CD of the Month
CD-ROMs

Your privacy on the Internet is of the utmost importance to us. Because we gather certain types of information about the users of Planet-Groove, we feel you should fully understand the terms and conditions surrounding the capture and use of that information. This privacy statement discloses what information we gather, how we use it, and how to correct or change it.

Information Planet-Groove gathers and tracks

Planet-Groove gathers two types of information about users: data that users provide through optional, voluntary registrations and in certain contests and sweepstakes; and data Planet-Groove gathers through aggregating tracking information derived mainly by tallying page views throughout the site. Such information enables us to better tailor our content to readers' needs and to help our advertisers better understand the demographics of our audience. Because Planet-Groove derives its revenue mainly from advertising, providing such aggregated demographic data is essential to keeping our service free to users. The only situation in which Planet-Groove divulges information about an individual user to a third party is with certain contests and sweepstakes -- and then, only with the user's express consent.

Planet-Groove gathers user information in the following processes:

Optional Registration

Planet-Groove offers free, voluntary registration to users. By registering, users gain access to several extra services.

During registration the user is required to supply a username, password, and email address, and must answer mandatory survey questions about age, gender, Internet connection and country.

Polling
Planet-Groove offers interactive polls to users so they can easily share their opinions with other users and see what the Planet-Groove audience thinks about important issues. Planet-Groove uses a system to "tag" users after they have voted, so they can vote only once on a particular question. This tag is not correlated with information about individual users.

Message Boards/Forums

Users of the Planet-Groove Message Boards/Forums must register separately for these services (free of charge) in order to post messages, although they needn't register to visit the site. During registration the user is required to supply a username, password and email address.

Newsletters

Planet-Groove offers a free electronic newsletter to users. Planet-Groove gathers the email addresses of users who voluntarily subscribe. Users may remove themselves from this mailing list through the subscription pages. Users can also subscribe to the newsletters at the time of registration.

Planet-Groove delivers newsletters, marketing and product offerings via email to only registered recipients.

Contests

Planet-Groove offers contests in which we request certain personal information. At a minimum, the required information includes name and email address; in some cases, the user must answer mandatory survey questions about a range of other personal data. The information gathered in the entry form is used to verify the entrant's identity, to send the entrant an email notification that their entry has been received, and to contact winners and/or prize recipients. There are two situations in which Planet-Groove will divulge this information to a third party -- provided the user gives express consent:

1. A user may expressly choose to receive additional information from the contest sponsor, in which case the user's personally identifiable information is divulged to the advertiser.

2. Some of the contests may be hosted on the Planet-Groove site but administered by the sponsor; in such cases, the information a user provides is passed on to the third party as long as that user gives express consent.

Because the rules and terms of each contest can vary, all information about each contest is clearly posted during the event.

Usage Tracking

Planet-Groove tracks user traffic patterns.

Planet-Groove sometimes tracks and catalogs the search terms that users enter in search fields, but this tracking is never associated with individual users.

Third-Party Ad Servers

Some of our advertisers use third-party advertising companies to serve their ads on our sites. These third-party advertising companies employ cookie technology to measure ad effectiveness. To do so, these companies may use information about your visits to our sites and other Web sites. Unless you are otherwise notified, these advertising companies do not use names, addresses, email addresses, or telephone numbers and they do not link any online actions or cookies to an identifiable person. Use of their cookies is subject to their own privacy policies. If you would like more information about the privacy policies of the third-party advertisers on Planet-Groove, check their sites:

Use of the Information

Planet-Groove uses any information voluntarily given by our users to enhance their experience in our website, whether to provide interactive or personalized elements on the site or to better prepare future content based on the interests of our users.

• As stated above, Planet-Groove uses information that users voluntarily provide in order to send out electronic newsletters and to enable users to participate in polls, contests and message boards. We send out newsletters to subscribers on a regular schedule (daily or weekly, depending on the newsletter), and occasionally send out special editions when we think subscribers might be particularly interested in something we are doing. Planet-Groove never shares newsletter mailing lists with any third parties, including advertisers or partners.
• When we use tracking information to determine which areas of our sites users like and don't like based on traffic to those areas. Planet-Groove does not track what individual users read, but rather how well each page performs overall. This helps us continue to build a better service for you.
• We track search terms as one of many measures of what interests our users. But we don't track which terms a particular user enters.
• Planet-Groove creates aggregrate reports on user demographics and traffic patterns for advertisers and partners. This allows our advertisers to advertise more effectively, and allows our users to receive advertisements that are pertinent to their needs.

Sharing of the Information

Planet-Groove uses the above-described information to tailor our content to suit your needs and help our advertisers better understand our audience's demographics. This is essential to keeping our service free. We do not share information about individual users with any third party, except in the case of some contests --and then, only with a user's express consent. Planet-Groove may make registration records and log files available on a confidential basis to third-party auditors and to select measurement and analysis firms.

Opt-out Policy

Planet-Groove gives users options wherever necessary and practical. Such choices include:

• Opting not to receive our electronic newsletters when registering for the website
• Opting not to provide certain personal information when registering for the website or when participating in some contests
• Opting not to participate in certain interactive areas, which completely alleviates the need to gather any personally identifiable information from our users

Correct/Update Policy

Planet-Groove offers users the ability to correct or change the information collected during registration for the website. Users may change this information at any time and as often as necessary.

Delete/Deactivate Policy