View source for BioPolicyWiki:Privacy policy

:''This version of the Privacy policy was derived from [http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_policy that of the WikiMedia Foundation].''

== Summary ==

If you only read the website, no more information is collected than is typically collected in server logs by web sites in general.

If you contribute to the website, you are '''publishing''' every word you post publicly. If you write something, assume that it will be retained forever. This includes articles, user pages and talk pages. Some limited exceptions are described below.

==Publishing on the wiki and public data ==

Simply visiting the web site does not expose your identity publicly (but see [[#Private logging|private logging]] below).

When you edit any page in the wiki, '''you are publishing a document'''. This is a public act, and you are identified publicly with that edit as its author.

=== Identification of an author ===

When you publish a page in the BioPolicyWiki, you must be logged in to an account with a verified email address. You will be identified by your user name. This may be your real name if you so choose, or you may choose to publish under a pseudonym, whatever user name you selected when you created your account.

When using a pseudonym, your IP address will not be available to the public except in cases of abuse, including vandalism of a wiki page by you or by another user with the same IP address. In all cases, your IP address will be stored on the wiki servers and can be seen by BioPolicyWiki's server administrators. Your IP address, and its connection to any usernames that share it may be released under certain circumstances (see below).

If you use a company mail server from home or telecommute and use a DSL or cable Internet connection, it is likely to be very easy for your employer to identify your IP address and find all of your IP based Wikimedia project contributions. Using a user name is a better way of preserving your privacy in this situation. However, remember to log out or disconnect yourself after each session using a pseudonym on a shared computer, to avoid allowing others to use your identity.

=== Cookies ===

The wiki will set a temporary session cookie (PHPSESSID) whenever you visit the site. If you do not intend to ever log in, you may deny this cookie, but you cannot log in without it. It will be deleted when you close your browser session.

More cookies may be set when you log in, to avoid typing in your user name (or optionally password) on your next visit. These last up to 30 days. You may clear these cookies after use if you are using a public machine and don't wish to expose your username to future users of the machine. (If so, clear the browser cache as well.)

=== Passwords ===

User passwords are the only guarantee of the integrity of a user's edit history. All users are encouraged to select strong passwords and to never share them. No one shall knowingly expose the password of another user to public release either directly or indirectly.

== Private logging ==

Every time you visit a web page, you send a lot of information to the web server. Most web servers routinely maintain access logs with a portion of this information, which can be used to get an overall picture of what pages are popular, what other sites link to this one, and what web browsers people are using. It is not the intention of the Wikimedia projects to use this information to keep track of legitimate users.

These logs are used to produce the site statistics pages; the raw log data is not made public, and is normally discarded after about two weeks.

Log data may be examined by developers in the course of solving technical problems and in tracking down badly-behaved web spiders that overwhelm the site. IP addresses of users, derived either from those logs or from records in the database are frequently used to correlate usernames and network addresses of edits in investigating abuse of the wiki, including the suspected use of malicious "sockpuppets" (duplicate accounts), vandalism, harassment of other users, or disruption of the wiki.

=== Policy on release of data derived from page logs ===

It is the policy of the administrators of the BioPolicyWiki that personally identifiable data may be released by the system administrators in the following situations:

# In response to a valid subpoena or other compulsory request from law enforcement
# With permission of the affected user
# Where the information pertains to page views generated by a spider or bot and its dissemination is necessary to illustrate or resolve technical issues.
# Where the user has been vandalising articles or persistently behaving in a disruptive way, data may be released to assist in the targeting of IP blocks, or to assist in the formulation of a complaint to relevant Internet Service Providers
# Where it is reasonably necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of the administrators of the BioPolicyWiki, its users or the public.

Our policy does not permit public distribution of such information under any circumstances, except as described above.

== Sharing information with third parties ==

Except where otherwise specified, all text added to BioPolicyWiki is available for reuse under the terms of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License GNU Free Documentation License].

The administrators of the BioPolicyWiki will not sell or share private information, such as email addresses, with third parties, unless you agree to release this information, or it is required by law to release the information.

==Security of information==

The administrators of the BioPolicyWiki makes no guarantee against unauthorized access to any information you provide. This information may be available to anyone with access to the servers. 

== E-mail ==

When you provide your e-mail address in your Preferences, you can enable other logged-in users to send email to you through the wiki. Your address will not be revealed to them unless you respond, or possibly if the email bounces. The email address may be used by the administrators of the BioPolicyWiki to communicate with users on a wider scale.

== User data ==

Data on users, such as the times at which they edited and the number of edits they have made are publicly available via "user contributions" lists, and in aggregated forms published by other users.

Once created, user accounts will not be removed. It may be possible for a username to be changed (depending on the policies of your local wiki). Whether specific user information is deleted is dependent on the deletion policies of the project that contains the information.

== Deletion of content ==

Removing text from BioPolicyWiki does not permanently delete it. In normal articles, anyone can look at a previous version and see what was there. If an article is "deleted", any user with "administrator" access on the wiki, meaning almost anyone trusted not to abuse the deletion capability, can see what was deleted. Information can be permanently deleted by those people with access to the servers, but there is no guarantee this will happen except in response to legal action.