Privacy and Security Statement

This is the Privacy and Security Statement (“Statement”) for the website located at www.thisishardware.org (“Our Site”). This Statement describes how we collect your information through Our Site, the types of information we collect, what we do with that information, and your choices regarding that information.

  • (A) This Statement does not apply to websites not directly operated by ASME, including: (i) websites operated by individual ASME sections, subsections, groups, student sections, divisions, subdivisions, boards, committees, districts and other ASME-related groups for the benefit of their members or participants; (ii) websites operated by individual ASME Members; (iii) websites operated by ASME affiliates; (iv) the websites of those who sponsor portions of Our Site ("Sponsors"); or (v) any third-party websites linked to on Our Site. You should review those sites' privacy policies before using them or submitting any personally identifiable information to them.
  • (B) This Statement is part of the Terms of Use ("Terms") that govern your use of Our Site, so be sure to read those Terms . Please check the Terms (including this Statement) regularly, because we may modify them from time to time. We will notify you of a material change to the Terms in a manner commensurate with the nature of the change. Your continued use of Our Site after we have posted amended Terms constitutes your consent to the amended Terms. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us by sending an email to webmaster@asme.org.
  • (C) This Statement contains the following seven sections:
    • This Introduction is the first section.
    • The All Visitors section describes how we collect information from all visitors to Our Site (who are referred to in this Statement as "Visitors"), how we use Visitors' information, and the choices Visitors can make with regard to that information.
    • The Participants section describes how we collect information from those who register to use the social networking functions of Our Site (who are referred to in this Statement as "Participants"), how we use Participants' information, and the choices Participants can make with regard to that information.
    • The ASME Members section describes how we collect and make ASME Members' information available through Our Site, how ASME Members can make choices regarding our use of that information, and information related to services we provide to ASME Members.
    • The ASME Sections, Units, Programs, and Groups section describes how we use the information of leaders, volunteers, and other participants in ASME Sections, Units, Programs, and Groups on Our Site and the choices those people can make with regard to that use.
    • The General section contains provisions that apply to all users of Our Site and all information collected through Our Site.

All users of Our Site, including Participants and ASME Members, are Visitors. Users of Our Site may also fall into one or more of the other classes of users described in this Statement (i.e., they may be Participants, ASME Members, participants in ASME Sections, Units, Programs, and Groups, or ASME Peerlink users, if they have taken part in those activities).

  • (D) Accounts. You must create an account on Our Site if you wish to be a Participant in a competition.

2) All Visitors

This section describes how we collect information from Visitors, how we use that information, and the choices Visitors can make with regard to that information. This section applies to all Visitors to the site, whether or not they have created accounts to become Participants or ASME Members.

Please read this entire Statement, because Sections 3-7 contain additional provisions that may also apply to you. For example, Section 3 specifically describes how we collect and use Participants' information and Section 4 specifically describes how we collect and use ASME Members' information.

  • Collection of Information
    • Submissions
    • We collect the information you voluntarily submit through online forms, surveys and event registrations on Our Site, such as your name, contact information, employment information, age, and other information. We also collect the information that you provide to us about other people on certain parts of Our Site. For example, you may provide information about others when referring them for membership.
    • Customer Service
    • We collect the information you provide to us when you interact with our customer service team in order to identify and respond to your inquiries..
    • Cookies and Log Files
    • Our Site uses cookies to track site usage and trends, to improve the quality of our service, and to customize your experience on Our Site. These cookies allows us to recognize you when you return to Our Site using the same computer and web browser. The information collected through cookies does not identify you personally. You can remove or block cookies using the settings in your browser, though doing so may affect your ability to use Our Site.
    • Our Site also uses log files to track site usage and trends. When you visit Our Site, we automatically retain certain information that your computer sends to us, such as the URL of the site from which you came and the site to which you are going when you leave ASME, your IP address, and the type of web browser you are using. We use this information to analyze usage of Our Site and to improve the user experience. This information does not identify you personally.
  • Uses of Your Information; Sharing With Third Parties
    • Uses of Your Information
    • We use the information we collect from you, as described in Section 2(A), for the purposes for which you give it to us and other purposes of which we inform you and from which you do not choose to opt-out. These uses may include the following:
    • To fulfill your order for membership or goods or services;
    • To facilitate your organizational role for or attendance at an ASME-sponsored conference or other event;
    • To process registrations for events, courses and other ASME activities;
    • To conduct surveys and polls;
    • To develop and improve our services and activities;
    • To provide you with information on events, products and services, or other news that we think might interest you; and
    • To solicit new Members.
    • Sharing Information with Third Parties
    • ASME takes the privacy of our Visitors very seriously, and we do not sell, rent, or otherwise provide the information you provide through Our Site to third parties, except as described in this Statement, unless disclosure is reasonably necessary in our opinion to: (1) comply with legal process, including civil and criminal subpoenas, court orders or other compulsory disclosures; (2) enforce this Agreement; (3) respond to claims of a violation of the rights of third parties; (4) respond to customer service inquiries; or (5) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of ASME, our users, or the public.
    • ASME may share the information you provide through Our Site (but never Participant Information) with carefully selected third parties who offer information, goods or services that we think may be of interest to you. For example, ASME may provide this information to authorized ASME course providers, such as universities, if you have indicated via Our Site an interest in enrolling in our courses.
    • ASME uses third-party service providers (“Service Providers”) to provide certain services, such as hosting, software maintenance, database maintenance, address verification and credit card processing, which are necessary for ASME operations, including the operation of Our Site. These Service Providers may be supplied with or have access to the information you provide through Our Site, but only for the purpose of providing these services to ASME or on our behalf. These Service Providers are obligated to keep confidential the information you provide through Our Site. Certain portions of the information you provide through Our Site may also be made available to ASME volunteers in the course of their assisting us with communications or surveys.
  • Your Choices
  • If you do not want ASME or our selected third parties to send any communications to you, or if you want to limit the kinds of communications sent to you, you can indicate your preferences by (1) selecting the “unsubscribe” option in our emails, (2) contacting us by email at info@thisishardware.org (3) mailing your request to the ASME Service Center located at 150 Clove Road, Little Falls, NJ 07424-2100 , or (4) calling us at 1-800-THE ASME.

3) Participants

ASME operates the social networking functions available on Our Site to provide information to the public and to facilitate communication and networking among the engineering community. This section describes the information we collect from you through the social networking features on Our Site (“Participant Information”), how we use Participant Information, and your choices with regard to your Participant Information. Please read this entire Statement, because Section 2 applies to you, and Sections 4-7 may also apply to you. For example, Section 4 describes how we collect and use ASME Members’ information in connection with Our Site.

  • Information Collected
  • We collect Participant Information in the following ways:
    • Participant Profile—Required Information
    • In order to become a Participant, you must provide the following information: Name, email address, password, and primary field of technical interest. Without providing this information, you may not become an ASME Participant.
    • Participant Profile—Additional Information
    • ASME allows you to submit other information to be displayed in your Participant profile, which will be used in connection with your profile in accordance with your privacy settings (described in Section 3(C) below). This information includes your professional experience, title, photo, education, project, certifications, patents, publications, and other relevant information. We also provide a tool that allows you to import profile information that you have provided to LinkedIn. Providing any of this additional information about yourself is your choice. Any information you provide may be used by ASME as described in the Terms and this Statement.
    • Social Networking Features
    • By using the social networking features on Our Site, you transmit Participant Information to us. For example, if you submit Participant Information in the Question & Answer section of Our Site (“Q&A Section”), we will collect that information and use it as described in Section 3(B)(iv).
    • Customer Service
    • We collect information from you when you interact with our customer service team in order to identify and respond to your inquiries.
    • Cookies and Log files
    • Our Site uses cookies to track site usage and trends, to improve the quality of our service, and to customize your experience on Our Site. These cookies allows us to recognize you when you return to Our Site using the same computer and web browser. The information collected through cookies does not identify you personally. You can remove or block cookies using the settings in your browser, though doing so may impact your ability to use Our Site.
    • Our Site also uses log files to track site usage and trends. When you visit Our Site, we automatically retain certain information that your computer sends to us, such as the URL of the site from which you came and the site to which you are going when you leave ASME, your IP address, and the type of web browser you are using. We use this information to analyze usage of Our Site and to improve the user experience. This information does not identify you personally.
  • Uses of Your Participant Information In Your Participant Profile; Sharing Participant Information with Third Parties
    • Operating Our Site
    • ASME uses your Participant Information to operate the social networking features of Our Site. For example, we will display the information you provide for your Participant profile in your Participant profile so that others may learn about you and so that you may connect with others. In addition, your activity on the social networking portions of Our Site will be shared with Participants with whom you have connected. We provide you with robust tools to control who may view (1) the information in your Participant profile (except that which is required to remain public, described in Section 3(C)(ii)) and (2) your activity. Please see Section 3(C) for more details about these tools and how to control the sharing of your Participant Information. Portions of your Participant profile information will be available to the general public, including your name, field of technical interest, and work experience. This information may be crawled and displayed by third-party search engines when someone searches for your
    • ASME Communications
    • We may use your Participant Information to communicate with you through email, messages to your ASME inbox, or through other means available through our services. You can change your contact preferences at any time by logging into your account and changing your settings related to your notification choices.
    • Customized Content
    • We use your Participant Informatio n to customize your experience on Our Site. For example, when you log in to your account, the dashboard page will display activity on Our Site that may be relevant to you. The nature of the content that is displayed is based in part on the Participant Information you provide.
    • Question & Answer
    • If you participate in the Q&A Section, be aware that questions may be viewed by any Visitor, and answers may be viewed by other Participants. ASME is not responsible for the information and materials you choose to submit or disclosures you make in these forums.
    • For example, solely by way of illustration, here are some situations in which you should exercise particular caution prior to submitting an answer or comment in this forum:
    • A question or answer that involves any disclosure of your sensitive personal information, such as personal address, employment, family or other personal relationship data or finances;
    • A question or answer that involves disclosure of proprietary information which belongs to your employer and which is subject to the protection of any non-disclosure agreement or policy of that employer;
    • A question or answer that involves information which is subject to any applicable export control or other information security laws and, as such, which may not be lawfully exported to certain other countries or disclosed to others without some form of prior government approval;
    • A question or answer that involves copying and transmission of any copyrighted material (e.g., drawings, images, music, video, etc.) which belongs to some other person and such other person has not given lawful consent to its copying and transmission;
    • A question or answer that involves a derogatory commentary or opinion about a third person's reputation, judgment, integrity or other similar characteristics; or
    • A question or answer that involves profanity or patently offensive language (e.g., on account of religion, race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation or other similar factors).
    • Sharing Information with Third Parties
    • ASME takes the privacy of our Participants very seriously, and we do not sell, rent, or otherwise provide Participant Information to third parties, except as described in this Statement, unless disclosure is reasonably necessary in our opinion to: (1) comply with legal process, including, but not limited to, civil and criminal subpoenas, court orders or other compulsory disclosures; (2) enforce this Agreement; (3) respond to claims of a violation of the rights of third parties; (4) respond to customer service inquiries; or (5) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of ASME, our users or the public.
    • ASME uses third-party service providers (“Service Providers”) to provide certain services, such as hosting, software maintenance, and database maintenance, which are necessary for ASME operations, including the operation of Our Site. These Service Providers may be supplied with or have access to your Participant Information, but only for the purpose of providing these services to ASME or on our behalf. These Service Providers are obligated to keep Participant Information confidential.
  • Your Choices
  • The Participant Information you provide to ASME may reveal, or allow others to identify, your nationality, gender, age, professional information, and other aspects of your life. By providing your Participant Information to us, you expressly and voluntarily accept the terms and conditions of this Statement and ASME's Terms, including those governing ASME's use of your Participant Information. Providing your Participant Information to ASME is entirely voluntary. If you no longer wish to share your Participant Information you supplied to ASME for your ASME profile, you can revise your profile or close your account, as described in this section.
    • Accessing and Changing Your Profile Information
    • You can review the Participant information you provided for your profile and make changes to that information, or to the settings for your Participant account, at any time by logging in to the Participant account settings page on Our Site. After your change is processed, ASME may retain residual copies of the old information in its backup and/or archival copies of its database [for a limited period of time ].
    • Default Settings and Choices
    • We strive to offer you control over your Participant Information and how it is shared with other ASME Participants. We offer default settings and other pre-set settings that allow you to control how your Participant Information is displayed and used (e.g., in your profile); you may also customize these settings. You may choose these settings during the registration process, and you may adjust them at any time through your account settings. Some fields of your profile must remain public, including the information you provide regarding your name, field of technical interest, and work experience. If you do not wish to share this information with the public, you may deactivate or delete your account, as described in the next subsection.
    • Deactivating and Deleting Your Account
    • If you wish to close your Participant account, you have two options. You may deactivate your account or delete your account. If you deactivate your account, your profile will not be available to other Participants or the public, but we will keep a copy of the information associated with your account to facilitate your return if you ever wish to use the social networking features of Our Site again
    • If you delete your account, we will delete all information associated with your account, and if you ever wish to use the social networking features of Our Site again, you will need to re-submit all information associated with your account and re-establish all connections with other Participants.
    • Please note that, in order to maintain the continuity and integrity of the Q&A Section, your submissions to the Q&A Section will not be removed in connection with the deactivation or deletion of your account. Click Here if you wish to deactivate or delete your account.

4) ASME Members

(A) ASME Members' Information

  • You can apply to be an ASME Member by registering and paying on www.asme.org or by submitting your application by mail or fax. For more information on membership and how to join, please click here. ASME Members' information is made available in the ASME online membership directory, which ASME Members may view in the access-restricted Members section of Our Site. You can choose the information that will be made available to other ASME Members. Please contact us at * CustomerCare@asme.org if you wish to make changes to this information.
  • With regard to ASME Members in leadership or volunteer positions, ASME provides selected portions of those ASME Members' information for use in connection with the activities of the groups to which they belong. If you would like more information about ASME's policies concerning the use of Member data, click here.
  • ASME also shares Member mailing lists (i.e., names, street addresses and email addresses) with carefully selected third parties who offer information, goods or services that we think may be of interest to you. If you would like more information about ASME's policies concerning the distribution of mailing lists, click here.
  • ASME may also disclose information Members have provided to us through Our Site as described in Section 2(B)(ii).
  • If you prefer that we do not share your Member information with third parties, please contact us at CustomerCare@asme.org and we will respect your request. Please include your name and ASME Member number for identification purposes.

(B) Email Alias

ASME offers its Members an email alias. The alias is a simple "store and forward" mechanism that accepts email sent to the alias name and forwards it to the Member's actual email address. Once an email alias is issued to a Member, ASME makes no guarantees on the future privacy of the alias. Members use the email alias service at their own risk and must take sole responsibility for protecting against publication or misuse of their email aliases. ASME has taken measures to protect Members from spam in the form of adding third-party spam-blocking services; however, the software cannot guarantee complete spam blocking.

5) ASME Sections, Units, Programs, and Groups

If you serve as a leader or volunteer for an ASME section, division, board, committee, district or any other ASME Member group, or if you are a Member or non-Member who has assumed a leadership role in any activity or program that ASME conducts or sponsors, then ASME may display limited portions of the contact information you have provided to ASME in sections of Our Site so that fellow group Members or participants may contact you. In addition to your name, shared portions of your contact information may include your email address, employer, job title, employer address, telephone and fax numbers and photograph (if applicable). Also, participants in ASME groups, programs or activities may have access to the information of other group Members or fellow participants in the respective program or activity for information sharing purposes. This information is not collected through Our Site, but it is displayed on Our Site. ASME may also disclose this information as described in Section 2(B)(ii).

If you no longer wish to have your contact information displayed on Our Site to identify you as a leader, volunteer or participant in a particular group or activity, please send an e-mail to webmaster@asme.org with a subject line of “Remove Personal Information from asme.org.” In the body of the email, identify yourself and the address of the page that lists your contact information.

Note that while we may make the information of participants in ASME sections, divisions, boards, committees, districts or any other ASME Member group available on Our Site as described in this Section, those groups may have their own websites, which are separate from Our Site and are not governed by this Statement.

6) Generals

(A) Disclosures to Others as the Result of a Change in Control - In addition to the other disclosures described in this Statement, we may also disclose the information you provide through Our Site (including your Participant Information) as part of a sale of the assets of ASME, a subsidiary or division, or as the result of a change in control of ASME. Any third party to which ASME transfers or sells its assets will have the right to continue to use the personal and other information that you provide to us in accordance with the Terms.

(B) Children Under 13 - ASME does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under 13 years of age, unless it is necessary to respond to a one-time request. Once the request has been answered, ASME will delete the requesting child's personally identifiable information. If you are a parent or guardian and you believe that your child under age 13 may have provided his or her personal information to us through Our Site, please contact us at webmaster@asme.org.

(C) Security - Except as specified herein, when ASME collects your information you provide through Our Site, all forms are secured through Secure Socket Layers (SSL) encryption, the most widely accepted and tested form of data encryption. Of course, no transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Therefore, you provide us with your information at your own risk.

(D) Location of Servers and Transfer of Your Information to the United States - Our servers are located in the United States. If you are located outside of the United States, please be aware that any information you submit to us through Our Site will be transferred to and stored on a server located in the United States. By submitting information to us through Our Site, you consent to this transfer and the collection, storage, processing and use of that information in the United States

(E) Your California Privacy Rights - California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits our customers who are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an email to DelliVenneriJ@asme.org or write to ASME:

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Attn: John Delli Venneri

Re: CA Privacy Rights

2 Park Avenue

New York, New York 10016

(F) How to Contact Us - If you have questions or comments about this Statement, please contact us here or contact us at: info@thisishardware.org

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