A privacy policy can be one of the most important pages of your directory as it informs visitors and users about your practices/procedures regarding the information collected from them. Your users have a right to know what information is being collected when they visit your web site, even if it is as obvious as the information submitted when they complete your submission form. You should inform your users of information collected/logged by your server such as IP addresses, referrer stats, browser type or host names, and how this information is used by you. It's also a good idea to inform your users how to contact you if they should have any questions/concerns about your privacy policy or to update any information. A privacy policy can help to improve confidence and establish a better relationship with your visitors and submitters, but you should be careful when crafting a policy to addresses your short term and long term objectives that does not create a liability for the directory owner. The following resources may be of interest to you if you are considering adding privacy policy of your own: Creating your privacy policy Privacy policies for Children Creating Consumer Confidence Online: Five Essential Elements to Online Privacy Your Online Privacy Policy An informational paper about drafting your first privacy statement or improving your existing one.
I was just getting round to writing mine. You saved me the effort of searching google myself Thanks CReed
Great post and advice Creed, i have a privacy policy in place on one of my directories, i had to put it in place when i signed up with 2CO, i will sort it for my other directories too.
I had prepared a page a few months ago. http://www.n1q.net/privacy_policy.php I also think it is neccesary because we collect e-mail addresses, IP numbers, PayPal account e-mails etc.
Goog point, it's not uncommon that others will require you have a privacy policy prior to engaging in a relationship with you. Yes, as even without a submission form we capture quite a bit of information even if it is not personally identifiable information. With the current glut of directories and the amount of spam being sent by more and more directories, I'm looking to see if there's a privacy policy in place in addition to other factors prior to submitting any sites. We've also considered amending our guidelines and not accept sites which actively collect personal information via any type of form if they do not have a privacy policy in place.
Nice topic Creed.. Yes privacy policy is a good way to create submitters confidence.. I also see on Avivadirectory and will be adding on mine soon
Privacy Policy is must have thing on a directory, I feel that a lot. Did not added on mine yet, thanks for your reminder CReed Will add that page in next update
Here are a few more resources that might be of interest to you if you are considering the addition of a privacy policy to your directory: Privacy Policy Information on Privacy Laws Code of Fair Information Practices This was found on 12 Important U.S. Laws Every Blogger Needs to Know under #6.