• The Smoking Zine is a Website developed with teens for teens
  • Smoking Zine is part of TeenNet, a creative research project, based at the University of Toronto
  • The info you provide will help TeenNet understand how youth use the Internet as a resource


Quick facts
What info does TeenNet use?
What does TeenNet do with my info?
Why should I participate?
Emails

Who knows I'm registered?
Cookies?
What if I don't want to?
IP addresses?
I have more questions!

Quick facts
  • We don't use cookies
  • We won't sell, give away, or let others see the info you give us
  • We administer the web server where Smoking Zine is located - this lets us protect you and your info
  • All web servers create records called referrer logs. TeenNet uses this info to find out what Websites people went to before they came to Smoking Zine, and what search terms people used to find us. The referrer log is not linked in any way to the info you provide when joining or using Smoking Zine. TeenNet looks at the referrer log for all visits to Smoking Zine.
  • We promise to email you only once-in-a-while, and only if you want us to
  • You choose to be part of TeenNet research. If you decide not to be part of our research, we will respect your decision (either way, you'll have access to the entire site - nothing changes!)
  • As part of the University of Toronto, we are part of an organization committed to ensuring that no harm comes to anyone who is part of any research project

Any info you provide in forms, emails, quizzes or discussion boards will be used anonymously.

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What info does TeenNet use?
If you decide to be part of our research:
  • we take a look at how you use Smoking Zine
  • when you register, we know your age and sex, but not your real name or identity
  • we know which parts of the site are most popular
  • we analyze the info you provide in quizzes, forms
  • we analyze the emails you send us
  • we may contact you, using the email address you give us

We may contact you, via email, for research purposes . If you don't want any emails from us just let us know at community@smokingzine.org

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What does TeenNet do with my info?
1) If you register but ask not to be part of our research, your info is put in a special category of visits. We don't use this category as part of our research except to:
  • see how many people consent to be part of our study and how many don't
  • make sure we don't directly quote any of your HotTalk posts in our research
  • troubleshoot our registration system so that we can be as accurate as possible in our research
  • make sure your info never gets mixed up with info we get from those who do want to be part of our study!
2) If you register and tell us that you don't mind being part of our research, we use your info in a number of ways. We look at:
  • how many visits we get from our visitors
  • the average age and sex of our visitors
  • which parts of Smoking Zine are popular and which are not
  • how long (on average) our visitors stay in different parts of the Smoking Zine
  • the posts in HotTalk to see how this discussion area is being used
  • how you've filled out our quizzes
  • in short - how you use Smoking Zine!

Why should I participate?
This is a chance to make a difference. By letting TeenNet understand how you use Smoking Zine, you become part of an important project that tries to improve youth health care around the world. This is your chance to show researchers what youth really need and want.

You won't find advertising, or be asked to buy stuff, on Smokine Zine. We won't give your info or email address to any other organization without your permission. And we won't send you any spam.

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Emails
When you register for Smoking Zine we ask you for an email address. You can an provide an email address or not. If you don't give an email, you can still use Smoking Zine - nothing will change.

We need a valid email address, so we can let you know about new:

  • features on Smoking Zine
  • research we're doing

You can ask us at any time not to send you email by contacting us at community@smokingzine.org (please include your nickname).

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Who knows I'm registered?
Nobody!! We don't know who you really are, just where you go. We
never ask for your real names. You only use a nickname on Smoking Zine.

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Cookies?

Smoking Zine does NOT use cookies (electronic place-holders that gets stored on your computer).

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What if I don't want to?
You can still use the Smoking Zine web site the way you like. Nothing will change. It is your decision whether you're part of our research project or not. We encourage you to participate in our research, but the final decision is always up to you.

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IP addresses?
An IP Address is given to your computer whenever you go online. All web servers automatically record IP Addresses.

TeenNet uses IP Addresses only to identify which country our visitors are from, and which ISP (Internet Service Provider) they're using to access our site. The IP Address could also be used to help an ISP identify users who are a threat to you or the web site (for example, those who threaten others, or try to hack into our server). This would only be used in extreme cases!

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What if I have questions?
Feel free to call the TeenNet Project at 416.978.7543 (Toronto, Canada) or email us at www@smokingzine.org with your questions.

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