EFFORTS Privacy Policy

EFFORTS takes your privacy seriously. This privacy policy describes what personal information we collect and how we use it. We will update this privacy policy from time-to-time as technology changes and/or as our own mission changes.

Routine Information Collection

All Web servers have access to basic information about their visitors. This information includes things such as IP addresses, referring page, browser type and version and date and time of visit. None of this information can be used to identify a visitor to this site. EFFORTS does not record this information except when a request is made to join or leave one of our lists. In this case, the information is recorded in an email sent to our list manager; the email itself is deleted after we have processed your request.

When you apply for list membership, we ask for your name, your country and your state or province along with your email address. This information is stored in our listserv email server and is not disclosed to any third party. When you send an email to our listserv, it is automatically sent to all of our other members. Your email address is, of course, visible. If you desire a higher degree of anonymity, we recommend that you set up an email account to be used for EFFORTS only.

EFFORTS never sells, rents or permits to be used by any third party any personal information gathered.

Users have the option of disclosing additional information. For example, some users add pictures of themselves to the Members section of our site or to one of our photo contests. Some users voluntarily complete a survey with responses added to our Web site. Such activities are optional and are accessible by any third party.

Email Visibility

Only members of the listserv are allowed to post to the list. Whenever you send an email to the listserv, it is sent to all other members. If you wish to send something to an individual member, you should make sure that you send to that person alone (in other words, don't just press Reply).

When you send an email to the listserv, it is automatically archived on our listserv. Any current member can browse or search through our archived emails.

Cookies and Web Beacons

A cookie is a small text file saved to your computer to track usage, preferences and so forth. Cookies are often used for your convenience though they are just as often used for the convenience of marketers. EFFORTS does not place any cookies on your computer.

Web beacons are small graphic files--often just one-pixel in size--that are used on some sites by third parties to track your usage statistics and practices, usually to tailor ads to be placed in front of you. EFFORTS does not use or allow Web beacons on our site.

NOTE: As the site is upgraded, a user log-in system for administrative personnel is being added. Logging in utilizes what is known as a "session cookie". This cookie tracks certain information in the server memory and is automatically erased at log out time or after 20 minutes of inactivity....whichever occurs first.

Advertising

EFFORTS does not use or allow any third party advertisements. We provide pages that list items in which you may be interested such as our books page and our oximeter page. These pages are provided as a convenience and EFFORTS is not compensated for any listing. We may occasionally announce on our main page the availability of an item and provide a link. Again, we are not compensated for those announcements, rather we provide them as a convenience to our users.

EFFORTS is occasionally solicited to place advertisements on our pages. All such solicitations are turned away.

EFFORTS does employ some third party "widgets" on our home page. These display links to content on other sites that may be of interest to you. Throughout our site, we have links to third-party content that we think might be of interest. We urge common sense discretion when visiting those sites and remind you that those sites will have their own privacy policies. 

Controlling Your Privacy

All Web site users have the ability to control their level of privacy while using the World Wide Web. Things you can do and our recommendations:

    - DO use the latest version of your browser. Using old versions of browsers leaves you vulnerable to viruses and other malware. As of this writing (Nov 24, 2010), the current versions of Internet Explorer is 8 (IE 9 is in beta testing). Firefox is at 3.5.1 while Google Chrome is at 8.0.5. Safari (for the Mac as well as for the PC) is at version 5. We do not recommend Netscape.

    - DO leave cookies on. Most browsers allow you to disable cookies; if you are truly concerned about cookies on your computer, we recommend that you block them at the site level.

    - DO NOT disable scripts in your browser. Most sites, including EFFORTS, use javascript to enhance your experience.

    - DO keep your anti-virus software up-to-date. You don't have to pay for superior protection. There are a number of top-notch programs available that are free for personal use. You may want to consider Microsoft Security Essentials or Avira Free or Avast Free.

    - NEVER respond to a pop-up that urges you to download software to fix a computer infection. Some Web sites have been compromised and visiting them will cause such a pop-up to be displayed. At best, you will be charged for useless software. More often, clicking on the pop-up will actually infect your computer. We recommend that you close your browser. Do not attempt to close the pop-up by pressing Cancel or the "X".

    - DO NOT click a link in an email unless you know exactly what the link is. Often, you can move your mouse pointer over the link and look in the lower left corner of your email program or Web browser to see where the link will bring you. Even better, manually type the address into a browser window.

    - DO use common sense in interacting with other EFFORTS users. If you get an email with oddly phrased English that urges you to visit a Web site to buy Viagra, the email is probably a scam even if it seems to be coming from a legitimate EFFORTS subscriber.

Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy policy, please contact us at efforts-request@effortslist.org.