Albany Poets respects the privacy concerns of the visitors to its sites on the Internet. This privacy statement governs all Albany Poets sites, and was created to explain what information we gather from your visit to any of the Albany Poets sites and how such information may be used.

USE OF INFORMATION

Albany Poets uses personal and aggregated data we collect from our sites for multiple purposes. The information may be used to improve the content of the sites and to customize the content and layout of the sites.

PERSONAL DATA

Personal data is collected when users provide personal contact information to Albany Poets sites. For example, in registering for electronic newsletters, in answering surveys, purchasing items from Albany Poets sites, and registering for open mics, events, contests and other promotional opportunities provided by Albany Poets and its partners, Albany Poets sites may ask you to provide personally identifiable information such as name, address, birth-date or email address. We also ask users to provide personal data such as e-mail addresses when registering with our BBS (message boards).

AGGREGATED DATA

Aggregated information, or non-personal information, such as browser type, operating system, IP address, pages accessed, is collected through various methods. For example, Albany Poets sites may use cookies or collect IP addresses in order to enhance your online experience.

USE OF COOKIES

Cookies are pieces of information that a web site transfers to an individual's computer hard drive for record keeping purposes. Cookies make using our sites easier by, among other things, saving your passwords and preferences for you. As an example, we use cookies to keep track of your shopping cart when you visit our online store, and help identify you when you return to the Store. These cookies are restricted for use only on our sites, and do not transfer any personal information to any other party. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies; however, you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or indicate when a cookie is being sent. (Note: you will need to consult the help area of your browser application for instructions.) If you choose to disable your cookies setting or refuse to accept a cookie, some parts of Albany Poets’ web sites may not function properly or may be considerably slower.

USE OF IP ADDRESSES

An IP address is a number that's automatically assigned to your computer by your Internet provider whenever you're surfing the Web. When you request pages from Albany Poets sites, our servers log your IP address. Albany Poets collects IP addresses for the purposes of system administration and to audit the use of our sites. We do not link IP addresses to anything personally identifiable, which means that your session will be logged, but you are anonymous to us. We may use your IP addresses in cooperation with your Internet provider to identify you if we feel it is necessary to enforce compliance with our Terms of Use or to protect our service, sites, customers, or others.

SHARING PERSONAL DATA

Albany Poets may share personal and aggregated information with pre-screened third parties for marketing or promotional or fulfillment purposes. For example, we will share your personal information, on a confidential basis, with third parties who perform a particular service on our behalf, such as sending e-mails, processing orders or credit card payments, or fulfilling orders for products and/or services. You may always opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the Opt-out section below. The contact information is also used to get in touch with you when necessary regarding your order. Financial information that is collected is used to process your request for products and services, and will not be shared with third parties who are not involved with the transaction. When credit card information is transmitted we use industry standard, SSL (secure socket layer) encryption.

Albany Poets may disclose user information in special cases when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference (either intentionally or unintentionally) with Albany Poets’ rights or property, other Albany Poets web site users, or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities. Albany Poets may also share information with consultants and affiliates for internal business purposes and may divulge personal information if such information is subpoenaed.

SHARING AGGREGATE DATA

Albany Poets may also share aggregate data with third party companies to provide services or targeted advertising on our sites. For example, Albany Poets may use third party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our sites. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information about your visits to our sites and to other Web sites in order to provide advertisements on this site and other sites about goods and services of interest to you. For this purpose, Albany Poets and our third party advertising company may note some of the pages you visit on our sites through the use of pixel tags (also called clear gifs).

SECURITY

Security for all personally identifiable information is extremely important to us. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, Albany Poets cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or that you find on our online products or services. You use such information at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we make best efforts consistent with reasonable commercial practices to ensure its security on our systems.

BBS / MESSAGE BOARDS

Guests of Albany Poets sites are solely responsible for the content of messages they post on public forums, such as the BBS. Users should be aware that when they voluntarily disclose personal information (e.g. user name, e-mail address, phone number) on the bulletin board that this information can be collected and used by others. Use caution when posting. Users under the age of 18 should be especially careful not to provide any personally identifying information while using the BBS. Users of the BBS must follow acceptable standards of behavior when posting messages online.

LINKS TO OTHER SITES

Albany Poets is not responsible for the content or practices of third party web sites that may be linked to our sites. Our sites may also be linked to web sites operated by other companies. Visitors to these web sites should refer to each web site's respective privacy policies and practices.

OPT-OUT

During your visit to any Albany Poets site, we provide you the opportunity to opt-in to receive communications on various news, projects, and upcoming events. You always have the option of removing your name from any e-mail list to not receive future communications. In order to ensure immediate removal from any list, it is best to follow the specific instructions outlined within the communications you receive from us. However, if you are unable to complete the process indicated in the communications, then you can discontinue your subscription to any of the e-mailings by clicking "Mailing List" (which can be accessed via the navigation bar at the bottom of this page), entering your email address, selecting “Unsubscribe”, and the clicking “Submit”

QUESTIONS

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or any matter pertaining to the use of your personal information on this site, other than how to opt-out from mailings, please send an e-mail to info@albanypoets.com

YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS

By using Albany Poets’ sites, you signify your acceptance of the Albany Poets Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not use our sites. Albany Poets reserves the right to modify, alter or otherwise update this policy at any time, so visitors are encouraged to review this policy from time to time. Your continued use of the Albany Poets sites following the posting of changes to these terms will mean you accept those changes.

Effective Date: August 28, 2005.