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Effective March 1, 2007:
About PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net
PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net are online services that allow our members to set up unique personal
profiles that can be linked together through networks of friends. MySmoodle members can view each others'
profiles, communicate with old friends and meet new friends on the service, share photos, post journals and
comments, and describe their interests. To enrich our members' experience, we request and display some personal
information to other members and visitors, which allows our users to identify each other and expand their network
of friends. PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net members can change their profile information at any time and can
control how other members and the service communicates with them.
PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net care deeply about online privacy. If you have any questions concerning
this privacy policy, please email us at privacy@publicdecision.com.
Information Collection and Use by PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net
PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net collect user submitted information such as name, email address, and age
to authenticate users and to send notifications to those users relating to the PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net
services. PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net also collect other profile data including, but not limited to:
personal interests, gender, age, education and occupation in order to assist users in finding and communicating with
each other.
PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net also log non-personally-identifiable information including IP address,
profile information, aggregate user data, and browser type, from users and visitors to the site. This data is used
to manage the website, track usage and improve the website services. This non-personally-identifiable information
may be shared with third-parties to provide more relevant services and advertisements to members. User IP addresses
are recorded for security and monitoring purposes, and to ensure accuract voting on issues.
User profile information including members' pictures and aliases are displayed to people in order to
facilitate user interaction in the PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net social networking communities. Email addresses
are used for the purposes of inviting new friends to join PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net, to add users to
members' friends' networks, and to send notifications related to the service. With the exception of inviting friends,
adding friends, and notifications, a user's email address is not shared or displayed to people within a user's
personal network. Users within a personal network communicate on PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net with each other
through the PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net services, without disclosing their email addresses. Users' full names
are never directly revealed to other members. To facilitate searching and finding friends and acquaintances on the
services, PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net allow users to search for other members using first and last name,
email address, and schools and/or companies where users may have attended or worked.
We may also use a user's email address to send updates, a newsletter or news regarding the service. Users may
choose not to receive email of this type by changing their "Email" setting to "Do not send me emails" in the user
"Manage Profile" section.
From time to time, PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net, or a partner, may sponsor a promotion, sweepstake or
contest on PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net. Users may be asked to provide personal information including name,
email address or home address or to answer questions in order to participate. We may transfer personal information
to certain ad partners that you have explicitly requested to receive information from. It will be clear at the point
of collection who is collecting the personal information and whose privacy statement will apply.
Invitations and Other Communications to Non-members
Recipients of invitations from PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net may contact PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net
to request the removal of their information from our database.
You may prevent PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net email invitations and other messages from being sent to any
email address you control by sending a single email with the subject "BLOCK MY EMAIL-ADDRESS" to
privacy@publicdecision.com. Please note that the email must come from the account you wish to block.
Use of Cookies
PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net use cookies to store visitors' preferences and to record session
information, for purposes including ensuring that visitors are not repeatedly offered the same advertisements and
to customize newsletter, advertising, and Web page content based on browser type and user profile information.
We also use this information to determine which issues the user has viewed and voted on to ensure the highest
degree of accuracy for polling results. We do not link the information we store in cookies to any personally
identifiable information you submit while on our site. You may be able to configure your browser to accept or reject
all or some cookies, or notify you when a cookie is set -- each browser is different, so check the "Help" menu of
your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences -- however, you must enable cookies from
PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net in order to use most functions on the site. Please note that PublicDecision.com
and MySmoodle.net allow 3rd party advertisers that are presenting advertisements on some of our pages to set and
access their cookies on your computer. Advertisers' use of cookies is subject to their own privacy policies, not
the PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net Privacy Policy.
Links
PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net contain links to sites. PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net are not
responsible for the privacy policies and/or practices on other sites. When linking to another site, a user should
read the privacy policy stated on that site. Our privacy policy only governs information collected on
PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net.
Discussions, Polls, Forums, and other Public Message Boards
Please be aware that whenever you voluntarily post public information to Discussions, Polls, Forums, and other
Public Message Boards that that information can be accessed by the public and can in turn be used by those people
to send you unsolicited communications.
Correcting/Updating or Removing Information
PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net users may modify or remove any of their personal information at any time
by logging into their account and accessing features such as Manage Profile and Manage Issues.
Email Choice/Opt-out
Members who no longer wish to receive updates or notifications may choose not to by selecting
"Do not send me emails" in the user profile "Manage Profile" section. All notification emails and
PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net newsletters also include the above instructions for opting-out of those
communications in the future.
Third Party Advertising
Ads appearing on this Web site may be delivered to users by PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net or one of
our Web advertising partners. Our Web advertising partners may set cookies. These cookies allow the ad server to
recognize your computer each time they send you an online advertisement. In this way, ad servers may compile
information about where you, or others who are using your computer, saw their advertisements and determine which
ads are clicked on. This information allows an ad network to deliver targeted advertisements that they believe
will be of most interest to you. This privacy statement covers the use of cookies by PublicDecision.com and
MySmoodle.net and does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers.
Security
PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net member accounts are secured by member-created passwords. PublicDecision.com
and MySmoodle.net take precautions to insure that member account information is kept private. We use reasonable
measures to protect member information that is stored within our database, and we restrict access to member
information to those employees who need access to perform their job functions, such as our customer service
personnel and technical staff. Please note that we cannot guarantee the security of member account information.
Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors may compromise the security of member
information at any time. For any additional information about the security measures we use on PublicDecision.com and
MySmoodle.net, please contact us a privacy@publicdecision.com.
Sharing and Disclosure of Information PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net Collect
Except as otherwise described in this privacy statement, PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net will not disclose
personal information to any third party unless we believe that disclosure is necessary: (1) to conform to legal
requirements or to respond to a subpoena, search warrant or other legal process received by PublicDecision.com and
MySmoodle.net, whether or not a response is required by applicable law; (2) to enforce the PublicDecision.com and
MySmoodle.net Terms of Use Agreement or to protect our rights; or (3) to protect the safety of members of the public
and users of the service. PublicDecision.com and MySmoodle.net reserve the right to transfer personal information
to a successor in interest that acquires rights to that information as a result of the sale of PublicDecision.com
and MySmoodle.net or substantially all of its assets to that successor in interest. For more information see the
"Changes in Our Privacy Policy" section below.
Changes in Our Privacy Policy
From time to time we may make changes to our privacy policy. If we make changes, we will post them on our site
to make users aware of what the changes are so users will always be aware of what information we collect, how we use
it, and when we may disclose it. A user is bound by any minor changes to the policy when she or he uses the site
after those changes have been posted. If, however, we are going to use users' personally identifiable information
in a manner materially different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify by posting a notice on
our Web site for 30 days.
Contacting the Web Site
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this
Web site, please contact us at: privacy@publicdecision.com
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