Privacy Statement for JCMC
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for the JCMC Web site.We maintain and periodically review log files which automatically record the following information: the IP adddress (not the email address) from which you are connecting to the JCMC server; the time at which you requested a file; the name of the file or files you requested; the Internet address of the Web site from which you were "referred" (for example, the page you were looking at when you clicked on a link that brought you to the JCMC Web site); any search terms or keywords that you may have used in the search engine which directed you to this site; and your Internet browser and platform (Internet Explorer, Win 98, etc). We also collect data on any error messages you might receive, such as "file not found." We use this information to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our Web site. Your IP address is used to gather broad demographic information, such as the country of origin of our visitors. While the pages you choose to browse are linked in our log files to your computer's IP, this information is not connected to your email address. None of the automatically collected data identifies you as a person.
Our online surveys ask visitors for contact information (such as their email address) and demographic information (like their age or gender). We use contact data from our surveys to send the user information about our journal if and only if he or she requests it. The contact information is used when we send out quarterly annoucements of new issues. Our site provides users the opportunity to opt out of receiving communications from us at the point where we request information about the visitor. Users may change or modify information, remove their information from our database, and/or elect to receive no future communications from us by sending email to mmclaugh@usc.edu
This site contains links to other sites. JCMC is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites.
Public Forums
JCMC makes a message board and guest book available to its users. Please remember that any information that is disclosed through these areas becomes public information, and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose personal information such as your email or surface mail address.Security
JCMC makes every effort to prevent the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control. However, as we do not engage in commercial transactions or take credit card numbers, we do not use a "secure" server and the data you enter into our survey forms is not encrypted. Our subscriber database is stored offline.Third Parties
JCMC does not disclose information collected on the site to third parties.
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, you can contact Margaret McLaughlin Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication Annenberg School for Communication University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 90089 mmclaugh@usc.edu