Privacy Statement
This Web Site (the "Web site") provides a variety of online services. Because
the success of this Web site is dependent on building and maintaining goodwill
with our viewers and members, this Web site (hereinafter collectively referred
to as "we" or “us” or "our") is committed to implementing measures designed to
protect the privacy of those using our services. Moreover, we see it as our
responsibility to set examples and help establish the standards for privacy on
the Internet.
Although we respect the privacy of all those who visit the Web site and use our
online services, we do collect information from our Web site's members and
visitors. This Privacy Policy governs your interaction with the Web site, and
your registration for and use of our online services. Except as set forth
within this Privacy Policy and this Web Site's Terms of Service and/or other
published guidelines, we do not release personally identifiable information
about this Web site's members and visitors without their permission.
Please note that we review these privacy practices from time to time, and that
these practices are therefore subject to change. We ask that you periodically
review this page to ensure continuing familiarity with the most current version
of this Web site's Privacy Policy. To contact us about privacy issues, to
report a violation of this Web site's Privacy Policy, or to raise any other
issue regarding the Web site, please e-mail us at info@vsoa.org.
The information we gather
We gather two types of information about this Web site's users:
- Non-personally identifiable information: When visitors come to
the Web site, we collect and aggregate information indicating, among other
things, which pages were visited, the order in which they were visited, and
which hyperlinks were "clicked." Collecting such information involves the
logging of IP addresses, operating system and browser software used by each
visitor to the Web site. Although such information is not personally
identifiable, we can determine from the IP address a visitor's Internet Service
Provider and the geographic location of his or her point of connectivity.
The non-personally identifiable information we collect helps us diagnose
problems with our server, administer the Web site, identify the most popular
areas of the Web site, and determine the effectiveness of our promotional
activities. In addition, we may disclose some of this information to
advertisers to inform them of the number of people who have seen and/or clicked
through their advertisements.
For the same purposes, we sometimes use "cookies" - that is, small text files
placed on your computer's hard drive - to help us determine the type of content
and sites to which you link, the length of time you spend at any particular
area of the Web site, and your usage of our services offered via the Web site.
Cookies also tell us which advertising you have seen on the Web site. At
certain times, we may use outside advertising companies to display
advertisements on the Web site that may contain cookies ("banner ads"). These
banner ads collect information stored by the advertising company and we do not
have access to this information.
Essentially, cookies are your identification cards for our computers, or
servers, that placed them there. Cookies are only read by the server that
placed them, and are unable to execute any code or virus. Cookies allow us to
serve you better and more efficiently, and to personalize your experience at
the Web site. Nevertheless, you are able to control how and whether cookies
will be accepted by your web browser. For more information on how to do so,
please refer to the documentation accompanying your browser.
- Personally identifiable information: In certain areas of the
Web site, such as online surveys and contests, the Web site may require that
you provide personally identifiable information (including, for example, zip
code, age, income, and e-mail address, and when applicable, credit card
information). In addition, when registering to set up an account to use certain
services of the Web site such as e-mail, chat rooms, and forums, or to receive
certain newsletters or specifically targeted information ("Services"), we do
require that you provide a valid e-mail address.
We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children
(defined herein as minors younger than 13 years of age) without obtaining
parental consent. Before registering for an account to use the Services of the
Web site, we ask that all minors have their parents read our Privacy Policy.
Before and during the registration process, we encourage all minors to include
a parent or guardian in the process.
We do not control the acts of this Web site's members or visitors. All members
and visitors should be aware that, when they disclose personally identifiable
information in a bulletin board, chat room, guestbook, or other forum, the
information may be collected and used by others to send that person unsolicited
e-mail from other parties outside this Web site. In the event that you
encounter any user on this Web site who is improperly collecting or using
information about you or other users, please contact
info@vsoa.org
.
How we use (and do not use) the information we gather
Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the different ways we use the
information that we gather. Keep in mind that, while we encourage all third
parties involved - including affiliates and advertisers - to adhere to our
policies regarding the privacy of this Web site's visitors and members and to
otherwise handle personal information in a responsible manner, we cannot and do
not assume any responsibility for any actions or omissions of third parties,
including the manner in which they use information received either from us or
independently. Nevertheless, in the event you encounter any third party
associated with, or who claims association with us who you feel is improperly
collecting or using information about you, please contact
info@vsoa.org
; we will be happy to forward your message to the third
party.
- How we use (and do not use) non-personally identifiable information:
We use non-personally identifiable information in aggregate form to build
higher quality, more useful online services by performing statistical analyses
of the collective characteristics and behavior of the Web site's members and
visitors, and by measuring demographics and interests regarding specific areas
of the Web site. We provide statistical information based on this data to
advertisers, affiliates, and other current and potential business partners. We
also use the aggregate data to inform these third parties as to the number of
people who have seen and clicked on links to their web sites.
The Web site may contain links to other Internet web sites, including
co-branded or other affiliated sites that may or may not be owned or operated
by us. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, we are not responsible for the
privacy practices or the content of such web sites, including such sites' use
of any information (such as IP number, browser type, or operating system)
collected when visitors to the web site click through links to those sites.
Even though such information might not identify you personally, we strongly
encourage you to become familiar with the privacy practices of those sites.
- How we use (and do not use) personally identifiable information:
We provide notice to potential registrants of this Web site whose personally
identifiable information will be collected during the registration process.
Such notice is provided simultaneously with your registration with this
website; moreover, this Privacy Policy itself serves as notice that such
information is collected under those circumstances. You may not "opt in" to the
registration process if you wish to have access to Services, and you may choose
to "opt in" to receiving promotional materials from us and/or our affiliates,
advertisers, or other business partners. If you "opt in" to receiving such
promotional materials, we reserve the right to release any personally
identifiable registration information regarding you to third parties who
provide goods or services that we believe may be of interest to you. We will
not release your credit card information to third parties unless necessary to
complete a transaction between you and such a third party. If you decide that
you would like to discontinue receiving promotional information from such third
parties, please contact those third parties directly, or contact us at
info@vsoa.org
.
We limit our own e-mail contact and solicitations to those customers who have
"opted in" to receiving such communications. The solicitations are limited in
that they, among other things, will clearly indicate the originator of the
e-mail and provide the customer with a method of "opting out" of receiving
future communications of a similar nature.
In addition, we sometimes use demographic data to decide which advertisements
and sponsor messages to show to which members. As an example, if Sponsor XYZ
wishes to display their advertising only to female members of this Web site, we
use member registration data to ensure that Sponsor XYZ's ads are displayed
only to female members.
Finally, we may use individual members' data to "pre-populate" forms, which are
displayed for the purpose of collecting individual data by us and/or our
sponsors. In no case does pre-populating a form transfer any data to any
advertiser or third party. Only if the member voluntarily requests that such
data be transferred will any transfer take place - for example, if/when a
member clicks a "submit form" button or other button.
We reserve the right to release any and all information contained within our
access logs concerning any visitor or member when that visitor or member is in
violation of our Terms of Service or other published guidelines, or partakes
(or is reasonably suspected of partaking) in any illegal activity, even without
a subpoena, warrant, or other court order, and to release such information in
response to discovery requests, or in response to any circumstance which we, in
our sole discretion, deem an emergency. We cooperate with law enforcement
agencies in identifying those who may be using our servers or services for
illegal activities. We also reserve the right to report any suspected illegal
activity to law enforcement for investigation or prosecution.
If and when we sponsor promotions or sweepstakes, or third parties sponsor
promotions or sweepstakes in conjunction with us, either we or the third party
will post relevant privacy information in the official rules and/or
registration area for the promotion or sweepstakes. That privacy information,
to the extent it conflicts with this Privacy Policy, will govern that
particular promotion or sweepstakes.
Security All information gathered on the Web site is stored
within a VSOA controlled database accessible only to us to protect the loss,
misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. However, as
effective as any security measure implemented by us may be, no security system
is impenetrable. We cannot guarantee the security of our database, nor can we
guarantee that information you supply will not be intercepted while being
transmitted to us over the Internet. Questions regarding this Privacy Policy
should be directed to us at info@vsoa.org.
Changing/deleting personal information If you would like to
have your personally identifiable information changed or removed from our
database, please contact us at info@vsoa.org,
and we will use reasonable efforts to comply with your request. Keep in mind,
however, that there will be residual information that will remain within our
databases, access logs, and other records, which may or may not contain such
personally identifiable information. The residual information will not be used
for commercial purposes; however we reserve the right, from time to time, to
recontact former customers or users of this Web site.
Third-Party Ad Serving We sometimes use third-party advertising
companies to serve ads when you visit this Web site. These companies may use
information (not including your name, address or telephone number) about your
visits to this and other web sites in order to provide advertisements about
goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about
this practice and to know you choices about not having this information used by
these companies, please contact us at info@vsoa.org.
Questions regarding this Privacy Policy should be
directed to us at info@vsoa.org.