Privacy and Security

Over the last year or so we've had some questions about privacy and security, so here is our "privacy policy" and other related information:

• We never, ever "spam" anyone. The only mass mailings we send out are for our occasional newsletter, Off the Cuffs, which is "opt-in": you have to ask to receive it.
   
• While we don't send spam, others do. There are digital "spiders" that "crawl" Web sites looking for email addresses. Fortunately (and intentionally), due to the way our site is structured it's difficult for a spider to nab your email address. You're relatively safe from spam that might originate from here, directly or indirectly. Still, if you're concerned about spam, it may be wise to use a "throw-away" address for any activity here -- just get a free email address and use it for this site only. If you start receiving spam (you shouldn't, except for random hits), you can simply cancel that account.
   
• There are a few places on this site where you can enter your email address. We do not "harvest" email addresses and do not sell or give information gathered from this site to anyone.
   

• Because of past abuses and troublemakers, our Forum (electronic bulletin board) requires an account to post (reading is open to all). To obtain an account, you fill out a form, providing your email address, the username you'd like, and your preferred password. You can allow people to email you directly or not as you wish, using your account preferences.
   
• Your account information is stored in a database on the Web server, which is behind a hardware firewall and is fairly well protected. However, there is always the possibility that the machine could be compromised and your password obtained. For this reason, we recommend you not use a valuable password that has significance to other computers that you use. We also strongly discourage using bank PINs for the same reason.
   

• You don't have to give your real name or any information about yourself in order to chat. Many people even visit us using the default nickname "Anonymous." However, please note the following:
   
  • There are lots and lots of "Anonymouses" popping in and out. It's difficult for people to know if you're the same "Anonymous" they chatted with last night or some other "Anonymous." Don't be surprised if you are mistaken for another chatter.
     
  • "Anonymous" is a restricted nickname. You may not be able to access all of Abbot's functions while using it.
     
  • You won't be able to receive any notepad messages intended for you, nor will you be able to leave any for others.
     
  While you are free to chat as "Anonymous," we do recommend you pick a regular nickname for yourself and stick with it.
   
• Other chatters will be able to see part of your Internet address. This is not the same as someone knowing your full IP address; the information is masked to prevent abuse. However, a person will typically be able to see what ISP or network you are using to connect to the Internet (e.g., AOL or uu.net). In some cases, they may also be able to tell where you live (e.g., an address containing "casfr" hints that you are in or near San Francisco, California). In very rare cases -- for example, if you're chatting from your desk at your job as a University professor -- a person may be able to get more information than you might like about who and where you are (e.g., jsmith.lifesciences.berkeley.edu).
   
  If you wonder what information might be revealed about you when you are in chat, type /whois your_nick. One of the first lines that comes back will say who you are ("User of your_nick jIRC-User Earth-12345.some_info.some_isp.com :Anonymous"). This is, at best, what others can find out about you. If this information is too specific for your comfort, you should not chat via that connection.
   
  Note that there is another line that gives full information about your connection ("your_nick is connecting from *@your_connection.some_info.some_isp.com"). The only people who can access this information are yourself, the chat administrator (JamesADM), and any IRCops on the chat network. The administrator and operators are responsible for the smooth operation of the overall network, and must prove themselves trustworthy before obtaining these positions.
   
• It is possible to create a chat "account" by setting a password with Abbot. This prevents others from reading your notepad notes, changing your profile information, and doing other naughty things. Your password is stored in encrypted form on the machine used to run Abbot, our chat room bot. This machine is protected by both hardware and software firewalls and other security measures, so your chat room password should be reasonably secure. Nonetheless, there is always the possibility that the machine could be compromised and your password decoded. For this reason, we recommend you not use a valuable password that has significance to other computers that you use. We also strongly discourage using bank PINs for the same reason.
   
• All public conversation is logged by Abbot. These logs are used to generate our chat stats pages. After residing for some time on the machine used to run Abbot, they are archived to a backup medium and stored offline. Note that private conversations between chatters are not logged, and in fact cannot be monitored even by IRCops.
   
• Our chat stats pages collect information on various statistics about the chat rooms. No one is ever quoted in the main stats section unless they "opt in" with Abbot. However, quotes from part and quit messages and occasional random quotes (such as URLs shared) may appear, as well as various statistics like the number of times a person has entered the room, or a list of the nicks used by one person. As this is public information anyone could see by staying in the chat room, this should not be a privacy concern; however, if you prefer not to be included in this aggregated information, you should not visit our chat rooms.
   

• Setting up a chat room profile is not required. If you chose to create one, you should only provide the information you feel comfortable having everyone know. We caution you to think carefully about revealing both your real name and the city in which you live, especially if you have an unusual name or live in a small town. Remember, anyone can look up your profile.
   
• There is a place on the user profile for an email address. Since pages are generated on the fly from a database, "spam spiders" should not be able to glean your email address from your profile.
   

• The administrator of this site and his assigns (chat hosts and helpers), as well as the chat network operators, are firm believers in discretion, privacy, and personal safety. None of your personal information should ever be made public or shared by any of them. Please feel free to go to them with any concerns you might have.