Privacy Policy

1. Information we collect

When you browse, we may receive ordinary technical information such as your IP address, browser and device type, referring page, pages visited, and approximate location derived from network information. Google Analytics may use cookies or similar technologies to help us understand site traffic and use.

When you submit a scenario, we collect the scenario, title, viewpoints, optional supporting URL, attribution preference, optional display name, optional contact email, and your optional news preference. We also keep submission, review, payment-status, consent, and administrative records needed to operate the service.

2. Community Docket voting

When you vote in the Community Docket, we collect your selected topic, email address, confirmation status, time, and optional preferences to hear when the winner is published or receive site news. We use a protected representation of your email to prevent duplicate confirmed votes. Your confirmation link verifies control of the address. Docket voting does not require a marketing subscription, and vote totals are reported without displaying voters’ identities.

3. How we use information

We use information to operate and secure the site; review, edit, and respond to submissions; administer Docket voting; process and document payments; honor attribution choices; send requested confirmation and news messages; prevent fraud and abuse; improve the service; and comply with legal obligations.

An email supplied for a submission, Docket vote, or payment may be used to administer that transaction, submission, or requested notification. It is not treated as marketing consent without the separate news choice.

3. Scenario publication and attribution

Submissions begin as private editorial material. If we publish a discussion based on a scenario, its facts, wording, structure, and viewpoints may be edited, summarized, anonymized, combined with other material, or independently researched. We will display a scenario contributor’s name only when that person selected the display-name option. The contributor credit applies to the originating scenario—not authorship of Reasoning Referee’s analysis. Supporting links may be reviewed and may be cited publicly when relevant.

Please do not submit sensitive personal information, confidential material, private medical details, account credentials, or information you do not have the right to share.

4. Payments

Stripe processes checkout and payment information. Reasoning Referee receives transaction details such as payment status, amount, currency, transaction identifiers, and possibly payer contact information, but does not receive or store full card numbers. Stripe handles information under its own privacy policy.

5. Optional news messages

News enrollment is separate and optional. After selecting it, you must confirm through an email link before your address is included in our confirmed subscriber export. You may unsubscribe using the link in a message or contact us. We may later transfer confirmed subscriber records to an email platform such as Mailchimp to deliver those messages.

6. Service providers and disclosure

We disclose information only as reasonably needed to providers that help us run the service—for example, Stripe for payments, Resend for transactional email, Google Analytics for usage measurement, and infrastructure, security, and hosting providers. If confirmed subscribers are transferred to Mailchimp, its privacy statement will also apply. We may also disclose information when required by law, to protect rights or safety, to investigate misuse, or as part of a business reorganization subject to appropriate protections.

7. Storage, security, and retention

We use access controls, protected administrative tools, encrypted web connections, and other reasonable safeguards. No online system is perfectly secure. We retain information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described here, including editorial history, consent records, fraud prevention, dispute handling, and tax, accounting, or legal requirements. Different records may have different retention periods.

8. Your choices and requests

You may ask to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of personal information associated with you, or withdraw marketing consent. Some information may be retained when reasonably necessary for legal, security, payment, or recordkeeping purposes. To make a request, email [email protected]. We may need to verify your identity.

9. Children

The service is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Contact us if you believe a child provided personal information.

10. External links and changes

The site and submitted scenarios may link to third-party articles, posts, or videos. Their privacy practices are their own. We may update this policy as the service changes. The effective date above will be revised, and material changes may receive additional notice when appropriate.

11. Contact

Questions or privacy requests may be sent to [email protected].