What information is collected and how is it used?
Personal information
The only personally-identifying information collected by The Antlion Pit website is that information submitted voluntarily by its readers through direct e-mail or by using the comment/contribution form on the Contact page. The comment/contribution form requires users to submit their name and e-mail address. Because The Antlion Pit solicits content contributions from readers, a name is needed to give proper credit for the contribution. An e-mail address enables the editor to acknowledge the contribution and, if necessary, to verify the accuracy of the content. E-mail addresses are kept strictly private and are never shared with third parties.
Unless anonymity is requested, The Antlion Pit publishes the names of readers whose content contributions are accepted for publication. A contributor's city and country of residence might also be included if an antlion anecdote is published. Content contributors' names will typically appear on both the Credits page and the specific page(s) for which the content was contributed. Contributors who do not wish their names to appear in the site may request anonymity either through the Contact page or by direct
Statistical data and "cookies"
The Antlion Pit gathers statistical data about the site's use through a third-party web tracking service. This service uses "cookies" to track information such as the number of users; number of files downloaded; specific pages accessed; referring URLs; and users' computer operating systems (e.g., Windows or Macintosh), monitor resolution, and browser types. The Antlion Pit's editor uses this data to assess interest in specific content areas and to aid website design decisions. No personally-identifying information about users is recorded in these statistics. If your browser's preferences are set to warn you about cookies, please click "accept" to help the Antlion Pit gather accurate data.
Privacy of children
The Antlion Pit website makes a reasonable effort to ensure that its information collection practices comply with the guidelines established by the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). The Antlion Pit maintains a very low-risk environment: the site does not contain a chat room nor does it permit direct posts to the website; however, children may contact the website editor via email to ask questions or submit content contributions. Content contributions might later be published on the Antlion Pit website in the manner described in the "Personal information" section above. The Antlion Pit asks that children under 13 years of age obtain prior consent from a parent or teacher before using the comment/contribution form on the Contact page. The Antlion Pit makes a reasonable effort to ascertain whether a content contributor is 13 years of age or older, and will never knowingly publish personally-identifying information about a child under 13 years of age without a parent's or teacher's consent. If your child or student wishes to contribute to The Antlion Pit, please in advance of the child's contribution.
