Legal Information and Policies

From time to time, Deep Thought may collect personal information about our readers. The following statement is intended to inform our readers of what we do with information we collect. By using this site, you agree to be bound by these policies.

Email Addresses, IP Addresses and Cookies

Deep Thought may collect email addresses and store them in our database for the purposes of reader identification, spam control or other reasons not listed here.  Additionally, a valid email address is required to register as a member.  These email addresses will never be sold, purchased or otherwise distributed in any way, shape or form except for backup purposes..  Additionally, your address will not be displayed in a manner that would enable them to be harvested and targetted for spam.  If you do not wish for your address to appear on the site at all when you leave comments, either omit it (for guest commenters only) or enter a URL in the website field of either the comment form or your member profile.

Deep Thought may log and use IP addresses for web site maintenance and administration. We will not share any of this personal information with third parties without your consent (exception: to comply with law enforcement requests).

Cookies may be employed to save password or account information. Ads served through Google AdSense may use cookies as well. You may disable cookies through your browser’s settings. If you do not have cookies enabled, you may not be able to use all of the site’s features properly.

Registration

Deep Thought accepts and invites readers to register and participate in our online discussion forum and other sections of the site. Once registered, readers may opt out of any site email communication via the account settings panel (labeled “my account” in the left sidebar). EXCEPTION: direct email contact from Deep Thought Staff for administrative purposes.

To register, you must provide a valid email address.  You will receive an email asking you to confirm your address.  If you do not receive this email because you entered your address incorrectly or for any other reason, please notify an administrator immediately.  We will make any changes necessary and send you a new confirmation email.  There are no exceptions to this rule.  This is the only way to register as a member. If you do not activate your membership account, the account you registered may be deleted from our system if we deem it necessary.

Discussions, Chat Rooms, and other Public Forums

Deep Thought invites our readers to participate in the discussions we host on this site, as well as discussions in other venues.  These may include comment threads, forum threads, or chatrooms on networks such as AOL Instant Messenger or IRC.  Due to the inherently open, public nature of such channels, information posted in our discussion forum, article comments, chat rooms, or other public forums becomes public information. Additionally, we may be unable to moderate discussions in some mediums due to their unstructured nature; we ask that you continue to abide by the rules in these cases so as to not offend other participants. Any posts you make via the Community Soapbox feature will be associated with your registered user name, and your registered user name will be displayed alongside any such posts.  Please be prudent in what you post and abide by our rules of conduct or you may face penalties, such as comment moderation, comment deletion, or a membership ban.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING CHILDREN UNDER 13

Deep Thought is intended for readers who are 13 years of age or older. As per the United States Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 13 CAN NOT REGISTER OR PARTICIPATE ON DEEP THOUGHT. Click here to read about COPPA on the FTC web site.

Staff Privileges and Responsibilities

The staff of Deep Thought is privy to most--if not all--of the information heretofore discussed.  Additionally, the staff members are listed on Deep Thought’s About page, and these staff profiles may include personally identifiable information.  If staff members do not wish for this information to be displayed, they should contact an administrator immediately.

It is the responsibility of the Deep Thought staff to abide by and enforce these rules.  Any violations will result in an immediate removal of staff status and may result in a ban, depending on the severity.

Enforcement

The handling of any matter not expressly mentioned in these and other policies is up to the sole discretion of Deep Thought’s staff.  If you feel there has been a violation and you wish to report it, please do not hesitate to contact a staff member or administrator immediately.

Modification

Deep Thought reserves the right to modify these and other policies at any time. When such a modification is made, however, we may allow comments on the proposed changes by our community.  If so, the proposed changes will be open for public comment for a minimum of three (3) days prior to enactment and enforcement of the changes.