Effective date: 27 October 2026
This policy explains how Forum on Chinese Poetic Culture (ForumCPC), https://forumcpc.com, handles personal information. See also our Terms of Use.
1. About this notice
ForumCPC is an academic, nonprofit platform based in Hong Kong, supported by multiple collaborators. In this notice, “we” means the people responsible for administering this website and its member submission service. This description does not imply that ForumCPC is a separately incorporated entity or that every participating university, journal or scholar operates this website.
For questions or requests about personal data, contact the ForumCPC Website Administration Team — Privacy Contact at chinesepoetryforum@gmail.com, with “Privacy request” in the subject. This contact coordinates requests with the people who control the relevant records.
This notice covers website visitors, enquiries, administrator-created accounts and Scholars’ Forum submissions. Separate publishers, event organisers and external membership forms may provide additional notices for their own activities. Check those notices before providing information to them.
2. Information collected and why
| Activity | Information involved | Purpose and whether it is required |
|---|---|---|
| Browsing and website operation | IP address, browser/device information, requested pages, timestamps, referrer information and cookie identifiers, where recorded by the website or providers | Deliver pages, maintain sessions, protect the service and diagnose faults. Some technical information is necessary to connect to the website. Third-party features are discussed below. |
| Member accounts | Username, email address, display name, account role, password authentication records and account administration correspondence | Create and administer accounts, authenticate access and send service/security messages. Administrators create accounts; there is no public self-registration. Required account information is necessary to provide the member service. |
| Age eligibility | Confirmation that the prospective member is at least 18, and the date of confirmation | Apply the minimum age for a member account. We request an age-band confirmation rather than a full birth date or identity-document copy as the normal procedure. |
| Submissions | Article title, section, text, author/display name, submission status and dates; optional images, cover image, summary, keywords and information included in the material | Save drafts, review submissions, communicate editorial decisions and publish approved work. Fields marked required are necessary for submission. Optional fields can be left blank. |
| Enquiries and correspondence | Name, email, message, attachments and subsequent correspondence | Respond to your enquiry and maintain necessary records. Without a return contact address we may be unable to reply. Do not include sensitive information that is unnecessary for the enquiry. |
| Newsletter subscription | Email address, subscription/confirmation status and related records held by the mailing provider | Send the updates you request and manage subscriptions. Subscription is optional and separate from a website account. The current signup form uses email confirmation (double opt-in). |
| Comments, where enabled | Comment text, name, email, any supplied website address and technical information | Display comments and detect abuse or spam. A public comment and chosen display name can be visible to others; your email is not intended for publication as part of the comment. |
| Outgoing website email | Recipient address, message subject/body and delivery/error records | Deliver and troubleshoot account, password-reset, editorial and other website messages. These records may contain personal information and time-limited reset links. |
We use information for these purposes and directly related purposes. A materially different use will require an appropriate notice and any consent required by applicable law. Providing information for membership or an enquiry does not, by itself, subscribe you to promotional mail.
3. Publication and uploaded files
Approved articles, their author/display names and accompanying images are intended for public access. Readers may copy, share or index public material, and independent search engines or archives may retain copies outside our control. Choose your public name carefully and exclude private contact details unless publication is necessary and authorised.
Articles are reviewed before publication. Editorial review does not make the upload area a confidential document repository. Uploaded media may have a directly accessible file URL before the associated article is published. Do not upload confidential manuscripts, identity documents, private correspondence or images containing unnecessary personal information. Remove location metadata from images and obtain any permission required from identifiable people.
4. Who receives information
Access may be given to administrators, editors and technical support personnel who need it for their assigned work. Service providers may process information to host and back up the website, deliver email, handle subscriptions, provide social features, prevent abuse and maintain the platform.
The current service inventory includes:
- Google/Gmail and FluentSMTP: outgoing website email and the operator mailbox connection described below.
- Mailchimp through MC4WP: newsletter addresses, subscription status and associated subscription records. Mailchimp may process technical and engagement information according to the campaign settings and its own notice.
- External-content providers, such as YouTube: page and device information when their content is loaded. A provider may recognise you if you are signed in to its service. Shareaholic, ShareThis Dashboard for Google Analytics and Easy Social Feed were disabled on 27 October 2026; providers may retain earlier records under their own retention practices.
- Google Fonts and Gravatar, where used: technical connection information needed to deliver fonts or avatar images. Gravatar may receive a derived identifier of an email address to retrieve the corresponding avatar.
- WordPress hosting, maintenance and backup providers: stored website records and operational information needed for those services.
- Anti-spam services, where configured: comment/enquiry information and technical signals used to identify abuse. The exact enabled services must be maintained in the website’s service inventory.
We may also disclose relevant information where required by law or reasonably necessary to handle a legal claim, protect people or investigate abuse, subject to applicable safeguards. Publicly submitted work is disclosed to readers only as explained above; participation in a collaborating organisation does not automatically entitle that organisation to the full account database.
Providers may process information outside Hong Kong, including in the United States. Overseas processing does not remove our responsibility to take practicable steps regarding security, purpose limitation and retention. We assess relevant provider arrangements and use appropriate contractual or other safeguards where required. Contact us for information about the providers handling a particular request.
5. Google API connection for website email
The ForumCPC Website Mail application connects the platform’s official Gmail mailbox to FluentSMTP to send website messages. It requests the Gmail send permission for the operator mailbox. Visitors do not need to connect a Google account, and this integration does not request permission to read visitors’ inboxes.
The website processes recipient addresses, message contents and delivery results for sending and troubleshooting. OAuth credentials/tokens are used to maintain the authorised connection and must be restricted to authorised technical administrators. The configured authorisation callback uses FluentSMTP’s service at fluentsmtp.com.
ForumCPC Website Mail’s use and transfer of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements. Such data will not be used for advertising, sold, or used to train a general-purpose AI model. Human access will be limited to permitted purposes under that policy, such as a user-authorised support task, security investigation or legal obligation.
The mailbox owner can revoke the application through Google Account permissions and disconnect the website integration. Revocation stops future authorised use; it does not automatically erase email already sent or records lawfully retained by the parties involved.
6. Cookies, analytics and external content
WordPress uses cookies for functions such as login sessions and preferences. Blocking essential cookies may prevent member features from working. You can manage stored cookies through your browser.
Social sharing, external forms, embedded media and analytics services may collect information about a visit and may associate activity with other visits or services. Their notices and settings also apply. A link to another website is different from an embedded feature that connects to a provider while our page loads.
We have disabled the Shareaholic, ShareThis Dashboard for Google Analytics and Easy Social Feed integrations. Supported external embeds, including YouTube videos, are handled by Embed Privacy: a placeholder is shown until you choose to load the content. Loading a video connects your browser to Google/YouTube, which may receive your IP address, device information and viewing activity, and may associate activity with your account. You can instead use the direct external link. See Google’s Privacy Policy.
The optional “Always display” choice remembers a provider for future visits. Embed Privacy documents a preference cookie named embed-privacy, with a duration of up to one year. You can withdraw a remembered provider below, or clear this website’s stored cookie preferences in your browser. Withdrawal affects future loading; it cannot retract data already received by an external service.
These are manual content controls, not a verified site-wide implementation of Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control. The disabled integrations remain disabled regardless of those signals. Do not assume that an external website or a provider you choose to load follows the same settings. Where an applicable law requires a signal-based opt-out, that requirement continues to apply; this notice does not waive it. Contact the Privacy Contact about applicable opt-out rights.
Fonts, avatars, essential website operations and separately opened external services are outside the video placeholder control. We do not describe this configuration as blocking every third-party connection.
7. Retention and security
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for its stated purpose, a legal requirement or an appropriately documented dispute/security need. Account records, editorial records, public publication archives, correspondence and backups have different purposes and must be reviewed separately.
The website’s FluentSMTP email-log setting currently deletes logs after 14 days. This is a setting for those website logs; it does not describe retention in Gmail, recipients’ mailboxes or backups. Public articles may remain as part of the scholarly record, subject to correction, withdrawal and applicable legal rights.
For other records, retention is determined by whether an account or enquiry remains active, the editorial or archival purpose, the need to evidence permissions, applicable legal limitation periods and the backup rotation cycle. We review records and remove or de-identify information no longer needed. We do not promise immediate erasure from every backup; copies retained for recovery must remain restricted and expire through the applicable retention process.
We use reasonable organisational and technical safeguards appropriate to the information, including restricting administrative access and maintaining the website. No online service can guarantee absolute security. Please report suspected account compromise promptly and never send us your password. Where a data incident creates notification obligations, we will follow the applicable requirements.
8. Your choices and rights
You may ask what personal data we hold about you and request access or correction under Hong Kong’s Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. We may request proportionate information to verify your identity and protect other people’s data. We will handle a valid request within the applicable statutory period—normally 40 calendar days for access/correction requests, subject to the Ordinance’s provisions. If a permitted access fee applies, we will explain it in advance.
You may also request account closure, removal of unnecessary data or a review of published personal information. Deletion is subject to applicable rights and lawful retention needs; we will explain a refusal or limitation. Independent copies already made by others may remain beyond our control.
Use newsletter unsubscribe controls or email us to stop promotional messages. Service messages necessary to administer an active account may still be sent. If data is used for direct marketing, we will provide the required notice and obtain the required consent, and cease such use on request without charge.
If a US state privacy law applies to the particular processing, you may have additional rights, including access, correction, deletion, portability, withdrawal of consent, applicable opt-outs and an appeal of a refused request. Submit a request or appeal to the Privacy Contact, identifying your state and the requested action. We will apply the relevant law’s deadline, verification, authorised-agent and appeal rules and will not unlawfully discriminate for exercising a protected right. This notice does not imply that every state statute applies to this platform.
You may complain to the Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data or another competent authority without first waiving any rights or remedies.
9. Eligibility for a member account
You must be at least 18 years old to apply for a member account. Administrators must obtain confirmation of eligibility before issuing an account. This is an account eligibility rule, not an age rating for the website’s academic content. Public articles remain available to general readers. The website is not intended as a service directed to children under 13.
If you believe a minor has been given an account or supplied personal information inappropriately, contact us. We will review the report, restrict the account where appropriate and remove unnecessary information, subject to lawful preservation needs. An age statement alone is not a substitute for applicable child-privacy duties.
10. Changes
We will display the effective date and explain material changes through an appropriate website or direct notice. New purposes requiring consent will not be authorised merely by updating this page. Contact chinesepoetryforum@gmail.com with questions.