, etc) which is stored in log files. This is not personally identifying, and virtually every site on the net collects this. We also track some actions of subscribers to the various publications in ways that are personally identifiable. This is done to help us to offer more relevant information, based on what you actively choose to do, view or visit via links in the publications. We may also use systems that set "cookies," which are used to make certain web activities more user-friendly. They can remember passwords, limit how many times you see certain ads or other features, and help to customize the site for your enjoyment. If you refuse cookies, you may find that some features don't work for you, or don't work as well. It's a trade-off, which you have to decide on for yourself. The web keeps getting more and more complicated. It's possible (even likely) that we'll end up with other systems added that collect other information. What and how, I don't know. My crystal ball is at the cleaners. ;) What Do We Do With This Information? First off, we'll respect your privacy. In a meaningful way. If you ask for a subscription, we'll use the information to deliver the requested content. That may include advertising, including stand-alone (or "solo" ads). In the case of free publications, you should assume that it will. There's very little that is both free and ad-free. Gotta pay the bills somehow, right? Each subscription is treated separately. You can subscribe to, or unsubscribe from, any publication without that action affecting your other subscriptions. If we track personally identifying information, it will be used to follow up and provide content that's more relevant to the individuals' preferences and interests. We might include resource links in the newsletter, and track who clicks through to each one separately. That data might be used so that we can send information relevant to those topics only to the subscribers or visitors who expressed those interests. For example, suppose that 500 subscribers clicked through to a story on butterfly collecting, and we later find out about products, resources or other information about butterfly collecting. We could send that only to the folks who had expressed an interest, rather than sending it to everyone on that particular subscription list. This way, we can work to give you more of what you want, and less of what other people want. Note that visiting resources tracked in this way does NOT create a new subscription! If you unsubscribe from the main publication the resource was mentioned in, you will not have to unsubscribe separarately from each of these topical "sub lists." Information provided to enable a subscription for each publication will be used for contact relevant to that publication, as well as possibly sending updates about the associated website or other information we consider appropriate. Your information will not be made available to anyone but the publisher of the newsletter or other publication to which you subscribed. (See also our "Publishing Policies.") Note that our service providers may have access to some of this data, and may need to use it for troubleshooting purposes. We may also be required to give portions of it to law enforcement personel upon duly authorized request. Some information, such as web logs and the like, are not personally identifying. This is analyzed in aggregate, to help us understand better what our visitors and members find most useful, and to generally improve the sites for your use and enjoyment. On occasion it may be necessary to correlate this with individual user data to investigate and address abusive actions by visitors, such as subscription forgery attempts, harrassment and other unacceptable behavior. This will be done only as deemed necessary to prevent or correct such abusive behavior. Third Party Sites and Advertisers We are not in control of or responsible for anything that happens on other sites you may visit after leaving our sites. It is possible that advertisers on our sites may use technology, such as cookies, to track or retrieve information about you. We may also use third party service providers, such as autoresponders, which might track some information for the purpose of providing the required services. We do not control this, and are not responsible for the actions of these or any other third party. Before posting to blogs, discussion boards or other such features, consider that some of the information you post will be available to the public. Only reveal what you are comfortable disclosing to strangers. Information On Visitors Under 13 We do not knowingly collect or solicit personally identifiable information from children. (I can't honestly see what a kid would want with these sites anyay.) If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from anyone under the age of 13, please notify us, and that information will be deleted immediately. You can contact us: Via email at paul@talkbiz.com. Or: TalkBiz, Inc Changes To This Policy We reserve the right to change this policy at any time. Any changes will be posted to this page. Continuing to use the site or remain subscribed to any related publications after the posting of changes will mean you're cool with them and accept them. Governing Law TalkBiz, Inc. is a registered Pennsylvania corporation. The policy and use of the sites operated by or for TalkBiz, Inc. are governed by Pennsylvania law. If a dispute occurs, we agree to first try to settle the matter via a mutually agreed upon mediator, either via electronic communication (phone, fax and/or email between us and the mediator), or via a mutually agreed upon mediator located in or near Erie, Pennsylvania. If it's impossible to arrive at a satisfactory solution through mediation, we agree to hand the dispute over to binding arbitration, in Erie, Pennsylvania, under the rules of the American Arbitration Association. Judgements rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court with appropriate jurisdiction. Neither this statement nor any of the associated documents are intended to, nor do they create, any contractual or other rights of any party.
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