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Terms of Use/Privacy Policy/IP Policy
General
B.C. Scott, the owning and operating entity of The World's
Best Sites, is highly committed to protecting the online privacy
and security of our Web site visitors. In keeping with this
commitment, definite measures are taken to ensure that our
visitors' personal data is kept secure from unauthorized disclosure
or use and is not unnecessarily compromised.
Information We Collect
Anyone may browse The World's Best Sites without being obligated to share any
personal information whatsoever. There are features of the site, however,
which require some pertinent personal data to be collected from visitors before
access to these features is authorized. This is both for the safety of our visitors
and for the preservation of the integrity of information entered through our site.
These features include our user registration interface, Web site nomination interface,
Online Shopping Wish List, and mailing list subscription.
User Registration
Before utilizing features of the site in which personal data is used, it is
required that the visitor participate in a concise registration process in which
he or she is asked to supply a valid email address and select a unique user identifier and
password. Additionally, the user may be required to select a security question
and enter a response to the question that may be used in certain instances (e.g. lost
password) to verify the user's identity and prevent unauthorized entities from accessing
the registered user's personal information.
Web Site Nomination
When nominating a Web site for recognition by The World's Best Sites, the visitor
is required to log in and provide basic infomation about the site, such as the name
of the site, the category under which the site is being nominated, and the site's
Web address (URL). Additionally, the visitor is given the option of providing
basic contact information for the nominated Web site's owner or administrator in the
form of a contact email address, if known and desired to be provided by the visitor.
This information, if provided, serves as a request from the visitor to contact the
site's owner or administrator and notify the entity of successful nomination and/or
acceptance, if applicable. Nominees/awardees are given instructions in the email
notification messages sent to them on how to request removal of their contact information
from our database and opt out of the receipt of further email correspondence from our
organization, if desired. To request removal or opt out at any time, visitors may
send an email to info@theworldsbestsites.com with only the word "Remove" in the
subject line.
Online Shopping Wish List
Registered users have the ability to log in and request our assistance locating
desired products and/or services commercially available over the Internet. In order
to do so, information about the nature of the item(s) desired is required. This
information will be linked to the user's unique registration identifier for the
purpose of responding to the user's request. This information may additionally be
used for making future product and/or service recommendations to the user. Responses
to Online Shopping Wish List requests or similar user requests may contain information supplied
by third parties. In the event that a user replies to a third party offer or
advertisement by visiting the party's Web site or otherwise communicating with the party,
The World's Best Sites bears no responsibility for the security of information shared
between the visitor and the third party entity. In order to complete a consumer
purchase, the third party may require additional information such as name, mailing address
and credit card or bank account information.
Please note that The World's Best Sites does not collect
any credit card or bank account information or physical address information from our
visitors or registered users for any purpose.
Online Shopping Wish List request data may additionally be used in aggregate form
in a way that does not uniquely identify the visitors from whom the information was gathered,
for the purpose of analyzing general consumer trends and preferences and conducting
other general forms of market research.
Mailing List
Upon registration and at other points throughout the site, visitors are given the
opportunity to voluntarily subscribe to our mailing list by providing an email address
and checking a clearly identified box indicating their decision to opt in to the list.
Mailing list subscribers will receive correspondence from The World's Best Sites regarding
company news, new site features, special promotions, induction of new Web sites into our
directory, articles, and general consumer advocacy information regarding online buying.
This correspondence may include information supplied by third party content providers.
Visitors may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time by sending an email
indicating this preference to unsubscribe@theworldsbestsites.com
IP Policy
For security reasons, a visitor's Internet Protocol (IP) address may be recorded
during a browser session and stored in our database for tracking purposes. This
information may be used to determine the physical location and/or Internet Service
Provider (ISP) through which a visitor accessed our site and/or entered information
into the site's interface. This information, alone or in conjunction with any other
information collected via this site, may be provided on demand or request to federal,
state, and/or local law enforcement officials in cooperation with the fulfillment
of their duties. This information may also be used to detemine aggregate geographical
trends with regard to the visitation and use of our site without identifying the visitor.
Cookies
During a browser session, small text files known as "cookies" may be stored on
the user's computer for the purpose of effective session management during a single visit.
These cookies will be in
the form of session variables and will not be maintained once the browser window is closed
or the session otherwise expires due to connection timeout, etc. Cookies will not be used
for malicious purposes or for the placement of advertisements, execution of programs, or other
intrusive purposes.
Email
The World's Best Sites does not engage in the practice of sending unsolicited email
(also known as "SPAM") and advocates against such practices. Email is only sent upon
request or opting in of our site's visitors. In the event of a Web site nomination,
the nominating party requests that The World's Best Sites notify the nominee by supplying
an email address for the nominated site's owner/responsible party. All email correspondence
originating from our Web site contains clear instructions on opting out of receiving
future email correspondence if desired. To opt out directly via email at any time,
mail recipients may send a reply to the correspondence received, replacing the Subject line
with the word "Remove" or initiating correspondence titled "Remove" and
sending it to info@theworldsbestsites.com.
Site Sale or Transfer
Should this site be sold or transferred to another party, all existing user regsitration
data and activity history data shall be included in the sale or transfer, with the binding
understanding that such information shall not be used in any manner except as explicitly
outlined in this
policy without the express consent of each registrant or site visitor on an individual basis.
This information shall be limited to the user identification and email address and any
existing inquiries on file which were initiated by the visitor.
Additional Inquiries
For additional questions regarding this site and our privacy/security practices, you may
send email inquiries to info@theworldsbestsites.com. Our physical mailing address is:
B.C. Scott
The World's Best Sites
509 Creek Street
Copperas Cove, TX 76522
USA
This policy statement was last updated on August 27, 2005.
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