This forum is intended to comply with the New Zealand Privacy Act 1993 (the Act) when dealing with personal information. Personal information is information about an identifiable individual (a natural person).

This policy sets out how we will collect, use, disclose and protect your personal information.

This policy does not limit or exclude any of your rights under the Act. If you wish to seek further information on the Act, see www.privacy.org.nz.

Plain Language Summary

A forum needs a database (to store usernames, passwords [in undecipherable format] and the content of the posts themselves). We also use that database to track things like who is using the site and from roughly where (the IP address). Within the site we use cookies to help optimise your preferences etc. every time you return. All this is collected to give you, the user, the best experience. Potentially, in the future, we may also use this (deidentified) information for:

Business cases to ensure ongoing funding and support for the site
Ongoing planning and development of the site
If in the future you consent to being involved in a specific research project, we will use the data in the manner clearly explained in the consent.

We NEVER use tracking cookies (which share information about where you have been online and what you have done between different websites) or share the database information about you or your activities with other websites or commercial organisations.

We will share information as required under any NZ statutory requirements, or if we gain explicit consent from you to share your information with other bodies or organisations with similar goals.

Detailed Information

What information do we collect?

We collect information from you when you register on our site and gather data when you participate in the forum by reading, writing, and evaluating the content shared here.

When applying to register on our site, you may be asked to enter your name and e-mail address, and other information pertinent to confirming your suitability for membership of this collegial forum. You may, however, visit our site without registering. Your e-mail address will be verified by an email containing a unique link. If that link is visited within a stipulated timeframe, we will know that you control the e-mail address.

When registered and posting, we record the IP address that the post originated from. We also may retain server logs which include the IP address of every request to our server.

What do we use your information for?

Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:

To personalize your experience — your information helps us to better respond to your individual needs.
To improve our site — we continually strive to improve our site offerings based on the information and feedback we receive from you.
To improve customer service — your information helps us to more effectively respond to your customer service requests and support needs.
To send periodic emails — The email address you provide may be used to send you information, notifications that you request about changes to topics or in response to your user name, respond to inquiries, and/or other requests or questions.

How do we protect your information?

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you enter, submit, or access your personal information.

What is your data retention policy?

We will make a good faith effort to:

Retain server logs containing the IP address of all requests to this server no more than 90 days.
Retain the IP addresses associated with registered users and their posts no more than 5 years.

Subject to the processes and procedures and limitations of the hosting company, and the software on which the forum is run.

What is your user data deletion policy?

A new user can close or contact us to request closure of their user account if they change their minds about joining and there has not been much activity. A logged in user can manually edit material they have previously posted, and can also contact us to request global anonymization of their account and thus automatic attribution of any posts they have made to discussions, removing contact details and other personally identifying information associated with the user’s profile.

However an intrinsic limitation of the software is that there is no practical or ethical means by which all data posted to the forum by a user can located and deleted. This is because conversations typically have multiple participants, and deleting just one user’s part of the conversational record would misleadingly and unfairly alter the context and thus the meaning of other user’s posts. It is also possible that quotations from material posted by the user or references to the user (including potentially identifying information) may have been made in posts by other users.

In a nutshell, it is important to understand that by posting something to the forum, that material intrinsically enters the domain of all users entitled to view it, and there is no right of erasure or practical means for wholesale removal of this material from the record.

Do we use cookies?

Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow). These cookies enable the site to recognize your browser and, if you have a registered account, associate it with your registered account.

We use cookies to understand and save your preferences for future visits and compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may contract with third-party service providers to assist us in better understanding our site visitors. These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business.

Do we disclose any information to outside parties?

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our site, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others rights, property, or safety. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.

Third party links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third party products or services on our site. These third party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

Accessing and Correcting your Personal Information

Subject to certain grounds for refusal set out in the Act, you have the right to access your readily retrievable personal information that we hold and to request a correction to your personal information. Before you exercise this right, we will need evidence to confirm that you are the individual to whom the personal information relates.
You can also access and correct your own personal information by logging in to the forum and viewing and editing it directly.

Privacy Policy