Last update 12/12/2008
Privacy policy
First things first; Shoebox, the guest-bloggers, and I will not knowingly share any potentially-identifiable information with anybody outside the conditions stated below.
The BlueHost web servers that host No Runny Eggs, as well as those used by StatCounter, my stats collector, do log your IP address, ISP name and location, the time and length of your visit, the site you came from, the site you went to if you used a link on this site to navigate to that site, the pages you viewed while you are here, what operating system you use, what browser you use, the resolution your monitor is running at, and if you clicked on an external link, where that link initially took you. Some of this information may be shared with servers used by the operators of Akismet for the sole purpose of attempting to limit the amount of comment/trackback/pingback spam on this site. Beyond that, a bona-fide criminal investigation, a valid court order, and my access to those logs, that information does not leave those servers.
If you either register or attempt to comment using the comment form, the web servers that host this site will also record a nickname, user name (applies only for registration attempts; this can be different than the publicly-displayed nickname), and e-mail that you supply, as well as any optional URI or miscellaneous contact information (the latter only for registration attempts) that you supply. Except for access by Shoebox, guest-bloggers, or me, your e-mail (whether supplied for a comment or for registration), user name if different than your publicly-displayed nickname, and miscellaneous contact information do not leave those servers, though we may at our sole discretion use that information to contact you. Your nickname and URI will be visible on any comments you leave that survive the anti-spam efforts. Beyond that, a bona-fide criminal investigation, a valid court order, and our access to that information (which will occur whether or not it survives the anti-spam efforts), it will not otherwise leave the servers for this site.
If you attempt use the trackback/pingback feature of WordPress to leave a trackback or pingback, your URI and the name of the site and post to which you are trying to trackback or pingback will be left on any trackbacks/pingbacks that survive the anti-spam efforts. Beyond that, a bona-fide criminal investigation, a valid court order, and Shoebox’s, the guest-bloggers, and my access to that information (which will occur whether or not it survives the anti-spam efforts), it will not otherwise leave the servers for this site.
This site does make use of “cookies” to allow for customization of the site (e.g. ability to log in and to not re-enter contact information on comment forms). In addition, StatCounter does make use of a cookie for the sole purpose of determining whether you are a returning or “first-time” visitor. Further, certain sites, such as YouTube, do attempt to set a cookie if the embedded code is activated by you (again, using YouTube as an example, if you attempt to play an embedded YouTube video, YouTube attempts to set a cookie). Shoebox, the guest-bloggers, and I do not have the ability to read nor do we have any interest in reading any of those cookies. Unless you wish to log in or take advantage of comment self-editing, you may delete and disable the sending of any and all cookies sent by this site without losing any appreciable functionality on this site. You may also delete and disable the sending of any and all cookies sent by StatCounter without losing any functionality on this site. As far as I know, you may delete and disable the sending of any and all cookies sent by other third-parties without losing any appreciable functionality on this site. If you do encounter any problems on this site other than the items listed above because you disabled the sending of a cookie, please let me know using the contact information on the about page.
The RSS feeds for this site utilize technology provided and hosted by FeedBurner. The only items collected by FeedBurner, to the best of my knowledge, are your IP address (which I do NOT have access to; they use it simply to let me know how many of you are reading an RSS feed), what RSS reader is used to access that feed, the time of that access, and any click-throughs to links in a particular item, including to this site.
Posts
All posts are the sole responsibility of the person who wrote that post. All original content in posts, with the exception of posts written by Shoebox or the guest-bloggers, is the sole intellectual property of me, with all rights reserved. Original content in posts written by Shoebox or the guest-bloggers is the joint intellectual property of that author and me, with Shoebox and the guest-bloggers retaining all rights to their work.
Original content in posts, but not in comments, may be reproduced, in whole or in part, only provided no claim is made that Shoebox, the guest-bloggers, or I endorse you, any changes made in the reproduction, or the medium used to reproduce said content, and at least one of the following conditions is met:
- Proper credit is given to the author, this website (No Runny Eggs) or the guest-blogger’s website (the latter is only applicable if the material is also posted at the guest-blogger’s website). Proper credit is understood to be direct attribution to the author or website, and hyperlink to the original material (a link to this site’s homepage is not sufficient). Proper credit is further understood to not include a falsified name for either the author or the website.
- Express written permission is granted by either me or the author whose material you wish to use. Your right to reproduce content under this provision is limited to the terms of the agreement.
- The work being reproduced is solely your own work.
Original content in comments may not be reproduced outside of this site except as follows:
- Express permission is given to Fred Dooley of Real Debate Wisconsin for the sole purpose of producing “Monday Random Quotes” posts. A direct link to that comment and direct attribution to the commenter are conditions of this provision.
- Express written permission is granted by me. Your right to reproduce content under this provision is limited to the terms of the agreement.
- The work being reproduced is solely your own work.
Notwithstanding the above, content in either posts or comments may be reproduced on this site in whole or in part provided it is either on the parent post in question or a direct link to that comment and direct attribution to the commenter is given.
Comments/Trackbacks/Pingbacks
I almost always welcome comments, trackbacks and pingbacks here (the times I don’t allow comments here tend to be when I am “promoting” a better conversation elsewhere). That having been said, the massive increase of spam has led me to create a policy.
First things first, every comment, trackback and pingback is the sole responsibility of the author of said comment, trackback or pingback. Shoebox, the guest-bloggers, and I do not own comments not authored by one of us; all ownership rights remain with the comment author. By commenting, you agree to relieve Shoebox, the guest-bloggers, and me from any and all liability that may result from the comment. You also agree to grant Shoebox, the guest-bloggers, and me a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licenseable and transferable license to store, use, transmit, display, publish, reproduce, or otherwise distribute your comments without limitation, as well as to make such additional uses of them as may be needed by us on this site. The existence of a comment, whether edited by Shoebox, the guest-blogger responsible for a particular post, or me, or not, does not imply any endorsement of the comment by Shoebox, any guest-blogger or me. If you do choose to comment, keep that in mind.
Shoebox, the guest-bloggers, and I do log IP addresses of every comment/trackback/pingback, and e-mail addresses of every comment (see above), but since it would take a valid court order, our cooperation in a bona-fide criminal investigation, or an illegal hacking of the server for that information to leave our custody (except as noted above), please don’t falsify them. Your website URI, which is a voluntary disclosure, will be made available for everyone to see.
While Shoebox, the guest-bloggers, and I do not, as a matter of policy, edit or remove comments, we do reserve the right to do so at any time and for any reason. We are not the government, and specifically for those that don’t know the first word of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, we are not Congress, so don’t go whining about your free speech rights being violated if I do so. We may or may not tell you why, but spam will be one of the reasons why we remove a comment.
We may also at our sole discretion edit or remove a comment that contains a personal attack on another commenter (we’re more-likely to simply remove the comment if we are unable to reach the commenter in question). Again, the continued existence of a comment, whether edited or not, does not imply an endorsement of that comment by us.
I do offer a limited ability to self-edit one’s own comments. If you do make a mistake in a comment and miss out on the opportunity to make a correction, please let me know using the contact info on about page, and I will consider making requested corrections.
Shoebox, the guest-bloggers, and I further reserve the right to close the ability to comment on or leave a trackback/pingback on any post at any time for any reason, regardless of whether that post previously allowed the ability to leave a comment, trackback, or pingback, or whether that post had one or more comments, trackbacks or pingbacks.
Those that use the trackback/pingback feature of WordPress can expect closer scrutiny as something more than 90% of trackbacks and pingbacks are spam.
I use several tools to help me filter out the copious amounts of spam. They may or may not be 100% accurate and effective. If you do have a legitimate, on-topic comment/trackback/pingback that did get caught as spam or entered the moderation queue, be patient. I don’t monitor this blog 24/7. Specifically, posts that last had activity more than two weeks prior to an attempt to leave a comment/trackback/pingback will cause that comment/trackback/pingback to enter the moderation queue.
Because I do not offer the ability to view so much as an IP hash, which is a hard-to-trace alphanumeric code unique to each IP address, I do not allow sockpuppets. Call me hypocritical if you must because I do sockpuppet over at Ace of Spades HQ from time to time; however, Ace does display the IP hash of every commenter and thus sockpuppets can usually be traced to the “main” identity.
Links
I have made every attempt to ensure that hyperlinks to third-party sites in posts and comments written by me are valid at the time they were posted. Shoebox and each guest-blogger has made every attempt to ensure that hyperlinks to third-party sites in posts and comments written by that guest/co-blogger are valid at the time they were posted. However, due to the vagarities of the Internet, including but not limited to the decision of said third-party or another agent either authorized or unauthorized to alter or remove a particular page or site, Shoebox, the guest-bloggers and I cannot be responsible for anything that happens or doesn’t happen should you follow one of those links.
Shoebox, the guest-bloggers, and I cannot guarantee that hyperlinks to third-party sites in comments not written by one of us are valid at the time of posting. Again, we cannot be responsible for anything that happens or doesn’t happen should you follow one of those links.
Miscellaneous
Occasionally, material may be posted here which neither I nor anybody else that posts here, either in a post or in a comment, either owns or has a license to use if the poster believes in good faith that the use of such material constitutes fair use as defined by Section 107 of Title 17 of the United States Code, as amended. If you hold the copyright to any such work and believe that its use here fails to qualify for protection under Section 107, you may request redress either in the form of a mutual agreement to post the material or removal of the material from this site by contacting me using the contact information on the about page.
Shoebox, the guest-bloggers and I cannot and will not be held responsible or liable for anything that may happen to you or any equipment used to access this site.
There is currently exactly one benefit of registering; seeing your name in the header of the blog. Specifically but not exclusively, registration does not affect your ability to comment, does not affect your ability to vote in a poll, does not remove the requirement to enter an anti-spam word when commenting (that’s right; I have to put in the anti-spam word as well), and does not increase the likelyhood that a particular comment will make it past the anti-spam filters. If you do wish to register, you may do so at the link on the left sidebar. You will need to enter a valid e-mail address; the registration process does make use of e-mail. Also, do choose your user name wisely; neither you nor I have the ability to change it within the WordPress interface, and I am not going to monkey around the database to attempt to change it. You can, however, change your publicly-displayed nickname. I do reserve the right to add, remove, or change the role of any registrant at any time, and reserve the right to close self-registration at any time.
I also reserve the right to restrict or eliminate access to this site from any IP address.
Remember, this is my sandbox, and while I generally am a nice guy, I can be very mercurial. If you have a problem with that, you are always free to start your own blog (at least if your government lets you). There are a multitude of blogging solutions out there. Heck, I might even put you on my blogroll, though that is at my sole discretion.
-steveegg
