Draft policy, not yet in effect

510pen is committed to protecting the privacy of users of our network services, visitors to our website, and members. 510pen has established this Privacy Policy to explain what information we collect through our network services and this website and how this information is used.

In this policy, "510pen" refers to 510pen staff, board members, cooperating attorneys, volunteers, and consultants, all of whom are bound by law or contract to keep information they receive as part of their assistance to 510pen confidential.

510pen does not sell or rent user information under any circumstances, and does not share information without prior consent except as compelled by law. (See discussion below.)

Information gathered by the 510pen.org website

For visitors to the 510pen website, we temporarily log standard technical information, such as the numerical Internet protocol (IP) address of the computer you are using; the browser software you use and your operating system; and the Internet address of the website from which you followed a link to our site, for up to one week. The information is kept for one week primarily to assist 510pen in diagnosing technical problems and defending against attacks on the site.

After one week, 510pen aggregates and/or deletes unneeded technical information. Circumstances in which 510pen may need to retain technical information longer than one week include when we believe it is reasonably necessary for conducting site testing, diagnosis of technical problems, and defending against attacks on the site. In those instances we will delete the information as soon as it is apparent the information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was kept.

510pen does not use persistent cookies on this site unless you log in, in which case a persistent session cookie is created. You can set your browser to refuse cookies.

In addition, 510pen collects and retains information you submit to us. It is up to you whether to submit information to us, and how much information to provide. If you choose to become an 510pen member or register as a user, we ask for your name, title, email address, city, state, postal code, country of residence, and phone number, and we may invite you to select a password. For those conducting a transaction, we also ask for your credit card number. We also maintain records of our members' use of the website, and you may wish to indicate your particular interests in your profile. If you place an order for equipment from 510pen, you are asked to provide personal information, such as a shipping address, necessary to complete your transaction.

We may ask for additional personal information when you post content, provide feedback or comments, or otherwise communicate with us.

If you choose to subscribe to 510pen notifications, we collect your email address, and, if you choose to provide it, a zip or postal code.

From time to time, we may ask for personal information on other portions of the site, such as adding a mesh network node.

Information gathered by the 510pen mesh network

Routers on the 510pen mesh network and the 510pen mesh network dashboard collect identifying information including IP addresses, hardware MAC addresses, and computer names, as well as information on upload and download bandwidth usage by particular IP addresses and hardware MAC addresses. Such information is stored for 24 hours and then purged. Identifying information related to DHCP leases may be repeatedly renewed by users' devices, in effect causing it to be stored for longer than 24 hours.

In certain circumstances, 510pen may need to retain technical information longer than 24 hours, including when we believe it is reasonably necessary for conducting testing, diagnosis of technical problems, and defending against abuse of the service. In those instances we will delete the information as soon as it is apparent the information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was kept.

Routers on the 510pen network are not owned or operated by 510pen; they are the property of 510pen network members and users. 510pen cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of routers and other third-party devices on the network.

510pen's Use of Information

In general, 510pen uses the information provided by you to further its mission, build community and provide reliable, free or low-cost network access.

We use member information to process and manage your membership or contribution. If you opt in, we will use your email address to send you updates and alerts. If you choose to complete the "Please tell us why you are joining 510pen" field, this information may be shared with the entire 510pen staff and board, and select unattributed quotes may be used to promote our mission, such as including a relevant quote in a grant proposal.

If you invite another person to join 510pen, we will ask for that person's name and online contact information. We use this information to contact and, if necessary, remind that person that he or she has been invited to join 510pen.

If you post a message on the forum or other content, 510pen will use your account's name or pseudonym to provide you with credit.

We may run surveys, polls, or similar activities through this site. Such information will be used for the purposes for which it was collected.

We look at technical information to diagnose problems with our servers, network services, and third-party devices on the network, and to administer the 510pen website and network.

We compile aggregated data on the estimated number of users of 510pen services and their approximate location by neighborhood or postal code, and total bandwidth usage at each node, gateway or access point.

We analyze usage data collected in the past 24 hours to identify users who are abusing network services.

Third-Party Service Providers

Portions of the 510pen.org site contain embedded third-party content Third parties may place cookies on your computer in order to store information, and may collect other information related to your usage of the embedded content. 510pen is not responsible for the privacy policies and practices of any embedded website.

From time to time, 510pen may work with third-party consultants or other service providers who may have access to personally identifiable information. In such cases, we will restrict their use of personally identifiable information in accordance with their assigned tasks and subject to the limitations of this privacy policy.

510pen's site provides links to a wide variety of third-party websites. 510pen is not responsible for, and does not have any control over, the privacy practices or the content of such third parties. We encourage users to read the privacy policies of any website visited.

Routers on the 510pen mesh network may submit identifying and aggregated usage information to a third party dashboard service at open-mesh.com. Open-mesh.com tracks only the computer MAC address, DHCP computer name if provided, and aggregate upload and download bandwidth usage. This data is tracked and saved only for 24 hours, and then purged. Other information such as websites visited is not disclosed to or tracked by open-mesh.com or any other third party.

Disclosure of Your Information

While 510pen endeavors to provide the highest level of protection for your information, we may disclose personally identifiable information about you to third parties in limited circumstance, including: (1) with your consent; or (2) when we have a good faith belief it is required by law, such as pursuant to a subpoena or other judicial or administrative order.

If we are required by law to disclose the information that you have submitted, we will attempt to provide you with notice (unless we are prohibited) that a request for your information has been made in order to give you an opportunity to object to the disclosure. We will attempt to provide this notice by email, if you have given us an email address, or by postal mail if you have entered a postal address. If you do not challenge the disclosure request, we may be legally required to turn over your information.

In addition, we will independently object to requests for access to information about users of our network services and website that we believe to be improper.

Updating or Removing Your Information

You may choose to correct, update, or delete the membership information you have submitted to 510pen by sending an email requesting changes to www@510pen.org. Furthermore, if we inadvertently collect more personal information than intended, we endeavor to delete the extraneous information. However, please understand that deleted information may continue to persist on backup media.

Changes to Our Policies

510pen's Privacy Policy may change from time to time. However, any revised privacy policy will be consistent with 510pen's mission. If we make any substantive changes to our policies, we will send a notice to users who have subscribed to notifications, and post notice of changes on this page.

Security

510pen employs industry standard security measures to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. Information submitted through https://510pen.org/ is encrypted through a Secured Socket Layer (SSL) connection, which protects the information in transit.

Although we make good faith efforts to store information collected by 510pen in a secure operating environment, we cannot guarantee complete security. Information collected by 510pen will be maintained for a length of time appropriate to our needs. However, we generally do not retain credit card information.