ToL Policies
Tree of Life Privacy Policy
- Tree of Life Privacy Statement
- What This Privacy Policy Covers
- Sharing of Information
- General Use of the ToL Website and Services
- Personal Information About ToL Content Contributors
- Guidelines for Children
Tree of Life Privacy Statement
The Tree of Life (ToL) Project is committed to respecting the privacy of those who visit the ToL website and those who contribute materials to the project or participate in discussions administrated by the project. Please review the ToL Privacy Policy set forth below so that you can understand your options in using the Tree of Life website and its services.
The ToL is a not-for-profit project and does not engage in e-commerce. The ToL does not sell or rent any information about its visitors or contributors to third parties, and we do not contact visitors or contributors to promote or sell any product.
What This Privacy Policy Covers
This privacy policy covers our treatment of personally identifiable information (e.g. first and last names, email address, a home or physical address, a telephone number, institution or affiliation) that the ToL Project may hold. You can visit the ToL website without identifying who you are, or revealing personally identifiable information.
Any personally identifiable information the ToL obtains about a contributor or visitor is information supplied voluntarily as part of using the website or signing up for a particular service or activity, or in requesting information from the ToL Project.
The ToL Project is not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites, services or organizations to which a ToL webpage or service may link or refer.
Sharing of Information
The ToL Project only uses the personal information that you provide in order to record and support your activities within the ToL website and web-based services and to provide you information about the ToL and related activities. Personal information about ToL contributors and visitors may be shared only with ToL contractors, auditors, consultants, and collaborators. The ToL informs recipients of information about safeguarding personal information and requires them to use it only for an authorized purpose consistent with this privacy policy, and to return it or destroy it upon completion of the activity.
The ToL will disclose your personal information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal processes served to you, the ToL, or the site.
General Use of the ToL Website and Services
The ToL website and related search and discovery systems maintain raw log files of documents retrieved and search queries entered. Information extracted from these log files (e.g. the pages requested, referral URLs, estimation of time spent on a page, estimation of a user session, result sets from search queries) is processed in aggregate to help the ToL gauge the effectiveness of its website and services, improve the performance and structure of its website and services, and for generating general use statistics. The ToL may share this type of information with its collaborators, sponsors, consultants, and contractors to evaluate and improve the site.
Persistent Identifiers
In order to use some ToL services, a user may be required to have a persistent identifier (e.g. a login identifier.) These identifiers may link to personally identifiable information the user supplies as part of registering or signing up for a service. These identifiers will not be linked to general use information except where the user has explicitly agreed to this action when signing up for the service (and where it may be a requirement to use the service) or when a user has volunteered to participate in an evaluation study of ToL use.
IP Numbers and Domain Names
IP numbers and domain names are included in the raw log files and are used in helping to compute aggregate statistics (e.g. as a basis for defining a use session.) These IP numbers are not used to link the ToL use to any other personally identifiable information that the ToL may hold.
Cookies
The ToL website or service may use cookies to improve a visitor's interaction with the site or service. The ToL does not use cookies to track visitors except in conjunction with a service that requires keeping track of a user's sessions, or actions, for example, a service allowing a user to keep certain features (such as the on-page glossary, navigation menus, etc.) turned on or off while moving from page to page on the ToL website.
ToL Discussion Forums and Email Lists
The ToL will host and maintain a number of public email lists and forums for use by interested individuals. Some will be open for subscription and use; others will be moderated, i. e., a list or forum moderator may limit subscription and posting access. In each case, users can subscribe and unsubscribe from these areas at any time.
Please note that any information that you post to a public bulletin board is available to all visitors accessing that site. Unsubscribing from a list or forum will not remove any name, email address or information that was part of any previous posting from any archive of these lists or forums. In cases where this information came from information submitted in any registration process, the information in the public forum will not be removed when the registration is terminated and the registration information removed.
Personal Information About ToL Content Contributors
ToL content contributors must register before being able to upload materials to the ToL database. Upon registration, contributors are asked to provide personal identifying information. The type of information requested depends upon the nature of a person's contribution. Currently, the ToL distinguishes four contributor categories:
- ToL Media Contributors
- ToL Treehouse Contributors
- ToL Treehouse Classroom Contributors
- ToL Scientific Contributors
ToL Media Contributors
ToL media contributors must be at least 18 years old. Upon registration, they are asked to provide the following information:
| First Name and Surname | The contributor's name is used in the copyright notices and other credit lines for contributed images and other media. |
|---|---|
| Email Address | By default, the contributor's email address will be published on the contributor's personal profile page, so that visitors to the ToL site can contact the contributor with questions regarding their images or other media. Throughout the ToL site, email addresses are encoded in order to protect them from being harvested by spambots. Upon request, a contributor's e-mail address is withheld from publication on the ToL web site. If a contributor chooses to have his or her e-mail address withheld from publication, this address will be accessible only to ToL staff, who may contact the contributor for legal or administrative purposes. |
ToL media contributors have the option of providing additional information to be published on the ToL web site:
| Web Page URL | If a contributor has a home page on another web server, they can provide the URL for this page, and this information will then be published on the contributor's personal profile page. |
|---|---|
| Institution | If a media contributor is affiliated with an institution such as a university, museum, or school, they can provide this information, which will then be printed on the contributor's personal profile page. |
| Biographical Information | Contributors can provide biographical information to introduce themselves to ToL visitors. This text is printed on the contributor's personal profile page. |
| Photo | Contributors can submit a photo of themselves, which will be displayed on the contributor's personal profile page. |
ToL Treehouse Builders
Note: For the time being, we can only register treehouse builders who are at least 18 years of age. We are working on special privacy and parental involvement tools that will allow us to work with young treehouse builders (see guidelines for children below), but we need a little more time to get this system up and running.
Upon registration, treehouse builders who are 18 years of age and older will be asked to provide the following information:
| First Name and Surname | The treehouse builder's name is used in the copyright notices and other credit lines for contributed text, images and other media. |
|---|---|
| Email Address | By default, the treehouse builder's email address will be published on the contributor's personal profile page, and in the copyright notices and other credit lines for contributed text, images and other media so that visitors to the ToL site can contact the contributor with questions regarding their contributions. Throughout the ToL site, email addresses are encoded in order to protect them from being harvested by spambots. Upon request, a treehouse builder's e-mail address is withheld from publication on the ToL web site. If a treehouse builder chooses to have his or her e-mail address withheld from publication, this address will be accessible only to ToL staff, who may contact the treehouse builder for legal or administrative purposes. |
| Treehouse Building Plans | We ask that you enter information that briefly explains your plans for building treehouses. You can include a few sentences about the types of treehouses you will build, the group(s) of organism(s) you may compose treehouses about, and any other relevant information. Information collected here will be used for ToL project development (providing resources specific to contributors' plans) purposes. |
| Self-Categorization | Treehouse builders have the option to declare their affiliation with one of the following contributor categories:
The information provided here will be used for data management (e.g., site tools for retrieving contributions authored by contributors in a given category) as well as ToL project development (providing resources specific to contributors in a given category). |
ToL treehouse builders who are 18 years of age and older have the option of providing additional information to be published on the ToL web site (for options available to contributors younger than 18, see Guidelines for Children):
| Web Page URL | If a treehouse builder has a home page on another web server, they can provide the URL for this page, and this URL is then published on the contributor's personal profile page. |
|---|---|
| Institution/School | Treehouse builders have the option to have their affiliation with an institution or school printed in the credit lines of ToL treehouse pages as well as on their personal profile page. |
| Location | By default, the treehouse builder's location (we ask for home town/city, state/province, and country) will be published on the contributor's personal profile page and in credit lines for ToL treehouse pages. Location information collected here will be used for data management (e.g., site tools for retrieving contributions authored by contributors from a particular location), project evaluation (e.g., assessing the geographic diversity of project participants) as well as ToL project development (providing resources specific to contributors in a given locale). |
| Biographical Information | If a treehouse builder has a home page on another web server, they can provide the URL for this page, and this URL is then published on the contributor's personal profile page. |
| Photo | Treehouse builders can submit a photo of themselves, which may be displayed on the contributor's personal profile page as well as in the credit lines of ToL treehouses. |
ToL Classroom Treehouse Projects
ToL classroom treehouse project registration is open to teachers only. Upon registration, teachers will be asked to provide the following information:
| First Name and Surname of Teacher | The teacher's name is used in the credit lines for contributed text, images and other media. |
|---|---|
| Teacher's email address | By default, the email address of the teacher will be published on the treehouse classroom project's profile page (coming soon!). This makes it possible for visitors to the ToL site to contact the teacher with questions regarding their contributions. Throughout the ToL site, email addresses are encoded in order to protect them from being harvested by spambots. Upon request, a teacher's e-mail address is withheld from publication on the ToL web site. If a teacher chooses to have his or her e-mail address withheld from publication, this address will be accessible only to ToL staff, who may contact the teacher for legal or administrative purposes. |
| Location | This information is printed on the treehouse classroom project's profile page (coming soon!) as well as in the credit lines of ToL treehouse pages. |
| Grade level | This information is printed on the treehouse classroom project's profile page (coming soon!) as well as in the credit lines of ToL treehouse pages. |
| School/Project | This information is printed on the treehouse classroom project's profile page (coming soon!) as well as in the credit lines of ToL treehouse pages. |
Classroom treehouse project contributors have the option of providing additional information to be published on the ToL web site:
| Web Page URL | If the school or class has a home page on another web server, the teacher can provide the URL for this page, and this URL is then provided on the treehouse classroom project's profile page (coming soon!). |
|---|---|
| Co-authors | Teachers can give credit to children and other collaborators who have participated in the building of a treehouse. We recommend that teachers provide only first names for children under 13 years of age. |
| Class Information | Teachers can provide information to introduce their class to ToL visitors. This text is printed on the treehouse classroom project's profile page (coming soon!) |
| Photo | Teachers can submit a photo of their class, which may be displayed on the treehouse classroom project's profile page (coming soon!) as well as in the credit lines of ToL treehouses. |
ToL Scientific Contributors
ToL scientific contributors must be at least 18 years old. Upon registration, they are asked to provide the following information:
| First Name and Surname | The contributor's name is used in the copyright notices and other credit lines for contributed text, images and other media. |
|---|---|
| Institution | ToL scientific contributors are professional scientists whose reputation rests, in part, on their affiliation with an institution such as a university, museum, or government agency. Information about this affiliation is published in the ToL Scientific Contributors list and in the credit lines for certain ToL contributions (i.e., ToL branch pages, leaf pages, other articles, and notes). |
| Email address | By default, the email addresses of ToL scientific contributors are printed in the credit lines of certain ToL contributions (i.e., ToL branch pages, leaf pages, other articles, and notes) and in the ToL Scientific Contributors list. This makes it possible for visitors to the ToL site to contact ToL page authors with questions regarding their contributions. Throughout the ToL site, email addresses are encoded in order to protect them from being harvested by spambots. Upon request, a contributor's e-mail address is withheld from publication on the ToL web site. If a contributor chooses to have his or her e-mail address withheld from publication, this address will be accessible only to ToL staff, who may contact the contributor for legal or administrative purposes. |
ToL scientific contributors have the option of providing additional information to be published on the ToL web site:
| Address | Most ToL scientific contributors choose to have their institutional mailing address published alongside their contributions. This information is provided to facilitate traditional mail contact for interested parties such as potential collaborators and prospective graduate students. |
|---|---|
| Web Page URL | If a contributor has a home page on another web server, they can provide the URL for this page, and this URL is then published in the ToL Scientific Contributors list and in credit lines. |
| Phone and Fax | This information is never published on the ToL site. It is kept on file, so that ToL staff can contact scientific contributors to discuss their contributions as well as ToL administrative matters. |
| Biographical Information | ToL scientific contributors can provide biographical information to introduce themselves to ToL visitors. This text is printed in the ToL Scientific Contributors list. |
| Photo | Contributors can submit a photo of themselves, which may be displayed in the ToL Scientific Contributors page as well as in the credit lines for certain ToL contributions (i.e., ToL branch pages, leaf pages, other articles, and notes). |
Guidelines for Children
Note: We are working on special privacy and parental involvement tools that will allow us to work with young treehouse builders under 18 years of age, but we need a little more time to get this system up and running. The following procedures will be implemented as soon as the new tools are made available on the ToL site.
Children and teenagers are advised to consult with their parents before registering for any service or giving any personal information online. Children and teenagers under 18 are eligible to register as Young ToL Treehouse Builders. The Tree of Life Project collects and stores the names and e-mail addresses of all Young Treehouse Builders. These data are maintained for the sole purpose of protecting the security and liability of the site or responding to law enforcement, if necessary.
In accordance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Tree of Life Project maintains the confidentiality, security and integrity of personal information collected from children. A child's personal information will be published on the ToL site only after a parent has submitted a Parental Consent Form (coming soon!). Parents are provided access to their child’s personal information and can delete the child’s personal information and opt-out of future collection or use of the information.
Upon registration as a Young Treehouse Builder, a child will be asked to provide the following information:
| First Name and Surname | The Tree of Life Project will not generally publish the names of young treehouse builders (for exceptions see below). |
|---|---|
| Pseudonym | Since the Tree of Life Project does not generally publish the names of young treehouse builders, children should choose a pseudonym (e.g., a variation on their first name or another made-up name), which is then used in place of their full name on their personal profile page (coming soon!), in copyright notices, and in other credit lines for contributed text, images and other media. Children who would like to have their contributions credited to their full name must ask their parents to submit a Parental Consent Form (coming soon!) to the Tree of Life Project detailing what information about the child can be collected and published by the Tree of Life Project. |
| Email address | The Tree of Life Project will not publish the e-mail addresses of young treehouse builders without parental consent. Children who would like to have their e-mail address published alongside their contributions must ask their parents to submit a Parental Consent Form (coming soon!) to the Tree of Life Project detailing what information about the child can be collected and published by the Tree of Life Project. |
| Age | A young treehouse builder's age will be published alongside his or her pseudonym (or name if parental consent is provided) on the personal profile page (coming soon!) and in the credit lines for contributions. |
Young Treehouse Builders have the option of providing additional information to be published on the ToL web site. Note that the submission and publication of some of this information requires parental consent.
| Location | Young treehouse builders may choose to have information about their home city/town, state/province, and country printed on the personal profile page (coming soon!) and in the credit lines for contributions. |
|---|---|
| Institution/School | Young treehouse builders have the option to have their affiliation with an institution or school printed on the personal profile page (coming soon!) and in the credit lines for contributions. |
| Web Page URL | If a young treehouse builder has a home page on another web server, they can provide the URL for this page, and this URL is then provided on the personal profile page (coming soon!) and in the credit lines for contributions. Children who would like to have their home page URL published must ask their parents to submit a Parental Consent Form (coming soon!) to the Tree of Life Project detailing what information about the child can be collected and published by the Tree of Life Project. |
| Biographical Information | Young treehouse builders can provide biographical information to introduce themselves to ToL visitors. This text is printed on their personal profile page (coming soon!). Children who would like to have Biographical Information published must ask their parents to submit a Parental Consent Form (coming soon!) to the Tree of Life Project detailing what information about the child can be collected and published by the Tree of Life Project. |
| Photo | Young treehouse builders can submit a photo of themselves, which may be displayed on the personal profile page (coming soon!) as well as in the credit lines of ToL treehouses. Children who would like to have their photograph published must ask their parents to submit a Parental Consent Form (coming soon!) to the Tree of Life Project detailing what information about the child can be collected and published by the Tree of Life Project. |
If you have questions about this privacy policy or the practices of the ToL project, please contact For inquiries regarding children under 18 years of age, please contact You can also write to the address below:
The Tree of Life Web Project
c/o Department of Entomology
Forbes Building
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
For general information on privacy on the Internet, see: