Policies


 

Terms of Use

AAPT/ComPADRE provides resources for, information about, and links to educational material in Physics and Astronomy. The editorial staff of the various ComPADRE collections and services screen resources before inclusion in the library. Materials submitted by users are judged on their accuracy and appropriateness to the mission of the different collections.

All information about resources cataloged in the AAPT/ComPADRE collections is the property of the AAPT and its partners and collaborators. This information may be used or copied freely with proper references to ComPADRE and the collections. Materials hosted by or linked to from ComPADRE are not, generally, the property of the AAPT. Users are strongly encouraged to understand and follow all copyright restrictions on this material, and contact authors or publishers with any questions. AAPT and its partners are not responsible for materials outside of their control, although inappropriate materials will be promptly removed when found. Any concerns regarding materials cataloged in the library or collections, including possible copyright infringements, should be brought to the attention of the ComPADRE collections editors.

The AAPT and its partners are not responsible for any losses or damages caused by use of this site, or by the materials hosted by ComPADRE or linked to from the database.


 

Privacy Policy

In most cases, the AAPT/ComPADRE resources and services can be accessed without providing any personal information.

An individual may create an AAPT/ComPADRE account that will allow greater interactions with the collections: to contribute to the community, participate in discussions, build personal resource libraries, customize their site interaction, and to take part in other member-only features. Contributions are attributed to the user’s account profile. ComPADRE, the AAPT, and partners identified on specific collections do not otherwise disclose, give, or transfer personally identifiable information to third parties without a user's explicit permission unless required by law.

Aggregated usage information is collected for statistical purposes and may be used to help improve the site. Details regarding the use of cookies and analytics is described below.

The AAPT/ComPADRE collections use first-party cookies, internal logs, and Google Analytics to track usage patterns in order to improve the site, diagnose problems, analyze trends, and understand the impact on the communities served. For instance, search terms may be tracked to improve the discovery of relevant materials.

Aggregated information about usage patterns may be made available publicly, such as in program evaluation reports or publications. This aggregated information does not include personally identifiable information. We do not provide personally identifiable information to Google Analytics.

INFORMATION VISIBLE TO OTHER USERS

Registered users may create user profiles to personalize their contributions to collections. For some contributions, this information will be available to other registered users. Your e-mail address is never publicly visible.

The AAPT/ComPADRE resource collections display the names and institutions of authors and co-authors of publicly available materials. This information information is necessary to meet academic standards of attribution and citation. Please exercise caution when deciding to disclose any sensitive information on ComPADRE. Never submit content if you do not have the authority to share that information publicly.

USER ACTIVITY LOGGING

If you are a registered user, your actions may be identifiably logged locally to personalize your experience. We may use these logs to share site activity back to you to improve your experience, for example by showing you materials you have recently viewed or downloaded or notifying you about updates to materials you have downloaded. These logs may also be used by ComPADRE editorial and technical team members to troubleshoot problems or improve the site.

E-MAIL

Registered users may opt in to receive e-mail updates from AAPT/ComPADRE collections. You can manage your e-mail preferences from your profile page.

Registered users will also receive notifications about updates to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

FEEDBACK

Some ComPADRE collections use third-party software for collecting user feedback. If you provide contact information in this feedback, that information will be used only to respond directly to your questions or comments, to investigate issues with the site, and/or to help improve the site.

COOKIES

A cookie is a small piece of information sent to your browser when you access a webpage. A session cookie is a line of text stored temporarily in your computer's memory. Because a session cookie is never saved, it is destroyed when you close your browser. ComPADRE collections use session cookies during user visits to apply user preferences and improve functionality. Certain applications require session cookies to function correctly. If you have session cookies disabled, you may not be able to use some features of our site.

A persistent cookie is a more permanent line of text that is saved by your browser. Persistent cookies are used for features like the “remember me” feature and for determining whether a user has acknowledged the cookie usage notice. Google Analytics and third party software for collecting user feedback also use persistent cookies.

CHILDREN'S GUIDELINES

The AAPT/ComPADRE collections do not cater to visitors under 13 years old. If it is found that a user under the age of 13 has registered or provided personally identifiable information, that user's account will be deleted and their identifiable information will be removed from the database.

SECURITY

ComPADRE has security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information under our control. If you have any questions about the security of our site, please contact us.

ACCOUNT DELETION

To have your user account removed from our database, please contact us. Your account will be removed within one month of our verification of your request.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

We may disclose personal information when required by law or in good-faith belief that such action is necessary in order to conform to the edicts of the law.

NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES

We reserve the right to change this policy. We will notify registered users of the ComPADRE if a material change will be made to our privacy policy.


 

Acceptable Use Policy

  1. INTRODUCTION

    AAPT/ComPADRE's Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") is intended to help enhance the use of the various collections and services by preventing unacceptable use. All users of ComPADRE ("the Collections") - those who access some of our Services but do not have accounts ("Guests"), as well as those who have registered accounts with us ("Members") - must comply with this AUP.

    In accordance with our Terms & Conditions, we may remove any materials that, in our sole discretion, may be illegal, may subject us to liability, or which may violate this AUP. Your violation of this AUP may result in the suspension or termination of your membership account. This AUP should be read in conjunction with our Terms & Condition.

  2. VIOLATIONS OF THE ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

    The following constitute violations of this AUP:

    1. Illegal use. Using the Collections to transmit any material (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that, intentionally or unintentionally, violates any applicable local, state, national or international law, or any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder.
    2. Harm to minors. Using the Collections to harm, or attempt to harm, minors in any way.
    3. Threats. Using the Collections to transmit any material (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that threatens or encourages bodily harm or destruction of property.
    4. Harassment. Using the Collections to transmit any material (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that harasses another.
    5. Fraudulent activity. Using the Collections to make fraudulent offers to sell or buy products, items, or services or to advance any type of financial scam such as "pyramid schemes," "Ponzi schemes," and "chain letters."
    6. Forgery or impersonation. Adding, removing or modifying identifying network header information in an effort to deceive or mislead is prohibited. Attempting to impersonate any person by using forged headers or other identifying information is prohibited. The use of anonymous remailers or nicknames does not constitute impersonation. Using deliberately misleading headers ("munging" headers) in news postings in order to avoid spam e-mail address collectors is allowed.
    7. Unsolicited commercial e-mail/Unsolicited bulk e-mail. Using the Collections to transmit any unsolicited commercial e-mail or unsolicited bulk e-mail. Activities that have the effect of facilitating unsolicited commercial e-mail or unsolicited bulk e-mail whether or not that e-mail is commercial in nature, are prohibited.
    8. Unauthorized access. Using the Collections to access, or to attempt to access, the accounts of others, or to penetrate, or attempt to penetrate, security measures of the Collections' or another entity's computer software or hardware, electronic communications system, or telecommunications system, whether or not the intrusion results in the corruption or loss of data.
    9. Copyright or trademark infringement. Using the Collections to transmit any material (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other proprietary rights of any third party, including, but not limited to, the unauthorized copying of copyrighted material, the digitization and distribution of photographs from magazines, books, or other copyrighted sources, and the unauthorized transmittal of copyrighted software.
    10. Collection of personal data. Using the Collections to collect, or attempt to collect, personal information about third parties without their knowledge or consent.
    11. Network disruptions and unfriendly activity. Using the Collections for any activity which adversely affects the ability of other people or systems to use the Collections or the Internet. This includes "denial of service" (DoS) attacks against another network host or individual user. Interference with or disruption of other network users, network services or network equipment is prohibited.
  3. REPORTING VIOLATIONS OF THIS AUP

    ComPADRE requests that anyone who believes that there is a violation of this AUP direct the information to UserFeedback@compadre.org. If available, please provide the following information:

    • The IP address used to commit the alleged violation
    • The date and time of the alleged violation, including the time zone or offset from GMT
    • Evidence of the alleged violation
    E-mail with full header information provides all of the above. Other situations will require different methods of providing the above information.

    ComPADRE may take any one or more of the following actions in response to complaints:

    • issue warnings: written or verbal
    • suspend the Member's forum posting privileges
    • suspend the Member's account
    • terminate the Member's account
    • bill the Member for administrative costs and/or reactivation charges
    • bring legal action to enjoin violations and/or to collect damages, if any, caused by violations.