Privacy Information for MuseumStuff.com

MuseumStuff.com and its parent company Discovery Media are committed to safeguard and respect our visitors rights to honest and secure privacy. This current policy was updated and strengthened on September 24, 2007.

What personal information does MuseumStuff.com collect? .. If you take part in advanced features of our network, such as signing up for a newsletter or participating in contests, we may collect personal information such as your name, location, email address, and general age information. If this advanced activity has taken place on behalf of one of our member organizations (i.e. participating museums) then there is the potential for your information to be shared with appropriate member organizations. - For general site visits the information we collect is restricted anonymous statistics such as what site or search engine you used to enter our network, which browser and platform you are using, and in some cases the search terms you employed that brought you to our virtual doorstep. - This general and we stress, ANONYMOUS information may at time be shared with strategic partners as described below.

How does MuseumStuff.com collect and use statistical information? .. The general information we collect concerning referrals, browser, platforms, etc, are strictly for internal statistical analysis as an aid in evaluating our promotional effectiveness, and we may at times share this information in general form with our sponsor and strategic partners. We do not share identifying or contact information concerning our visitors with unaffiliated parties, however we may at times provide such information with organizations and partners that play a central role in the operation and fulfilment of our service. - For example, if you take part in a contest or other special promotion through our network, the sponsors for that activity may require contact information to provide related services.

Do you sell my personal Information? .. MuseumStuff.com and its parent company Discovery Media DOES NOT SELL, RENT OR RELEASE PERSONAL INFORMATION GATHERED ON OUR SITES TO OTHER COMPANIES, INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS! Any information gathered is only used by our network for purposes stated above.

Affiliated sites, linked sites and advertisements .. MuseumStuff.com expects its partners, advertisers and third-party affiliates to respect the privacy of our users. However, third parties, including our partners, advertisers, affiliates and other content providers accessible through our site, may have their own privacy and data collection policies and practices. For example, during your visit to our site you may link to, or view as part of a frame on a MuseumStuff.com page, certain content that is actually created or hosted by a third party. Also, through MuseumStuff.com you may be introduced to, or be able to access, information, Web sites, advertisements, features, contests or sweepstakes offered by other parties. MuseumStuff.com is not responsible for the actions or policies of such third parties. You should check the applicable privacy policies of those third parties when providing information on a feature or page operated by a third party.

Privacy issues related to children under 13 .. Although our visitors arrive from around the world, our network and parent organization is based in the United States. Thus, we adhere to strict privacy policies set forth by the COPA Commission a congressionally appointed panel, mandated by the Child Online Protection Act which was approved by Congress in October 1998. An excerpt from the final ruling adopted in April, 2000 is below:

The rule sets forth several exceptions to the requirement of prior parental consent that permit operators to collect a child's e-mail address for certain purposes. For example, no consent is required to respond to a one-time request by a child for "homework help" or other information. In addition, an operator can enter a child into a contest or send a child an online newsletter as long as the parent is given notice of these practices and an opportunity to prevent further use of the child's information.

In aligning our network with this ruling, in situations where we collect personal and/or contact information, we now require the individual to indicate if they are under 13 years of age, and if so, parental permission may be required before further correspondance or activity may occur. Furthermore, personal and contact information for those under 13 will not be shared with our member organizations or strategic partners without verifiable parental consent, within reasonable limits as described by the "Safe Harbor" ruling as detailed below:

The statute includes a "safe harbor" program for industry groups or others who wish to create self-regulatory programs to govern participants' compliance. Commission-approved safe harbors will provide Web site operators with the opportunity to tailor compliance obligations to their business models with the assurance that if they follow the safe harbor they will be in compliance with the rule.

Security issues that are beyond our control .. Please keep in mind that whenever you voluntarily disclose personal information online - for example on message boards, through email, or in chat areas, that information can be collected and used by others. In short, if you post personal information online that is accessible to the public, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return. Ultimately, you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your passwords and/or any account information. Please be careful and responsible whenever you're online