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Ask Leo! – Terms, Conditions, Privacy Policies, and such

Questions & Comments

I try to answer as many questions as I can, but …

Due to the volume of questions and comments I receive, I simply cannot answer everyone. I can’t guarantee that I’ll answer yours. If I know that your question is already answered by an article on Ask Leo!, I’ll often assume you’ve found the answer there, and not respond. (For even more information: Why didn’t you answer my question?)

I can’t guarantee how quickly I’ll respond. My criteria for selecting which questions or comments to answer and when is based on my level of expertise in the area, my level of interest, trends I’ve noticed in the questions I’m getting, as well as the amount of time I have available. To the outside world that means the criteria and timing can most safely be described as “random”.

By submitting a question or a comment, via the website or via direct email, you grant Puget Sound Software LLC, Ask Leo! and Leo A. Notenboom the unrestricted right to publish or reuse that question in other forms, including but not limited to other publications and web sites. Questions may be edited as needed prior to publication. Your email address is never published (unless you include it in a public comment posting. See below.).

Answers

All of my answers, suggestions, and recommendations, whether directed at you specifically or as found on this website, are taken entirely at your own risk. I can’t see your computer or all of the specific information that might affect my answer. Every situation is different. Similarly, I cannot be held responsible for your actions or what you do with my answer.

Posted Comments

By posting a comment you grant Puget Sound Software LLC, Ask Leo! and Leo A. Notenboom the unrestricted right to publish or reuse that comment in other forms, including but not limited to other publications and websites.

I may remove any comment at any time for any reason. Normally, this is so I can remove “comment spam” or other inappropriate posts, but ultimately I retain the right to remove anything at any time for any reason.

Comments, by their nature, are immediately and publicly visible to all visitors – they are not private.

Do not post information you consider to be private in nature.

Puget Sound Software LLC assumes no liability for statements made in comments, or any offense that might be taken by readers of those comments. I can not review the accuracy of comments. I do my best to remove inappropriate comments, but I cannot warrant that I’ll remove them all, remove them in a timely manner, or even agree on what might be found “offensive”.

Copyright & Trademark

Information on Ask Leo! is published under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license, with the following exceptions:

  • All information published in Ask Leo! books, whether sold or given away. This content is all rights reserved under international copyright law.
  • All information presented in “members only” pages. This content is all rights reserved under international copyright law.

You can read more about Ask Leo!’s use of Creative Commons here on the Creative Commons License page, including examples of permitted and prohibited re-use.

In addition, for clarification:

  • You may view (i.e. download to your computer and view in your browser) all content on this site. (Yes, I know, that’s how the internet works, but lawyers like it when we codify the obvious.)
  • You may quote, with attribution, portions of articles as per “fair use” copyright laws.
  • You may link to specific articles or the home page of this site.

Ask Leo! the Ask Leo! logo, Puget Sound Software and the Puget Sound Software logo are trademarks of Puget Sound Software LLC. Other trademarks on the site are the property of third parties unrelated to Puget Sound Software.

Ask Leo! is a registered trademark of Leo Notenboom and Puget Sound Software, LLC.

Third Parties

Other websites point to this site, this website points to other sites and also accepts advertising from third-party advertisers. Leo A. Notenboom and/or Puget Sound Software LLC can not be held liable for claims or losses arising from any of these third parties.

Privacy Policy

The only information I retain is a) your question, and your email address if included with that question, b) email we might exchange, and c) your comments, and any information you’ve entered as part of that comment.

If you sign up for my newsletter, the only information retained by my mailing list service provider is your email address, your name (if provided), the date and time of your subscription, and the IP address from which you subscribed.

If you make a purchase from The Ask Leo! Store, we may retain any and all information you provide there and may share that information with appropriate payment processors and/or fulfillment processors in order to process your transaction.

I value your privacy, and I don’t share email addresses or personal information with any third party without your explicit prior permission. The only exception would be the acquisition, merger, or sale in bankruptcy of Puget Sound Software, LLC.

It is not our intention to collect personal information from anyone under 13 years of age. If you are under 13, you may not enter information on this Web site, but must have a parent do so for you. Otherwise, we must have express written permission from a parent or guardian before you may use this site.

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.

Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on your site. Google’s use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and other sites on the Internet. Users may opt-out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the  Google ad and content network privacy policy page.

We use Google Analytics to analyze our website traffic.

We may also use other third-party companies to serve ads and collect non-personally identifiable information (e.g., the pages you visit, and which links you click, which ads you see and click on, and the categories of search terms you enter) when you visit our web site. These companies may use the information outlined above (which does not include your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. These companies often use a cookie or third-party web beacon to collect this information. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.

Recommendations

Articles I’ve written that include the term “recommended” are just that — products that I personally recommend. To be recommended, I need personal experience with it. That experience comes in either of two forms:

  • I’ve read the book or used the product myself.
  • I know or have a relationship with the author of the product and feel comfortable recommending it based on my knowledge of that individual and their reputation.

On rare occasions, when a reputation is so strong as to warrant it, I may make a recommendation based on that alone, but I’ll likely be clear about it.

In no case should my recommendation be considered a guarantee of any sort. As stated above all the information on Ask Leo! is taken entirely at your own risk, and my recommendations are no exception.

I value your experience: if you have experience, good or bad, with one of the products I recommend, I’d love to hear about it. Use the Ask Leo! Form to submit your comments. I’m always open to updating my recommendations.

In NO CASE is an advertisement on the site that uses the word “Recommended”, or a variation thereof, an actual recommendation that I’ve made. Advertisers have used this type of misleading representation to fool you into thinking they’re “recommended” by the site hosting the ad. That is not the case, and I generally try to weed out those ads when I see or hear about them. See the section on Ads below.

Reviews and Recommendations and Affiliate Links

Please see the Product Reviews, Recommendations and Affiliate Links Disclosure page.

Ads

The majority of the advertising on Ask Leo! is provided by and controlled by Google and other third-party advertising networks. I do not choose which ads are displayed.

In all cases, an advertisement does not imply any form of endorsement, recommendation or guarantee on the part of Leo A. Notenboom or Puget Sound Software, LLC.. While I attempt to make sure that ads are at least marginally appropriate for my audience, as I perceive it, there is no guarantee of the quality, appropriateness, or nature of the products or services being advertised.

As with all advertising on all media, you are ultimately responsible for what you choose to purchase or pay attention to.

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