About This Web site
I,
Wayne Thomas Spies,
own and administer this Web site. Its content and its coding is copyrighted by
Wayne Thomas Spies,
unless otherwise noted. No content shall be republished in any physical or electronic format without my written permission. All brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies in the U.S. or other countries. The inadvertent omission of the appropriate registration, trademark, service mark, or copyright symbol does not constitute a waiver of its owner’s intellectual property rights. I make a good-faith effort to provide appropriate legal notices, but from time to time, I may inadvertently miss one, and I apologize in advance for such errors. Kindly let me know, and I will correct the oversight immediately.
Terms of Use
By accessing this Web site, you agree to be bound by the rules and conditions noted herein. The rules are these: 1) be respectful of others, 2) be kind, and 3) keep a sense of humor.
Privacy
My policies are guided by the Golden Rule: I treat your privacy and security the way I want you to treat mine. This site provides links to other organizations’ Web sites for your convenience. These sites are beyond my control, and I do not assume responsibility or liability for their policies, their content, or for communications available at such sites. Do not infer that I support or endorse them; I do not.
What I Collect Without Your Knowledge
To manage this Web site, I monitor aggregate data, such as the number of visitors and monthly search terms. These statistics don’t contain any personally identifiable information.
Browsers accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can configure your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie or even to refuse cookies altogether. If you refuse cookies, you will disable features of this and many other Web sites. I do not use cookies in any way that could gather information about you without your knowledge. As with all Web sites, I can see visitors’ IP address, with a little effort, but I can’t use that information to spy on you.
What I Do With Information I Collect
I also gather some information directly from you. For example, if you send me e-mail, order a product or service, enter a chat room, or fill out a form and submit it, obviously, I see what you write. I use this information to serve you better. For example, I use your e-mail address or postal address:
- to send you information you have requested;
- to answer questions that you have posed to me;
- to send you messages that I think you will find relevant; or,
- to contact you for feedback.
Orders for products or services may require the involvement of third parties. I will give them information they need to fulfill the order, such as your address. Obviously, if you order something with a credit card or PayPal, I have to forward certain information to the credit card company.
I reserve the right to disclose information to authorities to comply with a search warrant, subpoena, court order, or similar legal requirement. I reserve the right to use any information to protect my own rights and to prevent the misuse of my property. Otherwise, I won’t disclose information to third parties without your permission.
Protecting Children
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) imposes rules on certain Web sites and on-line services that direct content, products, or services toward children.
I am strongly committed to protecting children on-line. I comply with the COPPA guidelines, even though they don’t apply to this site. I do not collect any individually identifiable information from users whom I know to be under the age of 13. I do not collect individually identifiable information in the portions of my site that I suspect would be of interest to children. My registration procedures try to screen users under 13 years old, and I will delete any individually identifiable information collected from such users. Finally, I do not knowingly correspond with someone under 13.
Personal note: Now you might ask, since COPPA doesn’t apply to this Web site, and I don’t sell anything from this Web site of interest to children, and the Web site doesn’t have content that is likely to appeal to children, then why do I even mention COPPA? The reason is that, as a parent and as a grandparent, I am strongly committed to protecting children on-line. I comply with the COPPA guidelines, even though they don’t apply to this site, because I want to set an example for all Web sites. It’s a scary world. We don’t need to make it scarier.