Off the Record:Privacy policy
This privacy statement applies to the WYAS Wiki. It does not cover other websites to which links are provided from this website.
Summary
If you only read the WYAS Wiki pages, no more information is collected than is typically collected in server logs by web sites in general. If you contribute to WYAS Wiki, you are publishing every word you post publicly. If you write something, assume that it will be retained forever.
Publishing on the Wiki and Public Data
Simply visiting the web site does not expose your identity publicly (but see 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
You cannot edit any WYAS Wiki pages unless you are logged in. If you are logged in, 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.
It may be either difficult or easy for a motivated individual to connect your network IP address with your real-life identity. Therefore if you are very concerned about privacy, you may wish to log in and publish under a pseudonym.
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 WYAS Wiki’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 WYAS Wiki’s 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.
Passwords
Many aspects of the WYAS Wiki’s community interactions depend on the reputation and respect that is built up through a history of valued contributions. 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 WYAS Wiki 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 a short period of time. 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.
Links
Links on WYAS Wiki to other websites not owned or operated by West Yorkshire Archive Service may alter their pages at anytime without notice to WYAS Wiki. West Yorkshire Archive Service takes no responsibility for the content of these pages or their representations. Please notify us regarding dead links or questions about these pages (insert contact us link)
Data retention
User Data
You must provide your e-mail address to register with WYAS Wiki. Your email address is used for the following purposes:
- To enable registration
- To enable WYAS Wiki to send you a new password in case you forget it.
West Yorkshire Archive Service will not share your email address with third parties unless you agree or it is required by law to release the information.
Removal of User Accounts
Once created, user accounts will not be removed.
IP and other technical information
When a visitor requests or reads a page no more information is collected than is typically collected by web sites. West Yorkshire Archive Service may keep raw logs of such transactions, but these will not be published or used to track legitimate users.
When a page is edited by a logged-in editor, the server confidentially stores related IP information for a limited period of time. This information is automatically deleted after a set period. For editors who do not log in, the IP address used is publicly and permanently credited as the author of the edit. It may be possible for a third party to identify the author from this IP address in conjunction with other information available. Logging in with a registered username allows for better preservation of privacy.
Cookies
The WYAS 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.
Page history
Edits or other contributions to a Project on its articles, user pages and talk pages are generally retained forever. Removing text from a project does not permanently delete it. Normally, in projects, anyone can look at a previous version of an article and see what was there. Even if an article is "deleted", a user entrusted with higher level of access may still see what was removed from public view. Information can be permanently deleted by individuals with access to Wikimedia servers, but aside from the rare circumstance when the Foundation is required to delete editing-history material in response to a court order or equivalent legal process, there is no guarantee any permanent deletion will happen.
User contribution
User contributions are also aggregated and publicly available. User contributions are aggregated according to their registration and login status. Data on user contributions, such as the times at which users edited and the number of edits they have made, are publicly available via user contributions lists, and in aggregated forms published by other users.
Reading projects
No more information on users and other visitors reading pages is collected than is typically collected in server logs by web sites. Aside from the above raw log data collected for general purposes, page visits do not expose a visitor's identity publicly. Sampled raw log data may include the IP address of any user, but it is not reproduced publicly.
Editing projects
Edits to Project pages are identified with the username or network IP address of the editor, and editing history is aggregated by author in a contribution list. Such information will be available permanently on the projects.
Logged in registered users:
Logged in users do not expose their IP address to the public except in cases of abuse, including vandalism of a wiki page by the user or by another user with the same IP address. A user's IP address is stored on the wiki servers for a period of time, during which it can be seen by server.
IP address information, and its connection to any usernames that share it, may be released under certain circumstances (see below).
Editors using a company mail server from home or telecommuting over a DSL or cable Internet connection, are likely to be easy to identify by their IP address; in which case it may be easy to cross-identify all contributions to various Projects made by that IP. Using a username is a better way of preserving privacy in this situation.
Unlogged-in registered users and unregistered users:
Editors who have not logged in may be identified by network IP address. Depending on one's connection, this IP address may be traceable to a large Internet service provider or more specifically to a school, place of business or home. It may be possible to use this information in combination with other information, including editing style and preferences, to identify an author completely.
Release of Data
It is the policy of West Yorkshire Archive Service that personally identifiable data collected in the server logs, or through records in the database via the CheckUser feature, or through other non-publicly-available methods, may be released in any of the following situations:
1. In response to a valid subpoena or other compulsory request from law enforcement
2. With permission of the affected user
3. When necessary for investigation of abuse complaints
4. Where the information pertains to page views generated by a spider or bot and its dissemination is necessary to illustrate or resolve technical issues
5. Where the user has been vandalizing articles or persistently behaving in a disruptive way, data may be released to a service provider, carrier, or other third-party entity to assist in the targeting of IP blocks, or to assist in the formulation of a complaint to relevant Internet Service Providers
6. Where it is reasonably necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of the WYAS Wiki, its users or the public.
Except as described above, West Yorkshire Archive Service policy does not permit distribution of personally identifiable information under any circumstances.
Disclaimer
The West Yorkshire Archive Service believes that maintaining and preserving the privacy of user data is an important value. This Privacy Policy, together with other policies, resolutions, and actions by the West Yorkshire Archive Service, represents a committed effort to safeguard the security of the limited user information that is collected and retained on our servers. Nevertheless, West Yorkshire Archive Service cannot guarantee that user information will remain private. We acknowledge that, in spite of our committed effort to protect private user information, determined individuals may still develop data-mining and other methods to uncover such information and disclose it. For this reason, West Yorkshire Archive Service can make no guarantee against unauthorized access to information provided in the course of participating in Foundation Projects or related communities.
Adapted from from "http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_policy"