Site privacy policy - is there one?

[Talib]

Might be a good idea if this site declared its official privacy policy... especially in relation to the content of the cookies being placed on the members/visitors computers (probably without most of them being aware of it).
I would have thought if the administration has time to formulate terms and conditions for members/visitors then it also has time to declare its privacy policy... most decent websites do... good manners and practices work both ways.

Talib

[Talib]

Part of the Terms and Conditions:

Privacy
We will not offer any information about you to any company. However, you should be aware that if you voluntarily disclose personal information (e.g., name, email address, street address, etc.) on a bulletin board, chat room or on any other user pages including private messages and emails, that information can be collected and used by others and may result in unsolicited messages from other parties.



The only part of the privacy statement (above) that is relevant is the first sentence - "We will not offer any information about you to any company."
The second sentence of the paragraph is simply stating the obvious.

Bearing in mind the above, can you explain why each time I visit this website I end up getting left on my computer 2 falconryforum cookies (which this site says it clears each time I log off) and more importantly cookies from atdmt and tradedoubler which I am sure you are well aware are online marketing affiliate programs (adware/spyware in other words). Am I right in thinking you are getting paid for letting other companies monitor/track members/visitors to this website? Isn't this rather at odds with your "privacy statement" above?

Talib

[Talib]

The trade doubler cookie only monitors the banners and the only time any info is sent is when you click on the banner. As with most affiliate programs we only get paid if you click on the banner and actually buy something from the advertiser.

The forum itself uses a cookie to keep track of what posts/threads you've read and so on. Again there's no spying going on for any reason. We don't physically send off any information about our members to anybody.

If you object to cookies then disable them in your browser. If you object to seeing advertisers then we have a problem. We aim to make the forum free for members but the bills has to be paid some how.

Thats not what's happening Sparrow... I am aware of the cookies arriving when a banner is clicked. I am getting cookies from atdmt and tradedoubler without clicking any banner. I have checked this out multiple times and have not clicked a banner in the last 20+ visits to the site... yet I still get the cookies downloaded. I am getting the cookies downloaded just for changing pages and following threads - not every time, but usually once or twice each visit.

I don't know how you have managed it but you have appeared to have the site registering hits for adverts without clicking a banner... nice one, you get paid if any member/visitor buys something from one of your banner sites whether they clicked a banner or not.

As you say it is easy enough to block the cookies... the trouble is then your
Terms and Conditions page blocks access to the site whether one agrees to it or not... it needs the cookies to see whether someones has already clicked the submit button!

Talib

[Talib]

Not sure which one of the banner is doing that. I'll try and track it down.


It appears to be the Loopy Love banner... it's the only one which downloads cookies for both atdmt and tradedoubler at the same time when the banner is clicked. All the other banners appear to download tradedoubler on its own, their own website cookie, or none at all.

Talib

PS When I blocked falconryforum cookies it also stopped the atdmt & tradedoubler cookies as well... maybe a conflict???