Privacy Policy Our promise to you: All the information we collect from you will be for Forum purposes only. We will not give out your information or sell it to others. Further, we will not send you junk mail either. The only things we email you will be things you explicitly ask for (like a password reminder), mailing replies to postings that you select, or notifications about your account status.   Information We Gather: The following is a table that summarizes all the information we collect from users and how we use it:     Information: Usage: Email Address - Your email address is collected to have an address to send you lost password notifications, messages from the Administration, and notifications of posting subscriptions (if you choose to subscribe). Also, collecting email addresses serves as a way to limit abuse of the system, in that we only allow accounts to remain active when the email address has been verified. We will send you a confirmation email when you create your account to verify your address. A message is emailed to you if someone requests lost user account information for your account to be sent. If you file any request with our support or abuse department you will receive email notifications. A Forum Bulletin will be emailed on a weekly basis. You have an option to unsubscribe from the this Bulletin. You may also receive emails regarding comments that have been posted to the Forum if you've selected the option in your preferences. Membership confirmation emails will be sent when your account is activated. Your email address is not displayed! It is known only to the Administration. You may contact other members by either posting messages in the Forum, or by Private Messages. Exchanging email addresses and other private information with other members is done at your own risk. Note: The Administration will only access and review Private Messages under the following circumstances: 1 - Acting upon a complaint of abuse of the system by the Forums Serving Host or it's Internet Service Provider (ISP). 2 - Acting upon the "complaint of abuse or harassment" by another forum member. Members who feel they are being harassed by another member are encouraged to contact the Administration. 3 - To comply with any valid legal process such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute or court order. Your email address is never given away or sold to third-parties. Name/Handle - Only your user name is displayed. Given names (first names) are optional.. Birthday - Birthdates must be given at Registration to comply with US Coppa Law. Gender - We do not ask for gender information! Both genders are welcome to join. Website - You can optionally enter your website's URL. If you list it, it will show in your user information page so other members may visit your website. AOL IM, ICQ, - Yahoo!, MSN Messenger - If you check the "Show my contact information" checkbox and you also provide any instant messaging contact information, they will be displayed on your user information page so that other members will be able to more easily contact you. Location - All this information is optional. If you provide it, and also choose to be listed in the user directory, then this information is used to determine what region to show your link under. Please, do not include any specific information. Just a general location. (EX. - "New York"; "Finland", "East Coast", etc....) Signature - This is a block of text that can be added to posts you make. There is a 255 character limit. Please, do not enclose any private information in this box. Remember, it can be viewed publicly. Phone Number - We do not ask for your Phone Number! IP Address - Your IP address is tracked and is used throughout the site only to control traffic. This is an automatic function controlled at the server site. These IP addresses are only available to the Site Administrator. Credit Card Information - NOT COLLECTED! This is a free site. However, we do on occasions accept small Donations through "PayPal" This is strictly voluntary, and we do not keep a "List" of who and who doesn't make a donation, nor is this information revealed to other members. Cookies - The site only collects "Session Cookies" (so the database can remember who you are while you navigate around the site). They do not collect private information. Minors: We will never knowingly request personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of thirteen, to remain consistent with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998. See COPPA below.   Exception: One exception to this policy is that we will release specific information about you or your account to comply with any valid legal process such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute or court order. COPPA What is COPPA? The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was signed into law on October 21, 1998 and is effective as of April 21, 2000. The purpose of COPPA is to regulate the online collection and use of personal information provided by and concerning children under the age of thirteen. On October 21, 1999, the Federal Trade Commission, pursuant to the requirements of COPPA, published final rules in the Federal Register implementing COPPA. The Rules set forth the specific manner in which entities are expected to comply with, and how the FTC will enforce, COPPA.   Parents... If your child applies for membership to the Forum, an email will be send to the one provided at the time of registration with an application  form. (See sample below). This form MUST be filled out by and signed by a parent and returned to the FAX # or mailing address provided before the account can be activated.   This site and the Forum is devoted to the Members' common pastime, Model Ships. We welcome new members who are interested in learning more about this hobby and would like to learn from experienced craftspeople.   The Forum is overseen by Moderators. If a Moderator sees any obscene material posted, they can immediately delete it. Keep in mind that a Moderator may not be 'Online' at any given time. But, be assured that our Members will report any "off" content they see to the Site Administrator's). They do not like to see that kind of material either. The Forum has "Word Censor" enabled. This database 'looks' for words that may be deemed to be offensive. The system will not allow the content to be posted. This also applies to usernames. However, it is not foolproof, and sometimes something will slip through. We try to be careful in adding words to the database. Certain words, when used in the proper context, may be fine.   We do not allow new user groups to be created by children under 13. However, if you are aware that your young child is using our service and would like their account terminated, please contact the web host. Expect a response within 24 to 48 hours.   We strongly suggest that you installed and use "Parental Controls" for your web browser. It's always a good idea to monitor your child's use of the Internet. Example COPPA Form Permission to Participate at Ship Modeling Forum Instructions for a Parent or Guardian FAX to: (Actual FAX # will be on emailed form) Mail to: (Actual address will be on emailed form)   If approval is not received in 7 days the information will be deleted. COPPA Information for Ship Modeling Forum Required Information User Name:   Password:   Email:   Optional Information Homepage: http://  Signature:   Privacy Mode: Selecting 'yes' hides email, ICQ number, AIM ID in profile and also hides you in 'Logged In Users' list.   ICQ Number:   AOL Instant Messenger Handle:   Yahoo Messenger Handle:   Please sign the form below and send it to us. I have reviewed the information my child has supplied and I have read the Privacy Policy  for the web site http://shipmodeling.net/forum. I understand that the profile information may be changed by a using a password. I understand that I may ask for this registration profile be removed entirely. Parent/Guardian Full Name:   Signature:   Relation to Child:   Telephone:   Email Address:   Date:   Information Collection COPPA requires that site operators disclose how all personal information that we obtain is used. See above Privacy Policy. Anything else? Are we forgetting anything? Do you have any other questions we can answer for you and place on this page so others don't have the same questions? Contact Us