NANTUCKET RETINA Privacy Policy

NANTUCKET RETINA respects the privacy of its vendors and participants and other visitors to its Web site. NANTUCKET RETINA strongly believes that if electronic commerce and online activities are to flourish, consumers must be assured that information provided online is used responsibly and appropriately. To protect online privacy, NANTUCKET RETINA has implemented the following policy.

NANTUCKET RETINA is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to enable individuals and organizations to establish trusting relationships based on respect for personal identity and information by promoting the use of fair information practices. This privacy statement covers the site www.nantucketretina.org Because this Web site wants to demonstrate its commitment to our users' privacy, it has agreed to disclose its information practices and have its privacy practices reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe.

If users have questions or concerns regarding this statement, they should first send notice via an email (nantucketretina@aol.com), by telephone at (617) 227-8767, by facsimile at (617) 367-4908 or by postal service at the following address: Nantucket Retina, PO Box 8429, Boston, MA 02114.  If they do not receive acknowledgment of their inquiry or their inquiry is not satisfactorily addressed, they should then contact TRUSTe through the TRUSTe Watchdog Dispute Resolution Process (http://www.truste.org/watchdog.html). TRUSTe will serve as a liaison with the Web site to resolve users concerns.

What Information Does Nantucket Retina Collect?

Data NANTUCKET RETINA collects are used only to help NANTUCKET RETINA better serve its vendors and participants. It is our policy to collect and store only personal information that our vendors and participants knowingly provide. If our privacy policies change, we will notify all users by e-mail or a special announcement placed on the Web site.

From General Users

NANTUCKET RETINA does not collect any personal information from users browsing its Web site. Users of the public areas of NANTUCKET RETINA's Web site browse anonymously. Our Web site automatically records the user's IP address and we do not link IP addresses to a user's personal information. Only aggregate data --such as the number of hits per page -- are used. Aggregate data are only used for internal and marketing purposes and do not provide any personally identifying information.

From NANTUCKET RETINA Vendors, Exhibition Registrants, and Other Customers

To gain access to vendors/participants-only resources and personalization features on the NANTUCKET RETINA Web site, members are asked to use their member username and password. NANTUCKET RETINA asks other users to provide their name, organization name, business phone, and e-mail. Credit card information is collected from an individual when registering to exhibit or attend an event. These data are submitted voluntarily. Additionally, for some emails sent in HTML format by NANTUCKET RETINA to its vendors/participants, a may collect specific information regarding what the recipient does with that email. For those emails, NANTUCKET RETINA may monitor whether a recipient subsequently clicks through to links provided in the message. Other information collected through this tracking feature includes: email address of a user, the date and time of the user's "click," a message number, name of the list from which the message was sent, tracking URL number, and destination page. NANTUCKET RETINA will only use this information to enhance its services and distribution of those services to its vendors and participants. This information will not be sold or distributed in any other manner.

How does NANTUCKET RETINA use Cookies?

A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's computer tied to information about the user. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information while on our site. We use two types of non-persistent, session ID cookies, which terminate when the browser is closed.

The first, a non-persistent Single Sign-On (SSO) cookie in the browser's memory, is set whenever the user is authenticated during Login. In subsequent transactions with protected Portal pages, this SSO cookie identified the user.

The second cookie, another non-persistent cookie called the application session cookie, is set when the user accesses one of the many applications within the Portal. This is again a non-persistent cookie that stores mapping for the session information. There is one application session cookie for each application accessed while logged onto the Portal.

All cookies generated by activities with the NANTUCKET RETINA Portal terminate when the member's browser is closed.

How does NANTUCKET RETINA Use Data Collected?

NANTUCKET RETINA uses information voluntarily submitted by vendors and participants in the following ways:

Disclosures to Third Parties

NANTUCKET RETINA does not sell vendor or participant information to anyone. Vendor or participant personal information is not shared with third parties other than those acting as agents of this organization and therefore bound by the provisions of this privacy policy. For example, a third party may act as our agent, acting as event registration manager, for NANTUCKET RETINA sponsored events. Therefore if a user registers for an event, they may be directed to an event specific Web site. A third party acting on behalf of NANTUCKET RETINA will collect event registration information for the purpose of managing the event on behalf of NANTUCKET RETINA.

Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, we may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on our Web site.

Consent to Use Personal Information

For the purposes of the Data Protection Act(s) 1984 and 1998 (as applicable), and in compliance with the "safe harbor" privacy framework that the Department of Commerce has negotiated with the European Commission, NANTUCKET RETINA or its agents must store, host and otherwise process the information (including personal data) supplied by the user when registering for this Web site. NANTUCKET RETINA may send such data outside the European Economic Area for processing. Voluntary provision of information to NANTUCKET RETINA will be considered consent for NANTUCKET RETINA to use that information in the manner and for the purposes stated above.

Credit Card Account Information

NANTUCKET RETINA does not disclose credit card account information provided by its vendors and participants. When vendors and participants choose to pay using their credit cards, NANTUCKET RETINA submits the information needed to obtain payment to the appropriate clearinghouse. All sensitive data, such as credit card information, is transmitted via SSL encryption.

How is the data protected after it is received by the site?

The data collected on the site is maintained on databases that are housed in equipment stored in secure, limited access facilities. Access to the database is restricted to those employees that are responsible for collecting the data and those whose duties require them to use the data.

What Privacy Issues Arise with Links to Other Sites?

This Web site contains links to other web sites. NANTUCKET RETINA has no control over and is not responsible for the privacy policies or content of such sites.

What Means of Redress Are Available?

• If any user suspects NANTUCKET RETINA has handled its personal information in a manner that does not comply with this privacy statement, please contact us by e-mailing to nantucketretina@aol.com or by calling 617-227-8767.
   
• If, in the unlikely event that the user continues to be dissatisfied with NANTUCKET RETINA's handling of their personal information after contacting our office, the matter will be referred to the TRUSTe, an alternative dispute resolution mechanism that provides Web users a place to turn to if they believe their privacy has been violated. Complaints can be filed at nantucketretina@aol.com or 617-227-8767.