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PRIVACY
POLICY
We
have created this Privacy Policy to demonstrate our firm commitment
to privacy and security. This Privacy Policy describes how
our company collects information from all end users of our
Internet services (the "Services")-those who access some of
our Services but do not have accounts ("Visitors") as well
as those who may purchase Products and/or pay a monthly service
fee to subscribe to the Service ("Members")-what we do with
the information we collect, and the choices Visitors and Members
have concerning the collection and use of such information.
We request that you read this Privacy Policy carefully.
Personal
Information Our Company Collects and How It Is Used
Introduction: Our company collects information in different
ways from Visitors and Members who access the various parts
of our Services and the network of Web sites accessible through
our Service. We use this information primarily to provide
a customized experience as you use our Products and Services,
and generally, do not share this information with third parties.
However, we may disclose personal information collected if
we have received your permission beforehand or in very special
circumstances, such as when we believe that such disclosure
is required by law or other special cases described below.
Registration: Members may be asked to provide certain personal
information when they sign up for our Products or Services
including name, address, telephone number, billing information
(such as a credit card number), and the type of personal computer
being used to access the Services. The personal information
collected from Members during the registration process is
used to manage each Member's account (such as for billing
purposes). This information is not shared with third parties,
unless specifically stated otherwise or in special circumstances.
However, in instances where our company and a partner jointly
promote our Services, we may provide the partner certain personal
information, such as the name, address, and username of persons
who subscribed to the Services as a result of the joint promotion
for the sole purpose of allowing us and the partner to assess
the results of the promotion.
In this instance, personal information may not be used by
the partner for any other purpose. We may also generate non-identifying
and aggregate profiles from personal information Members provide
during registration (such as the total number, but not the
names, of Members). As explained in more detail below, we
may use this aggregated and non-identifying information to
sell advertisements that appear on the Services.
Our Company Partners and Sponsors: Some products and services
may be offered to Visitors and Members in conjunction with
an affiliate, independent contractor seller or non-affiliated
partner. To provide Visitors and Members some of these products
and services, the partner may need to collect and maintain
personal information. In these instances, you will be notified
before any such data is collected or transferred and may decide
not to use that particular service or feature.
Additionally, our partners may have advertisements or co-branded
Web Pages that are cosponsored by an affiliate, independent
contractor seller, or non-affiliated partner. Our company
may share non-identifying and aggregate information (except
as described above), but not personal information, with such
partners in order to administer the co-branded products or
services offered.
Online Shopping: At some Web sites, you can purchase products
and services or register to receive materials, such as a newsletter,
catalog or new product and service updates. In many cases,
you may be asked to provide contact information, such as your
name, address, email address, phone number, and credit/debit
card information.
If you complete an order for someone else, such as an online
gift order sent directly to a recipient, you may be asked
to provide information about the recipient, such as the recipient's
name, address, and phone number. Our company has no control
over the third parties' use of any personal information you
provide when placing such an order. Please exercise care when
doing so.
If you order services or products directly from our company
we will use the personal information you provide only to process
that order. We do not share this information with outside
parties except to the extent necessary to complete that order.
Online Advertisements: Our company may display our online
advertisements. In those cases we share aggregated and non-identifying
information about our Visitors and Members collected through
the registration process as well as through online surveys
and promotions with these advertisers.
Additionally, in some instances, we use this aggregated and
non-identifying information to deliver tailored advertisements
or joint ventures. For instance, an advertiser or joint venture
company tells us the audience they want to reach and provides
us an advertisement tailored to the audience. Based upon the
aggregated and non-identifying information we have collected,
we may then display or send the advertisement to the intended
audience. Our company does not share personal information
about its Visitors or Members with these advertisers or joint
venture companies.
Responses to Email Inquiries: When Visitors or Members send
email inquiries to our company, the return email address is
used to answer the email inquiry we receive. Our company does
not use the return email address for any other purpose and
does not share the return email address with any third party.
Voluntary Customer Surveys: We may periodically conduct both
business and individual customer surveys. We encourage our
customers to participate in these surveys because they provide
us with important information that helps us to improve the
types of products and services we offer and how we provide
them to you. Your personal information and responses will
remain strictly confidential, even if the survey is conducted
by a third party. Participation in our customer surveys is
voluntary.
We may take the information we receive from individuals responding
to our Customer Surveys and combine (or aggregate) it with
the responses of other customers we may have, to create broader,
generic responses to the survey questions (such as gender,
age, residence, hobbies, education, employment, industry sector,
or other demographic information). We then use the aggregated
information to improve the quality of our services to you,
and to develop new services and products. This aggregated,
non-personally identifying information may be shared with
third parties.
Special Cases: It is our company's policy not to use or share
the personal information about Visitors of Members in ways
unrelated to the ones described above without also providing
you an opportunity to opt out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated
uses.
However, we may disclose personal information about Visitors
or Members, or information regarding your use of the Services
or Web sites accessible through our Services, for any reason
if, in our sole discretion, we believe that it is reasonable
to do so, including: credit agencies, collection agencies,
merchant database agencies, law enforcement, or to satisfy
laws, such as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the
Child Online Privacy Act, regulations, or governmental or
legal requests for such information; to disclose information
that is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action
against someone who may be violating our Acceptable Use Policy
or Terms Of Service, or other user policies; to operate the
Services properly; or to protect our company and our Members.
"Cookies" and How Our Company Uses Them. A "cookie" is a small
data file that can be placed on your hard drive when you visit
certain Web sites. Our company may use cookies to collect,
store, and sometimes track information for statistical purposes
to improve the products and services we provide and to manage
our telecommunications networks.
If you are a Visitor or Member we may use a cookie to save
your settings and to provide customizable and personalized
services. These cookies do not enable third parties to access
any of your customer information. Additionally, be aware that
if you visit other Web sites where you are prompted to log
in or that are customizable, you may be required to accept
cookies.
Advertisers and partners may also use their own cookies. We
do not control use of these cookies and expressly disclaim
responsibility for information collected through them.
Our Company Commitment to Children's Privacy. Protecting children's
privacy is especially important to us. It is our policy to
comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of
1998 and all other applicable laws. Therefore we restrict
our Web site to persons eighteen years or older.
YOU MUST BE EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OR OLDER TO ACCESS THIS WEB
SITE. IF YOU ARE UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE, YOU ARE NOT
PERMITTED TO ACCESS THIS WEB SITE FOR ANY REASON. DUE TO THE
AGE RESTRICTIONS FOR USE OF THIS WEB SITE, NO INFORMATION
OBTAINED BY THIS WEB SITE, FALLS WITHIN THE CHILD ONLINE PRIVACY
ACT (COPA) AND IS NOT MONITORED AS DOING SO.
Public Forums: Please remember that any information you may
disclose in any Member Directory, or other public areas of
our Web sites or the Internet, becomes public information.
You should exercise caution when deciding to disclose personal
information in these public areas.
Our Company's Commitment to Data Security: Services and Web
sites we sponsor have security measures in place to protect
the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under
our control. While we make every effort to ensure the integrity
and security of our network and systems, we cannot guarantee
that our security measures will prevent third-party "hackers"
from illegally obtaining this information.
Where to Direct Questions About Our Privacy Policy: If you
have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the practices
described herein, you may contact us through the contact information
provided on this Web site.
Revisions to This Policy: Our company reserves the right to
revise, amend, or modify this policy, our Terms Of Service
agreement, and our other policies and agreements at any time
and in any manner, by updating this posting.
Last updated: August 7, 2005 |