What this site collects
We measure how people find and read these articles so we can tell whether they are useful. We do not sell that data, we do not use it to advertise to you, and we do not try to identify you.
Measurement is provided by Plausible Analytics. This site does not use cookies for analytics, does not store anything on your device for analytics, and does not track you across other websites, devices, or days.
What is recorded when you read an article
Measurement runs on article pages only. The home page, this page, About and Contact record nothing.
When you open an article, we send Plausible:
- the address of the page you are reading on this site;
- which article it is, and the specific approved revision you were shown;
- the type of event, and when it happened;
- the version of our measurement contract, and the site's own short name.
Because your browser makes that request directly, Plausible also receives your IP address and your browser's User-Agent string. It uses them to work out your browser, operating system, device type and approximate location — country, region and city — and does not store either value in raw form.
Plausible also generates a daily visitor count using a value derived from a rotating secret, this site's domain, your IP address and your User-Agent. That secret is discarded every 24 hours, so the value cannot be used to recognise you tomorrow or on any other website.
We record which article revision you read because our editorial records tie every published page to a specific approved revision, and we want our measurements to refer to exactly what you saw.
What is recorded about how you read
Our own code, running in your browser, watches two things while an article is open: how far down the page you have scrolled, and how long the page has actually been visible and in front of you. A page left open in a background tab accrues nothing.
Neither of those measurements is sent anywhere. They stay in your browser and are discarded when you leave the page. What we send is a single event recording that the article was read — once per page load, and never more than once — after either 30 seconds of active visible time or scrolling halfway down. We do not send how far you scrolled or how long you stayed.
What is never collected
We do not collect your name, email address, or any account identifier — this site has no accounts and no sign-in. We do not collect form contents, advertising identifiers, or any property describing you personally. We do not place advertising or marketing trackers.
We do not record which page, search or link sent you here. We do not send that information, and our analytics provider does not recover it from the request either.
Page addresses are recorded without any query string or fragment; our code refuses to send one.
Where the data goes and how long it is kept
Analytics data is processed and stored in the European Union by Plausible.
We keep it for as long as this site's analytics account is active. If we close the account or stop the subscription, the data is deleted. Plausible does not publish a fixed retention period for the plan we are on, so we do not state one here rather than quote a number we cannot stand behind.
Corrections and contact
If something on this site is wrong, out of date, or unsafe, tell us and we will correct or withdraw it. Write to contact@gildern.com.
This site is published by Gildern.