We gather two basic types of information through the Site: “Non-Personally Identifiable Information” (or “Non-PII”) and “Personally Identifiable Information” (or “PII”). Non-PII is aggregated information, demographic information, Internet protocol addresses (IP addresses), and any other information that does not reveal your specific identity. PII is information that identifies or can identify you as an individual (such as a residential address, telephone number, or billing information).
Non-Personally Identifiable Information – When you visit and interact with the Site, Alpine and third parties with whom we have contracted to provide services to us may collect Non-PII (for example, a catalog of the Site pages you visit). Non-PII is anonymous and does not identify you personally. Non-PII is generally collected through the Site from four different sources: IP addresses and web logs; cookies; pixel tags and other similar technologies; and other Non-PII that you voluntarily provide (as explained below).
IP Addresses and Web Logs – This Site’s web servers automatically collect the IP addresses and log files of visitors. Your IP address is an identifying number that is automatically assigned to your computer by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). This number is identified and logged automatically in our server log files whenever you visit the Site, along with the time(s) of your visit(s) and the page(s) that you visited. This information is collected in an aggregate form only and does not contain any PII. We use your IP address and the IP addresses of all users for purposes such as calculating Site usage levels, helping diagnose problems with the Site’s servers, and administering the Site. Collecting IP addresses is standard practice on the Internet and is done automatically by many websites.
Cookies – Alpine, our affiliates, and our service providers may use a standard technology called a “cookie” to collect information about how you use the Site. Cookies reside on your computer and help the Site recognize your computer’s browser as a previous visitor. In addition, on occasion, our Site may also set a “session cookie,” which helps us administer the Site. The session cookie expires when you close your browser and does not retain any information about you after it expires. If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, you should modify your browser preference to provide you with choices relating to cookies. For example, if you use a standard browser, you should have the choice to accept all cookies, to be notified when a cookie is set, or to reject all cookies. If you choose to reject cookies, you may be unable to use certain Site services (e.g., those services that require you to log on to the Site in order to participate). For more information on modifying your browser preference, please refer to the documentation accompanying your browser.
Pixel Tags – Alpine, our affiliates, and our service providers may also use so-called “pixel tags,” “web beacons,” “clear GIFs,” or similar means (collectively, “Pixel Tags”) in connection with some Site pages and HTML-formatted email messages to, among other things, compile aggregate statistics about Site usage and response rates. A Pixel Tag is an electronic image, often a single pixel (1×1), that is ordinarily not visible to Site visitors and may be associated with cookies on the visitors’ hard drives. Pixel Tags do not contain any PII and allow us to count users who have visited certain pages of the Site, to deliver branded services, and to help determine the effectiveness of promotional or advertising campaigns. When used in HTML-formatted email messages, Pixel Tags can tell the sender whether and when an email has been opened.
Information You Voluntarily Provide – We may also collect certain information (e.g., your geographic location, your genre preferences, etc.) when you voluntarily provide such information to us. When such information is not combined with any PII, such information is considered to be Non-PII, as it does not personally identify you or any other user. Additionally, we may aggregate PII in a manner such that the end-product does not personally identify you or any other user of the Site, for example, by using PII to calculate the percentage of our users who have a particular telephone area code. Such aggregate information is considered Non-PII for purposes of this Policy.
Personally Identifiable Information – You may use many features of this Site without providing any PII. However, in order to take advantage of particular opportunities made available through the Site (for example, to access additional services provided by this Site such as concert updates, chat room forums and/or personalized content, contests, or promotions), we may require that you furnish PII to us such as your name, postal address, telephone number, fax number, email address, age, gender, credit card number or other payment account number, and health-related information (for example, physically disabled seating requests). Please keep in mind that you may also be providing PII when you submit comments through chat rooms, forums, message boards, or news groups, although we do not collect or use PII from these sources. We collect PII from you through the Site only when you voluntarily provide it. When you provide PII, the information may be sent to and stored on servers located in the United States of America.