Privacy Policy

Approved by the RFW Board of Directors, October 9, 2024

Who We Are

We are Regency Fiction Writers, Inc. (RFW), a US-based non-profit dedicated to advancing the professional interests of writers of the extended Regency era (1780-1840) through inclusion, networking, marketing, advocacy, and education.

Our web address is: www.regencyfictionwriters.org.

What Personal Data We Collect and Why We Collect It

When visitors leave comments on the blog or post on the forums, we collect the data shown in the comment or post form, including but not limited to name, username, email address, website, profile picture, and the visitor’s IP address and browser-user agent string. This information is retained by RFW. 

RFW utilizes the web service Gravatar to allow visitors who leave comments on the blog or who post on the forums to create a profile and associated avatar image, which is associated with their email address. RFW may create and share a “hashed email address” or “hash” to Gravatar to verify your email address. A “hashed email address” is a way to identify users without utilizing or sharing any personal information. The email address is converted to a fixed-length string of characters which does not reference your name. By electing to post on RFW’s blog or in its forums, you are confirming that you have read and agree to Gravatar’s privacy policy. The Gravatar privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment or post, your profile picture is visible to the public and is associated with your comment or post.

We also collect information about visitors who comment or make submissions on webpages, including but not limited to registration forms, conference forms, Regency Realm submissions, guest post submissions, blogs, and/or forums.

The information we collect may include the commenter’s IP address, user agent, referrer, as well as site URL, and any information provided by the visitor themselves, including but not limited to their name, username, email address, and their comment itself.

Media

If you upload images to the website, please avoid uploading images with embedded location data included (EXIF GPS) to prevent any location data being extracted from such images by third parties. RFW will not attempt to extract location data. Images that violate Regency Fiction Writers’ standards may also be deleted, including but not limited to any images that are obscene, discriminatory, harassing, lewd, or vulgar. By uploading an image or content, of any kind, to the website, you are representing and warranting that you possess any and all intellectual property rights related to the same, and you agree to defend, indemnify and hold RFW harmless from and against any and all claims, of any kind, related to such content, including but not limited to those related to intellectual property rights. 

Contact Forms

If you use a contact form, your name, email address, and message that you submit are captured and used to send an email to Regency Fiction Writers. Contact form submissions are retained by Regency Fiction Writers. The information submitted through them is not provided to third parties for marketing purposes, but may be utilized by Regency Fiction Writers.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt-in to save your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so there is no need to fill in details again. The website may utilize cookies generally. 

If you have an account that is associated with RFW and you log in to this site, we set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen option cookies last for a year. Selecting “Remember Me” means login cookies persist for two weeks. Login cookies are removed after logging out.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie is saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article. It expires after one day.

Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles and forum posts on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). RFW makes no representations about any third-party website that hosts this embedded content. By clicking on any embedded content, you understand that you may be redirected to a third-party website and that you will be subject to the data privacy policy and/or practices of that website. These websites may collect data, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, monitor interactions with that embedded content, including tracing interactions with the embedded content, or otherwise and without limitation. By agreeing to this policy, you are waiving any and all claims against RFW for any act or omission, of any kind, of these third-party websites. 

Analytics

Currently, Regency Fiction Writers, Inc. does not share or sell any personal data collected and has no plans to do so in the future.

Membership Database

We use a database and QuickBooks to store information about Regency Fiction Writers members. We also store information for anyone signed up for Academe classes, Conferences, Monthly Teas, or other events and/or contests, whether or not they are a member. The information retained by RFW consists of information supplied by the individual user, specifically: name, email address, mailing address, billing address, phone number, and credit card/payment information, without limitation. Regency Fiction Writers may utilize third-party platforms to process payments. Anyone utilizing these platforms is subject to the data retention practices and user policies of those platforms and consents to the same. In regards to, QuickBooks, please review the Intuit Global Privacy Statement, which can be found here: https://www.intuit.com/privacy/statement/. Regency Fiction Writers may obtain access to certain payment information through its use of these platforms. By utilizing these platforms, you are consenting to these practices. 

How Long We Retain Personal Data

Comments made to a RFW blog and/or forum, and all related metadata, are retained indefinitely, except that Academe classroom forums are deleted after the class ends. 

For anyone who registers on our website for any event and/or class, we store the personal information they provide in a profile, which includes but is not limited to: name, username, email address, website, profile picture, and the visitor’s IP address and browser-user agent string. Individuals may access their profile at any time and can edit or delete this information. A username cannot be changed. Website administrators can also see and edit individual profiles and the information associated with an individual profile. This profile information is in addition to the information retained in RFW’s database as explained above. 

Your Rights Over Your Data

Anyone with an account on this site, or who has left comments, can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Your Contact Info

Your contact information is stored in our database and in your profile unless you tell us in writing to remove all your data, or in the case of your profile, if you delete the information there. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

How We Protect Your Data

RFW takes reasonable steps to safeguard data and strives to protect this information. RFW utilizes encryption tools, maintains host software for security, utilizes web security tools, and monitors updates to software as appropriate. 

Data Breach Procedures in Place

We regularly check the RFW site for SQL interjections from an unknown source. We use CSP, content security policies, which tells browsers how and what JavaScript is allowed to run.

Automated Decision Making and Profiling

Your data may be used for analytics to help Regency Fiction Writers, Inc. determine if an Academe class, Monthly Tea, Conference Events or Contest are feasible. Your data includes, but is not limited to, your name, username, email address, website, profile picture, visitor’s IP address and browser-user agent string, together with any other information that may be entered or generated due to your use of the website. 

Where We Send Your Data

Any comments in the RFW blog and/or forums are checked through an automated spam detection service. By posting on the RFW blog and/or in the forums, you are agreeing that RFW may utilize spam detection services in relation to your post. Membership data and financial transactions are processed through third-party entities. By making a payment to RFW online, you agree to the terms and conditions of these third-party entities and waive any claims against RFW related to the same. 

What Third Parties Provide Us Data 

We receive limited financial data for transactions related to membership, Academe classes, and events, including the Conference and Monthly Tea.

Industry Disclosure Requirements

This document is the industry standard for regulatory disclosure.

Disaster Recovery Plan

A Recovery Plan is being investigated.

How to Contact Us

You can reach Regency Fiction Writers, Inc. through email at president (at) regencyfictionwriters (dot) org or through regular mail at the following address:

Regency Fiction Writers
1940 Fountain View Dr #1134
Houston, TX 77057-3206 USA