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- The RespirNet provides this World Wide Web (WWW)
site as a public service.
- For site management, we use software programs to
collect and create summary statistics on the
following information for statistical purposes.
• the date and time
• the originating Internet Protocol (IP) address
• the object requested
• the address of the web site from which you linked
to our site
• the type of browser you use to access our web
site, and
• the completion status of the request.
- The RespirNet computer system uses these
gathered statistics for such purposes as:
• assessing what information is of most and least
interest,
• determining technical design specifications, and
• identifying system performance or problem areas.
- For site security purposes the software programs
monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized
attempts to upload or change information, or
otherwise cause damage.
- Except for authorized law enforcement
investigations, this web site makes no other
attempts to identify individual users or their usage
habits.
- Unauthorized attempts to upload, download, or in
any way change information on this site are strictly
prohibited and may violate Federal Copyright Laws.
- The information we receive depends upon what you
do when visiting our site -
a. If you visit our site to read or download
information, such as consumer brochures or press
releases:
• We collect and store only the following
information about you: the name of the domain from
which you access the Internet (for example, aol.com,
if you are connecting from an America Online
account, or psu.edu if you are connecting from
Pennsylvania State University's domain); the date
and time you access our site; and the Internet
address of the website from which you linked
directly to our site.
• We use the information we collect to measure the
number of visitors to the different sections of our
site, and to help us make our site more useful to
visitors.
b. If you identify yourself by sending an E-mail:
• You also may decide to send us personally
identifying information, for example, in an
electronic mail message containing a complaint or
compliment.
• We use personally identifying information from
viewers in various ways to further the usefulness
and accuracy of the information contained on our Web
site or to add new sections and services. If you
include personally-identifying information in your
e-mail because you want us to address issues
specific to your situation, we may use that
information in responding to your request. In other
limited circumstances, we may be required by law to
disclose information that you submit.
• Be aware that despite anything we do to protect
electronic information, e-mail is not necessarily
secure against interception. If your communication
is very sensitive, or includes personal information,
you might prefer to send it by regular mail instead.
- Information Collected from Interactive Forms
• On some of our Web pages we may offer interactive
forms that let you voluntarily submit personal
information (such as your e-mail address, name, or
organization). This occurs when you are registering
for various conferences, workshops, or training
sessions offered by RespirNet, ordering
publications, or submitting comments to various web
discussion forums. In those cases, all submitted
information is used only for the express purposes
for which it is intended and is not made available
to any third party. However, when you submit a
comment to a RespirNet web discussion forum, if you
supply your name, e-mail address, or other personal
information, that information is posted along with
your comment.
- Cookies:
Cookies are small files that web servers place on a
user's hard drive. They can serve several functions:
• they allow the web site to identify you as a
previous visitor each time you access a site;
• they track what information you view at a site
(important to commercial sites trying to determine
your buying preferences);
• in the more advanced cases they track your
movements through many Web sites but not the whole
Web;
• businesses use them for customer convenience to
allow them to produce a list of items to buy and pay
for them all at one time and to garner information
about what individuals are buying at their sites;
• advertisers use them to determine the
effectiveness of their marketing and offer insights
into consumer preferences and tastes by collecting
data from many Web sites; and
• they can be used to help a web site tailor screens
for each customer's preference.
• To protect your privacy, be sure to close your
browser completely after you have finished
conducting business with a web site that does use
cookies. If you are concerned about the potential
use of the information gathered from your computer
by cookies, you can set your browser to prompt you
before it accepts a cookie. Most Internet browser
have settings that let you identify and/or reject
cookies.
• Some RespirNet sites do use cookies.
- Session Variables:
Session variables are small files that a Web site
transfers temporarily to your computer's memory, not
to your computer's hard drive. On some RespirNet web
pages, we use "session variables" to help you use
our web sites interactively. Netscape's browser
labels our session variables as cookies -- these are
not cookies.
The session variables on RespirNet 's Web pages do
not collect information about you, but only about
your browser "session." The session variable makes
it easier for you to use the dynamic features of
these Web services, without having to provide the
same information again as you move from one page to
another.
Session variables on RespirNet 's Web pages expire
as you exit the service delivering the session
variable. That is, they are automatically removed
from your computer's memory when you close your
browser, reboot, or flush your cache.
Items on RespirNet 's web site that may use session
variables are the Chat and Forum Servers (when live
only on special occasions), blogs, and Business
Cards.
- Links to Other Sites:
RespirNet provides many links to other web sites.
When you leave any RespirNet Web site you will be
going to sites that are beyond our control. We try
to ensure that links that leave our site are clearly
labeled, but we do not guarantee that all links are
labeled or safe. These other sites may send their
own cookies to users, collect data, or solicit
personal information. The privacy policies and
procedures described here for RespirNet do not apply
to any external links. We encourage you to read the
privacy policies of any site you link to from ours,
especially if you share any personal information. Be
informed. You are the person best qualified to
protect your own privacy.
- Subscriptions to RespirNet Publications
If you subscribe to any of RespirNet 's
publications, we collect your email address and
name. We use this information for distributing the
requested material ONLY - and not for any other
purpose.
NOTE: We will not obtain personally identifying
information about you when you visit our site,
unless you choose to provide such information to us.
If you have any questions or comments about the
information presented here, please forward them to
our webmaster.
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