Privacy Policy

This site is owned and operated by MassEquality.org and MassEquality Education Fund, Inc. Your privacy on the Internet is of the utmost importance to us. At MassEquality.org, we want to make your experience online satisfying and safe. Because we gather certain types of information about users, 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 and how we use it.

What Type of Information We Gather

MassEquality.org gathers two types of information about users:

  • Information that users provide through optional, voluntary submissions. These are voluntary submissions to participate in the message boards or forums, and from participation in polls and surveys.
  • Information MassEquality.org gathers through aggregated tracking information derived mainly by tallying page views throughout the sites. This information allows us to better tailor content to readers' needs. Under no circumstances do we divulge any information about an individual user to a third party.

How We Gather Information

MassEquality.org may gather user information using the following processes:

  • Electronic newsletter: We offer a free electronic newsletter to users. MassEquality.org gathers the email addresses of users who voluntarily subscribe. Users may remove themselves from this mailing list by following the link provided in every newsletter that points users to the subscription management page.
  • Take Action tools: Some of our Take Action tools require the user enter their name, mailing address, and/or email address and phone number. Under no circumstances do we divulge any information about an individual user to a third party.
  • Polling: We may offer interactive polls to users so they can easily share their opinions with other users and see what our audience thinks about important issues. Opinions or other responses to polls are aggregated and are not identifiable to any particular user. MassEquality.org may use 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.
  • Usage tracking: MassEquality.org tracks user traffic patterns throughout all of the site. However, we do not correlate this information with data about individual users. MassEquality.org does break down overall usage statistics according to a user's domain name, browser type, and MIME type by reading this information from the browser string (information contained in every user's browser).
  • Site Search: MassEquality.org sometimes tracks and catalogs the search terms that users enter in Search function, but this tracking is never associated with individual users. We use tracking information to determine which areas of the site users like and don't like based on traffic to those areas. We do 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.

What We Do With Information We Gather

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

As stated above, we use information that users voluntarily provide in order to send out electronic newsletters and to enable users to participate in polls, surveys, message boards, and forums. We send out newsletters to subscribers on a regular schedule (depending on the newsletter), and occasionally send out special editions when we think subscribers might be particularly interested in something. We never share newsletter mailing lists with any third parties, including advertisers, or sponsors.

When we use tracking information to determine which areas of the site users like and don't like based on traffic to those areas. We do 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 entered in Search function as one of many measures of what interests our users. But we don't track which terms a particular user enters.

Do We Share Information We Gather?

MassEquality.org uses the above-described information to tailor content to suit your needs. We will not share information about individual users with any third party, except to comply with applicable law or valid legal process or to protect the personal safety of our users or the public.

Opt-Out Policy

We give users options wherever necessary and practical. Such choices include:

  • Opting not to register to receive our electronic newsletters.
  • Opting not to participate in certain interactive areas, which completely alleviate the need to gather any personally identifiable information from our users.

Your Consent

By using this site, you consent to the collection and use of this information by MassEquality.org. If we decide to change the privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.