This document describes what data and personal info that Worthful collects, when and why it collects it, how it is used and what we do to protect this information. It also describes how we use code called cookies to identify a unique instance of a vistor to the Worthful website without the need for any actual personally identifying information.
Cookies are small snippets of code containing a unique ID that is written to your computer/device web browser when you access this website. By writting and reading this cookie on your computer or smart device we can identify you as you travel throughout our website, or when you return. This gives us the chance to learn about what people like or dislike on our site, what features they find valuable and where they are the most engaged, so that we can improve a visitor experience based on non-personal data that contains no personal information and simply identifies each user as a statistic.
The website uses multiple cookies to track multiple instances of the same user, as required by the software that sets the cookie. For example, Google Analytics sets a cookie to track a user's visit and give us statistics about the average visit time and how many pages are visited. The online web forum application script sets its own cookie to track a user throughout the boards so that they do not have to log in each time they want to attempt to write a public post or reply. Our website itself doesn't otherwise use cookies, they are introduced by adding features such as application scripts that make our website more useful for our visitors and our membership.
If you do not wish Worthful.com to write cookies to your system browser, you may turn-off the option to allow cookies in your web browser. However, then you will not see the full experience available here at Worthful and many other websites across the net.
Employing cookies allows us to taylor your experience without having you actually tell us what you might require from the site, and to remember you as you travel through the site so that you can conveniently use it without hassle.
Certainly, we do appreciate all the feedback we get concerning the Worthful website, our products, as well as our reviews and recommendations of other products & software. We even treasure music suggestions that fit our classic & progessive rock 'n' roll genres or add to our royalty-free production music catalog.
However, take note that as you interact with us through our online contact form, or via phone, mail, or email, we do retain certain personally identifying information about you so that we can interact with you, such as to follow up on a suggestion, answer an inquiry, or address an issue you might have with your order. This type of personal information is required to interact with you. It is never shared, rented, leased or sold to any other party. It is only retained within my small network and I, Doug Peters and Worthful.com never uses it for evil such as unsolicitated emails (spam) or other nefarious reasons.
I simply use and protect it to keep in touch, as is required or appropriate.
You may sign-up for our low volume newsletter. This again, is another means of interacting with us. In order to receive the newsletter, we will require your email address where you want it sent, and this is, of course, personally identifying information. However, the newsletter is easy to unsubscribe from and once unsubscribed, your email address is no longer on that list.
When you purchase a sofware product from the Worthful.com website, your payment is processed through PayPal, at their secure website. Once you decide to pay, you are whisked away to their encrypted payment processing system for making the payment. We never have, nor will ever have, any of your financial information (such as your bank number, checking/savings account number), as we are not in that business. Even websites that take payments on their website use a third party payment processor such as a bank. We are no different, and PayPal has been doing this for a long time, now.
We do retain specific personally identifying information so that we can record, process, and when required, troubleshoot any issues with orders. Such personal information would usually include the name used for the order, possibly a contact email address, website address, order transaction number & date, and the like. We retain this information for our books and for tax purposes. It is never shared with anyone, never sold, never used other than as a matter of record or in the event we have to contact you about any issue that arrises.
Nevertheless, we never get your financial info, and are happy that PayPal does it for us. The personal info we do keep is required by law to be a matter of record, but we do keep it safe behind a firewall protected, secure and encrypted cloud.
If Worthful wins your trust and you decide to join our online community or forum as an included member, you will have to sign-up with personally identifying information such as your email address and verify that you have control of the account (to thwart harassing spammers).
Membership in the online forum allows for community interaction and therefore the forum itself has a living set of rules that must be adhered to in order for us to operate and enjoy a positive, civil community. Being helpful is key to being an engaging and friendly, civil online citizen, if and when you can be. But you are allowed to lurk, should you be shy.
Your persona here can and likely will reveal your own character and can effect your reputation in the real world if you give out personally identifying information about yourself, such as promoting your own personal/professional/company website, sharing your social media connections, and so forth.
It is not wrong to share your connections with others, but remember that you may well be publicly identifying who you are as you interact with others. However, if you are kind and helpful, always respect others, your self promotion efforts may generate a positive reputation as well, which of course is the point, if that is what you are up to.
However, the community and the website has a zero tolerance policy for spam. Always keep that in mind. A one line post of a hyperlink is definitely spam, and the result will likely lead to the poster being banned.
The important thing to remember about the forum is that the rules and guidelines on posting and interacting with each other will change as issues present themselves and are addressed.
Obviously, when we establish a relationship with a working partner artist, designer, studio or font foundry, we have to keep and maintain their personal information so that we know who to "write checks to", where to send them, how to communicate, etc... although this again, is handled through PayPal and they do not share any financial info with us.
We do keep this partner contact information on site for easy retrieval, should we need it, though it is also backed up and securely encrypted in the cloud.
However, I cannot protect anyone's personal information or data when presented with a valid legal warrant as might be issued by a government authority such as the police or FBI. In fact, once such a warrant is verified as genuine, I will cooperate with authorities fully. That's a give. That's just plain the way it is, I do not engage in criminal activity, nor should you. Common sense.
Thank you so much for reading all these legally required documents!
Especially, thank you for checking out Worthful.com! We are small, but growing and have lofty goals. We hope that you will be a part of it and enjoy the site.
God bless.
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