Update: I figured out how to get my site to bake cookies!!! If you visit the discussion forum part of this site you can get cookies if you register and post messages. The forum software comes with a good description of what it does when you register, but it does include cookies, and logging the ip address of posts. I presume that if you posted some illegal thing I could be forced to make the logs available to investigating authorities - thus you are responsible for your own posts and any consequences thereof. Original policy follows:

Grumble... I need a privacy policy, so here goes...

I'd love to say that I'm some genius PC guru who can somehow see who views my site, but that simply isn't the case. I totally cheated and used Google Adsense: because they offer this neat feature that lets me see how many page views I get, which makes me feel great because while admittedly, I started this as a fun way to take notes to help me remember what I'm learning, I also enjoy sharing it, and I had no way to tell if anyone out there was looking at it except the occasional (wonderful, thank you!!) email I get.

So... I signed up for Adsense. Ok, I was hopeful that it would generate enough revenue that I could buy that macro lens I want, or at least cover the cost of hosting a site. We're not supposed to disclose revenue details, but I think it's ok to say that I still want the lens, and the site does not cover its own costs at all, probably because I'm not a marketing anything and I toss the pages together for fun. It's still fun to keep working on my site (Hey, I can virtual garden here in the rain or after dark without getting muddy and have as much fun as I do in the 'real' garden without the bug bites and sore muscles!), and I still really enjoy being able to see if people have peeked at my work; and no, I can't tell who you are, but I think I can tell what country my viewers are from - I usually just look at the count.

That said, Google came up with a new rule that says Adsense users need a privacy policy, so I need one. I've learned about my butterflies, plants, and all sorts of other creatures, painstakingly figured out enough HTML to make the site, worked hard to get photos worthy of sharing, and am still learning all of the above; now I need to be a legal expert too!!? (emotional outburst deleted) Ok, ok, I'll try:

I have no idea how to make my site bake cookies (see update at top of page), but I understand that the advertisements on my site can leave a cookie on your computer. I think that it's in my best interest to have you leave the cookie there, but if you want to get rid of it, delete your cookies. Different web browsers have slightly different ways to eliminate cookies, but like getting in a different car, most of the features are there, they're just in different places (ie: windshield wiper lever on left or right and so on...) so you have to figure out where the controls are to use them. Here are general directions for the versions of the web browsers I have installed on my PC:

Internet Explorer: Tools, Internet Options, On the General Tab, look for Browsing history, click the 'Delete' button, then click the 'Delete cookies' button.

: Tools, Click 'Clear Private Data'. You can also click Tools, Options, and the Privacy button to select how Firefox deals with cookies.

Opera: Tools, Click 'Delete private data', and then click the 'Details' button so you can check or uncheck options to remove cookies, history, and so on...

I'm sure my 'legal speak' is lacking, so I'm going to cheat again and link to Google's privacy policy pages; read them for more information on web privacy. If you have questions, email me and we'll see if I can answer them. If you're good at legal speak, and have some clue what I was supposed to put on this page, please, email me with permission to quote you here and I'll add your words.

Google Privacy Policy Links:

http://www.google.com/privacy.html

http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html

Cookie info: http://www.google.com/privacy_faq.html#cookie

I just searched Google for more details on the Privacy Policy I need, and while I'm still confused, here is a bit more info. This page says, "publishers must notify their users of the use of cookies and/or web beacons to collect data in the ad serving process".  I have no idea what a web beacon is, but to sum up what I need to say, the ads on my site might use cookies and or web beacons.

After further review, I think that if I knew how I could have the server my site is on save log files containing your IP address, time you browsed my site, possibly what browser & ISP you used, and I have no idea what else (as can any other site you visit.) I'm worried about having enough hard drive space on the server I use for all of my photos, so I'm not deliberately saving any 'who visits' data, but there might be some saved for some brief time depending on I have no idea what and I'm not looking at it, because I don't know how to. Cookies might be placed on your site from the advertisers who display ads on my site, but I have no control over or access to them, so please refer to Google Adsense or the Advertisers site if you visit one, and review their respective privacy policies and Cookie and or Web Beacon information.

If you email me, I probably will save the email, and might quote you on my site unless you ask me not to in the email. When I quote someone, I usually email them to let them know so that if they don't want to be quoted they can email me back and I'll remove their quote. I reserve the right to forget to email someone, so please state in your email if you don't want me to quote you.