Who we are
This Privacy Policy applies to workforourvotes.ca (the “Site”).
What personal data we collect and why we collect it
Unregistered Users
When an unregistered user (a “Visitor”), or a registered user (a “Member”) who is not logged-in, browses the Site, we may place a cookie (see “Cookies” below) on their computer. We may also collect the following information:
- Pages visited
- IP address
- Incoming and outgoing links
- Reading times per post
- User profiles viewed
We collect and use this information to:
- Optimize the Site;
- Diagnose and debug technical errors;
- Defend the Site from abuse and technical attacks;
- Compile statistics (internal use only) on the Site and topic popularity, as examples; and
- Compile statistics (internal use only) on the software and computers used by Visitors and Members.
Registered Users
When a Visitor opts to become a Member we collect the following information at the time of registration:
- Name (optional)
- We use this information to help identify you on the Site;
- We also display your Name on your publicly viewable profile.
- Username (required)
- We use this information to help identify you on the Site;
- We also display your username on your publicly viewable profile.
- Email address (required)
- We use this information to help identify you on the Site;
- We do NOT display your email address on the Site;
- We also use your email address to:
- verify that you control that e-mail address;
- notify you about posts and other activity on the forum, according to your preferences;
- help you reset your password and keep your account secure; and
- contact you only as needed.
- Registration IP address
- to help enhance the security of the Site and of your account
In addition to the information collected for Unregistered Users (see above), when a logged-in Member browses the Site we also collect:
- Likes given and flags being requested
- To further enhance the usefulness of the Site.
Profile Information
Should a Member so choose, they may provide additional personal information about themselves in their Profile. This information is entirely optional and may be removed at any time by the Member. We retain this information for the Member’s convenience for as long as they have an Account and use it as follows:
- To display the profile items they wish to share on the Site (NOTE: much of the profile information may be displayed to the entire forum unless the Member specifically opts out of such sharing).
Posts
When a Member posts in the Discussions, we record:
- the content of the post itself;
- data about bookmarks, likes, and links you follow;
- the IP address the post originated from.
We record this information so that we may display the posts, reduce spam, and display your activity in a summary fashion on the forum. While Posts are, for the most part, fully visible on the Site to Visitors and Members, in certain access-restricted circumstances, your posts and related information may only be visible to other Members and Site administrators.
We retain this information for as long as the Member has an Account on the Site with the exception of Posts, which are retained indefinitely even if the user account is deleted (see “What rights you have over your data” below).
Private messages and other activity
When a Member creates a private message to another Member on the Site, we retain that message in order to send it to the other Member(s). These messages are also made available to Site Administrators to be accessed in very limited circumstances, such as when in response to lawful requests by public authorities.
We also log other activity on the site for troubleshooting, safety, and security of the Site.
Media
Only Members may upload images or videos to the Site. If you, as a Member, upload images or videos to the Site, you should avoid uploading images or videos with embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors to the Site can download and extract any location data from images or videos on the Site.
Contact Forms
Anyone can contact the Site. If you choose to do so via our Contact Form, we will collect and retain your name (if provided), email address, and message contents. We collect this information in order to review and respond to your contact requests. We retain this information for at least 90 days.
Cookies
Cookies are small text files that we place on your computer via your web browser, should your browser allow such placement.
We use cookies to:
- securely save your login information so you do not need to login again for a period of time (once you logout this cookie is deleted);
- save your preferences;
- compile aggregate data about Site traffic and interaction;
As these cookies are primarily a convenience feature on the Site, you may delete these cookies whenever you want through your browser’s security settings. However, the Site will place new cookies on your computer whenever you next visit, or log into, the Site.
Analytics
Whenever anyone accesses the Site, we collect information for internal analytics purposes. This information is, as much as possible, anonymized and includes, but is not limited to:
- IP address;
- Browser information including language used;
- Page loading times;
- User location (approximate).
This information is collected and used ONLY by the Site to better understand Visitors and Members in order to optimize the Site and its usefulness. This information is NOT shared outside of the Site.
Embedded content and third-party links
Articles on the Site and Member posts may include embedded content (ex. videos, images, articles etc.) as well as links to other websites (“Third-Party Websites”). Embedded content from Third-Party Websites, and links to Third-Party Websites, behave in the same manner as if the Visitor/Member had visited the Third-Party Websites.
These Third-Party Websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account on that Third-Party Website and are logged into that account.
We do not have any control over what information of yours a third-party site will collect, nor do we have any control over how such information may be used.
Automated Processing
Posts
Posts are scanned by Akismet prior to posting. If Akismet labels the post as spam, the Site will refuse to post. If you feel a post has been blocked incorrectly, please Contact Us.
Trust Levels
The Site may use data about your posts and activity to award badges and ‘trust levels’. Your trust level affects what you can do on the Site. If you feel that your trust level has been set incorrectly, please Contact Us.
How we protect your data
We implement a variety of security measures and use best efforts to maintain the safety of your personal information. Such measures include use of Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) to secure communication between your computer and the Site.
How long your data is retained
- Posts – retained indefinitely;
- Account information – retained as long as your account is active.
- NOTE: you may manually delete all information within your account except for your name, username, email address, posts and activity and still keep your account active.
What rights you have over your data
If you are a Member of the Site you may view your account data at any time by visiting your account page. This page also includes a button to download all of your activity.
Should you wish to have your account removed, please contact us;
- NOTE – In order to maintain discussion continuity, account removal does NOT remove your posts but all personally identifying information about you will be anonymized or otherwise scrubbed from the Site.
Where your data is stored
The vast majority of data from the Site is stored on servers in Canada with some exceptions as identified below.
Who we share your data with
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer or release your personally identifiable information to any third party with the following exceptions:
- posts may be checked by an automated spam detection service;
- lawful requests by public authorities;
- enforcement of our Site policies;
- protection of our rights, or the rights of others;
- where personal or public safety is a concern;
Outside services that may process your data
The Site uses certain services to deliver content safely and more efficiently. Wherever possible, and unless otherwise indicated, the Site uses services based in Canada. We do not control how these services use your data, nor do we control what data they collect.
Service and Description
- scans posts to determine if they are spam;
- based in the United States.
- provides a content delivery network that hosts copies of content like images and other files to enable faster delivery of content;
- Stores images of Discussions area of the Site.
- provides a content delivery network that hosts copies of content like articles, images and other files to enable faster delivery of content for the primary Site;
- based in the United States.
Consent
By using the Site you are deemed to have consented to this Privacy Policy.
Changes to this Policy
Any changes to this policy will appear on this page.
Questions or comments
Please contact us.
This document last updated: August 11, 2021.