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There are a couple of privacy issues that concern the DCWW lists and the archives, how to safeguard your info, and what realistic expectations are.  Since this comes up repeatedly in discussion, we’ve decided to put all the information in one place so you can refer to it any time.  

Before talking specifically about privacy concerns, it’s important to remember that DCWW is organized as a community – it isn’t a “top-down” organization.  Every guideline, initiative, and change is directed by member requests and participation.  The only benefits Steering Committee members get are free pizza at the meetings, free admission to DCWW meetings (not workshops – sorry) and the satisfaction of giving back to such a wonderful, dynamic group.  So, if you have suggestions (remembering that since we have no dues, we have no money) or the desire to contribute something to the group, keep an eye out for Steering Committee Meeting Announcements posted to the list and come on by (just be sure to RSVP so we know how much pizza to get).  

What Happens to My Subscription Information?
Basically, nothing.  We only ask for your name and email address to verify that you’re female and so we can subscribe you.  Once you are subscribed, that email request is deleted.  DCWW does not, has never, and will never sell, rent, or donate the list subscribers’ information to anyone for any purpose.  While it would generate quite a bit of revenue, it also would greatly diminish the usefulness of the forum and wouldn’t be worth it in the long run.  

What About the List?
DCWW participation centers around the email discussion list with a current membership of over 4,000 people.  So, even though the guidelines state that email shouldn't be forwarded off the list without permission (with the express exception of the resume posting), once an email leaves your computer, you no longer have any control about where it ends up, who might use it for what nefarious purposes, etc.  And all list email includes a link to the archives as requested by the members.  That's not to discourage discussion, but to encourage use of caution.  Many members get an email address specifically for DCWW mail from Yahoo or Hotmail or any other free provider and put up with the spam in exchange for having an email address that's not so closely linked to them personally.  

What about the archives?
While we try to keep the indexing robots at bay, not all search engines pay attention to that, and some follow links that other pages have.  We are able to strip out email addresses in the headers, but not any that are included in the body of an email.  The best option would be to have a password-protected archive, but that brings up issues of verifying who's a member, assigning passwords, etc.  And none of that can guarantee that an unscrupulous person won't use the information for their personal gain.  We have toyed with the idea of a member database over the years – we have new volunteers tackling that task, so if you have the skills and willingness to be part of the solution, let us know.  Remember that Heller Information Services, the generous donors who host our list and web site, is an open source shop and so any database needs to use open source technology.  

What about the resume posting?
Way back in the day, when there were around 300 members (we were webgrrls then), every new person would introduce herself on the list and if someone was looking for a job, she would post her resume (and usually get snapped right up).  Two things have changed since then:  we have 4,000-plus members and there are lots more people looking for jobs.  And so, the resume posting was created.  Every two weeks, our Resume Wrangler sends out several very large emails that include all the resumes she’s received.  These posts to the list are the express exception to requesting that information not be forwarded without permission.  Since the idea is to help our members find gainful employment, it’s best to cast the net far and wide.  That means recruiters can get it, your boss might get it, other people in your company or family might see it, and you definitely shouldn't include information you don't want out and about. Post office box, a voicemail pager, or anything else that avoids giving your home address and phone number to any and all who receive the resumes.  And yes, the resume postings do end up in the archives since they are posts to the DCWW list.  

What can I do to keep my information private, you ask?
It's definitely an uphill battle these days.  Remember that spam bots troll web sites (probably including our archives) looking for valid email addresses – since all the Steering Committee email addresses are up on the web site, we get spammed with some regularity.  If you're concerned, don't post personal information to the list.  Also, as previously noted, you can get a free email address from hotmail, yahoo, etc. that you can use exclusively for DCWW mail.  But don't assume that any Spam you receive there is the result of your DCWW participation – some free email services are notorious for receiving Spam – either because the information is sold (basically, to pay for the "free" email,  someone else just pays and gets your info) or because the spammers have random email generators spewing out millions of messages per day (including the "please wire me one million US dollars immediately and I'll split the $300 million with you" variety) and so will send email to adam1@yahoo.com; adam2@yahoo.comm; adam3@yahoo.com….  

Don’t ever respond to spam.  Saying “take me off your list” only confirms that the spam reached a valid email address.  

One thing we can all do for each other is respect the guidelines – by not forwarding email off the list without permission, and by stripping out the footers of forwarded email, we can all help ourselves.  

So, we do what we can with our current resources, but as technology for harvesting email addresses gets better and better, it gets harder.  AOL was recently highlighted in the Washington Post saying that fighting spam has become a 24x7 operation for them and they never expected to have to dedicate such enormous resources to it.  

I’m Intrigued – Where Can I Learn More?  

Fight Spam on the Internet - http://spam.abuse.net/  
Abuse.Net - http://www.abuse.net/  
SpamCop - http://www.spamcop.com/  
SpamCon Foundation - http://www.spamcon.org/  
Electronic Frontier Foundation - http://www.eff.org/  
Electronic Privacy Information Center - http://www.epic.org/