PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION
We only collect personally identifiable information from our visitors when such visitors voluntarily submit such information. We consider the following, among other things, to be personally identifiable information: first and last name, e-mail address, street address and phone number.

FOR KIDS
Remember to be smart online. Do not give out your full name, e-mail address, home address, telephone number or any other personal information that would enable someone to contact you either online or offline, without first asking your parent or guardian for permission. Sometimes on our site we will ask you for your first name and e-mail address along with your parents' e-mail or home address. We do this so that we can contact your parents to let them know that you have communicated with us, and that we have collected this information from you.

NON-PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION AND THE USE OF COOKIE TECHNOLOGY
We collect non-personally identifiable information through the use of a software technology called "cookies," and through our visitors' voluntary submissions to us and/or upon our request. By non-personally identifiable information, we are referring to information about our visitors' browsers (e.g., Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer), operating systems (e.g., Windows or Macintosh), Internet service providers (e.g., AOL or NET.COM) and other similar information which we track in aggregate form. We also collect the following non-personally identifiable information in connection with content submissions, games, classrooms, and bulletin boards: first name only and first initial of last name, state, age, and grade. The non-personally identifiable information that we track is anonymous and will never be identified with or lead us back to any of our visitors.

Cookie technology helps us to know how many people visit us and where visitors go on our site. Cookies are small bits of information we send to your computer. Among other things, this non-personally identifiable information allows us to know which areas are favorites, which areas need a bit of improvement, or what technologies and Internet services are being used by our visitors so that we may continually improve our visitors' online experiences.

USE OF IP ADDRESSES
We collect IP addresses to obtain aggregate information on the use of pondplants1.com. An IP address is a number assigned to your computer by a Web server when you're on the Web. When you are on our site, we have a back-end server that logs your computer's IP address. We only use the information we find out from tracking IP addresses in the aggregate, such as how many users entered a specific area of our site, and not to track a specific IP address to identify an individual user. However, we may use such information to identify a user if we feel that there are or may be safety and/or security issues or to comply with legal requirements.

SECURITY
pondplants1.com ensures that all information, personally and non-personally identifiable information, that it receives via the Internet is secure against unauthorized access. This information is kept in a safe and secure system isolated from direct connection to the Internet. This means that no eyes but ours will ever see the information that our visitors send to us, unless we indicate otherwise.

In some places on our site, visitors may be able to purchase items with the use of a credit card. In such instances, pondplants1.com uses secure server software over a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) line, the latest technology to protect your credit card information. SSL is the industry standard and among the best software available today for secure commerce transactions. It encrypts all of your credit card information so that the information from your credit card cannot be read as it travels over the Internet.

LINKS TO OTHER SITES
Visitors will find links from pondplants1.com to independently owned, controlled and/or managed World Wide Web or Internet sites whose content we have found of possible interest to our visitors. In many cases, but not always, the links represent cooperative projects or mutual links established with the organizations connected with these sites. While we initially visit these sites to which we directly link, please note that we do not monitor or control the content that appears on these sites and such content may be constantly changing. We recommend that children check with their parents or teachers before clicking off to any new sites, and we encourage all end users of pondplants1.com to read the privacy policies of all linked sites before navigating through them.