In order for our website to function, information is exchanged between your web browser and the web servers we use, and also between your web browser and third-party services that provide functionality to our website. Here is a summary of the sort of information that is exchanged, and our intentions in using that information. By using our website, you acknowledge and accept this Privacy Policy.
In short, we make no guarantees of privacy whatsoever.
Data supplied by your web browser
When you connect to our website (or pretty much any website), information is collected including the date and time of each access, your IP address, which may be associated with an organization, an Internet Service Provider, or a location, as well as information about your browser version, and your computer’s operating system and screen size. Additionally, if you arrive at our website via a search engine, the words or phrases you use in your search query are sometimes collected as well.
In general, we use this information to assess how our website is working for our audience — which items are popular and which are not, which functions are working correctly and which may be in need of repair, and so on. We use third-party statistical analysis services such as Google Analytics to analyze this data via tables and graphs, so Google also has access to this information, as does our hosting provider, Bluehost. Additionally, we may share these statistics with business partners such as advertisers, in order, for example, to demonstrate our readership’s size and location. We may also just generally publicize them.
Third party integration with our website
In addition to analytics services, a number of other third parties provide us with functionality and revenue and, in doing so, may have access to data supplied by your web browser. Examples of these third parties include Google AdWords, Google AdSense and its advertisers, Amazon.com, the LinkShare advertising program and its advertisers, the Bluehost affiliate program, as well as social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others, the Disqus comment management service, and so on.
Our website implements Google Analytics Advertising Features, such as Demographics and Interest Reports, Remarketing with Analytics and Remarketing Lists for Search Ads with Analytics, with a goal of marketing our web design services and increasing our website’s audience.
There is, of course, no way for us to keep track of the ever-changing policies and technologies of each of these individual parties in using this data.
Cookies
Cookies are small bits of identifying data passed to your web browser and retrieved from it. Cookies are passed and retrieved via our website and also by the various third parties noted above for a wide variety of purposes. which can range from tailoring content to a visitor’s past preferences to presenting advertisements based on a visitor’s browsing history or search queries. This website may offer your browser cookies such as Google cookies (Google Analytics cookies, Google advertising cookies, and others), as well as cookies from other sources.
Opt-out methods
Among the various methods to opt-out of such data collection and storage is the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. You can also visit the National Advertising Initiative’s Consumer Opt-Out page for information on how to opt out of interest-based advertising.
Additional information supplied by you
When you add your comment to an article on our website, the words, name, email address, and URL you supply are, of course, stored in the commenting system we use (currently Disqus), and may or may not be posted publicly on our website. Submitting a comment to our website is the equivalent of sending a letter to a newspaper’s editor. By commenting, you grant us sole editorial discretion and the right to publish this information or not, as we choose.
If you subscribe to one of our email lists, your name, email address, and any other information you supply is stored in the third party subscription services we use, such as MailChimp or Feedburner. These services include a method for you to opt out of such subscriptions, and we do not give or sell your individual information to anyone else, except as may be legally required. We may, however, share aggregate statistics, such as the number of subscribers, with business partners or just generally publicize them.
Privacy Policy changes
Because this Privacy Policy may change over time, you are encouraged to frequently check this page for the most current details.