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FURTHER LEFT PRIVACY POLICY
The Further Left system is composed of three entities, the real time Chat Room, posting Forum, and download Library. Their common intent is to work in support of a single stated function. We gather information about users to aid implementation. Our system is no different from almost all internet services and web sites in that regard. Some tell you what they do. Most do not. This page describes what we collect, how we collect it, and the use we make of it.
The Forum's hosting platform, designates some users as "Team Members", whose posts are not subject to the approval required of others and may be enhanced with editing features. Their consensual interaction guides Forum tenor. We solicit them after sufficient supportive participation. The status, in itself, does not afford access to private user information.
Chat Room "Moderators" ensure the room's purposeful use. We issue Moderator invitations after considerable chat activity meeting criteria of our Help Wanted sheet. They are indicated in the chat room with an asterisk (@) preceding their name. Moderators have access to chat room tools not available to others.
We note Library and Forum contacts through a tracking system available to only our Moderators. That attempts with varying success to provide the following information.
Knowing a person's ip number often doesn't tell much about them but main office location of their isp. Dial up ip numbers change on each call and cable and DSL numbers do periodically. Networked services identify to a network hub. Thus, those of internet cafe's, in-house networks, and certain large isp's such as AOL represent multiple computers and present nothing at all about individuals. Isp's trade, buy, and sell blocks of ip numbers among them. Dated and changing information is not always available or accurate.
You can see examples of the sort of information we gather by connecting to StatCounter. On that page, click "Live Demo" down the right side. Then try the options between the words "Statistics" and "Recommended" in the left column. Click the little down arrow and magnifying glass icons. You will see exactly what we get.
Many link to us through other sites and search engine queries. Back links to those are given and we may check them and note which of our pages they reach. That sometimes allows us to meet new supporters. Our concern, other than that, is not which individuals access which pages, and we keep no such record.
StatCounter provides specific individual contact information for no more than approximately two weeks of normal Forum and Library traffic. It does however offer generalized statistical summaries developed over time. Those show rankings of page popularity, areas of origination, and manners of arrival. They help us fit the sites to both our purpose and users' interests.
We do not suffer surreptitious impersonation, attempts at intentional disruption, fishing for personal information, or ego enhancing games at the expense of either system purpose or users. That happens seldom, but when it does, we remove and block those attempting it. Tracking and Log information helps identify and prevent repetition.
Our chat room host has built in and always available facility that permits anyone in the room to create a transcript of all that appears on their screen. We maintain an around the clock daily presence and keep such a record. It is useful for better understanding by review of room occurrences taken together. It could also serve as a protective record in case of falsely based claims aimed at terminating the room's existance. We may share portions of the transcript among our room moderators but allow no other distribution. We are unaware of our chat room host service independently maintaining a transcript but have no information indicating it does not.
This page details all personal information we note that is not publically available. We do nothing with it or knowingly permit its access except as mentioned. That rests, of course, on trustworthiness of our Moderators. If that is questioned, it might help to look at our criteria for Moderator status and note the one stating "Possess an ethical sense which dictates respecting privacy of personal information". No one becomes one of our Moderators until the others have confidence in such integrity. You may view that as indication of what we try to be and with whom we prefer to deal. Unfortunately, that does not put a lock on information security.
Anyone may copy, modify, and distribute anything appearing on their screen or passing through their system. Those include individual users as well as operators, employees, and intruders to hosting and transmission services who are following orders, pursuing contrary personal agendas, or acting out of fear of, fealty toward, or bribes from snooping entities.
There are ways to hinder what we prefer not be done. They include scattering parts of the system to disjoint entities, restricting and being aware of attempts to access sensitive information, and communicating internal matters over multiple, separated, and changing paths. We take those steps with realization their footprints can be retraced by any of sufficient means and intent.
We encourage users to share our understanding there is no such thing as security of internet privacy. The realistic approach is to let actions be guided by balancing assessment of acceptable risk against benefit and commitment. Business, legal, and political scare words can open doors best kept locked, but the most effective key is a loose tongue. At end, each is the guardian of their own privacy.
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