To be honest, although we treasure every one of our web site members and visitors dearly - we don't have any interest in your individual details.  We are more interested in what you as a herd are doing - how you got here, what pages you tend to visit, and what pages you don't tend to visit - and what files you like to download and those you don't.  So, here's the policy:

Server log files

We collect data and HTTP protocol elements through access logs.  This is standard with any web server, is not personally identifiable, and is used for Web site development and system administration.  The type of information collected includes browser type, IP address, date and time of visit, where you came from, and where you went while visiting our site.

Membership details

Minimal personal details are required for site membership, and these details are stored in a secure, password-protected database which is only accessible by the site's Super Administrator.  Members' details will not be sold, rented/leased to or otherwise given to others without permission - unless required to by law.  We have a strict anti-spam policy, and do not use member details for mass-mailings that contain commercial or other advertising material.  However, we may occasionally use the mass-mailing feature of our site to advise members of important changes that could affect their ability to access the site.  We do not publish the email addresses of site members, eg. this feature is turned off in our forum - as we believe disclosure of these details should be up to the individual member.

Our exception to member privacy assurances occurs in the event of site abuse such as forum spamming.  Individuals who join our site in order to engage in spamming activities will be dealt with in accordance with our Anti-Spamming Policy - ie. publicly blacklisted.  When blacklisting, we do not publish a member's real name - only their username, email address, IP address, and reason for blacklisting.

Email contact form

Your email address will only be used in relation to the matter you write to us about.  It will not be sold, rented/leased to or otherwise given to others without your express permission - unless required to by law.  Due to the nature of email, sending information via the internet remains entirely at your own risk, and we will not be responsible for any unauthorised interception, use and disclosure of this information.  We use a mail-form as it affords some protection against spam bots and malicious users.  Once the matter you contact us about has been completed, your details are permanently deleted from our records.

Site newsletter

Subscription to our site newsletter is voluntary, and recipients can unsubscribe at any time.  The email address you provide during the subscription process will only be used for this purpose, and it will not be sold, rented/leased to or otherwise given to others without your express permission - unless required to by law.  Details relating to newsletter subscriptions are stored in a secure database, which is only accessible by the site's Super Administrator.

Cookies

This site uses cookies for the purposes of managing user logins.  These should be time-limited, and can be cleared from your computor by clearing the cookie cache.  Our cookies do not collect or transmit information about your online activities.  We do have 3rd party advertising that may result in cookies being placed on your computor, and while we only deal with reputable advertisers - we cannot be held responsible for their use of cookies.  Any pop-up ads responsible for cookies when visiting this site are time-delayed exit consoles associated with the previous site you visited, or have been triggered by browser enhancements such as HotBar.

Favicon

Some webmaster sites have recognized that visitors may have concerns that the favicon.ico file is a way for webmasters to detect if you have bookmarked a site that has this file located on it, and that bookmarking such a site can be exploited in some way.  The icon file itself is harmless, and is simply a substitute for the default HTML page icon that normally appears next to the page name.  When a site is bookmarked, if no favicon.ico file is present an error report occurs in the server's log files, and if a favicon.ico file is present when the site is bookmarked, then an entry in the access logs shows that this file was called.  Please be assured that we don't exploit this feature of the browser, as we're tickled pink that you think enough of our site to bookmark it!

Can you be traced?

Effectively, yes you can - and unfortunately there are some nasty people out there who will try to abuse inherent weaknesses in internet technology.  Through our log files and forum records we could possibly trace you to your IP address, based on when you visited our site or posted a message - but we've got better things to do with our time.  Based on your web site's address, you could also be traced via the internet's whois search facility - but that's something we all accept when registering a domain name.  Tracing anyone who visited our site etc would only ever be done when required by law, and would be conducted by the appropriate law enforcement agencies involved.