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Does PF have a privacy policy? An anonymous entity was asking me this question, and i didn't have an answer for him/it.
You'll have to convince him of how nice we are.pervect said:I really don't know what he's worried about, but he'd be an asset to the relativity forum if he decided to participate.
Aren't you soppsed to right it on your own and not use a policy of another site?chroot said:We should have a privacy policy. I'll see if I can look around and find one that I can mold into being appropriate for the site.
- Warren
First: a quick remark about the privacy policy question. I can't discuss all of my concerns in public, but one thing I would like to know is where the money to run the site is coming from. If there is no clear answer, I'd be concerned that the money might be coming from selling data on forum users to marketing firms, for example. And who has laptops containing the user database which they might leave in their car, which might be broken into? In any case, the Wikipedia privacy policy would be an obvious model for chroot to examine :-/
So is this PF's new priacy plociy?chroot said:The user database contains nothing even remotely identifying, with the exception of the email address. The only reason we require an email address is a very unfortunate one: the bad guys force us to do it. The email address is only necessary to prevent spammers from making up hundreds of new user accounts in the span of a couple of minutes and bombing the site with gigabytes of spam posts.
The site does not make a profit, nor does it intend to. The only sources of revenue are Google Ad click-throughs and individual contributors who voluntarily choose to financially support it.
The database is stored on the server itself, and there are few backup copies on Greg's home computers. Again, the database contains nothing of use to anyone except perhaps the email address. I encourage users who are concerned about their email privacy to do one of the following:
1) They may create a "junk" email address just for the purpose of these kinds of subscriptions. They can even delete the entire email account after they're done signing up -- we don't need your email for any reason after you've proven you're a human being (and not a spam bot) by receiving and responding to one signup confirmation email.
2) They may use a disposable address service like spamgourmet.org or jetable.org, or one of the many anonymous remailers available on the Internet.
We, the staff of PF, are nothing more than a bunch of volunteers who are passionate about science and science education, and wish to discuss it in a pleasant environment.
I'll throw together a complete privacy policy in a bit. Thanks for bringing my attention to this, pervect.
No, chroot said he will put one together.scott1 said:So is this PF's new priacy plociy?
The Physics Forums privacy policy covers the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information that is obtained through the Physics Forums website. This includes information such as your name, email address, and any other information you provide when signing up for an account or interacting with the website.
Physics Forums uses your personal information to improve your experience on the website and to provide you with the services and features that you have requested. This may include sending you emails, customizing your forum preferences, and analyzing website usage to better understand and meet the needs of our users.
Physics Forums does not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may, however, share your information with trusted service providers who help us operate the website, as well as with law enforcement or government agencies if required by law or to protect our rights and interests.
Yes, you can opt out of receiving emails from Physics Forums by adjusting your email preferences in your account settings. However, please note that you may still receive important administrative emails, such as password reset requests or notifications about changes to our privacy policy.
Physics Forums takes the security of your personal information very seriously and has measures in place to protect it from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. These measures include encryption, firewalls, and regular security updates. We also restrict access to personal information to only those employees who need it to perform their job duties.