The Well-read Naturalist’s Privacy Policy

In order to satisfy the requirements of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), I need to provide you with the following information.

The identity and contact details of the organization, its representative, and its Data Protection Officer:

All of these are me – John E. Riutta. You can contact me via email at wellreadnaturalist – AT – gmail – Dot – com.

The purpose for the organization to process an individual’s personal data and its legal basis:

I only have one purpose for using any personal information submitted: to send a newsletter about new articles that have been published in The Well-read Naturalist.

The legitimate interests of the organization (or third party, where applicable):

The interest of The Well-read Naturalist, and I fully believe it’s legitimate, is to inform interested readers about books in the subject areas of natural philosophy, natural history, the history of science, and the history of medicine, as well as bits and bobs, such as interesting podcasts, about one of these subjects.

Any recipient or categories of recipients of an individual’s data:

I don’t intentionally or knowingly share any individual’s data with anyone, period.

The details regarding any transfer of personal data to a third country and the safeguards taken:

I’m not quite sure what this means. If you sign-up to receive the newsletter, the e-mail address will be sent from whatever country you are in to me in the United States.

The retention period or criteria used to determine the retention period of the data:

The e-mail address and first name that you entered to sign-up for the newsletter will be kept in the WordPress newsletter plugin (it’s called, cleverly enough, The Newsletter Plugin for WordPress) until the newsletter ceases to be published or you send a message telling me that you don’t wish to receive it any longer.

The existence of each data subject’s rights:

You have rights. The one’s relevant to this present matter are as follows.

The right to withdraw consent at any time (where relevant):

You are free to send me a message via e-mail at wellreadnaturalist – AT – gmail – Dot – com any time you like telling me to remove your name and address from the newsletter distribution list. I will do so promptly and not save it anywhere else.

The right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority:

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. What authority that may be I have no idea, but you have the right to do so.

Whether the provision of personal data is part of a statutory or contractual requirement or obligation and the possible consequences of failing to provide the personal data:

There are no strings attached. If you enter your first name and e-mail address in the little digital do-hickey on the website that creates the distribution list for the newsletter, you’ll receive a newsletter. I won’t charge you for it. It may not always come on time. Other than that, there’s no obligation between us.

The existence of an automated decision-making system, including profiling, and information about how this system has been set up, the significance, and the consequences:

The Well-read Naturalist does not knowingly or intentionally use any automated decision-making systems, nor is there any process in place to create profiles of readers.

I think I also need to declare something to the effect that this policy may be updated as needed in the future. If I do, I’ll include the fact that it was in the next edition of the newsletter so you’ll know if it happens. Just to be helpful, I’ll also identify anything added, removed, or re-worded.

Here’s the bottom line: I’m just a bookish, tweedy, bearded, bespectacled old gent with a penchant for using words such as bespectacled, gent, and penchant, who loves the study of natural history and telling anyone who will listen about interesting books I’ve read on that and related subjects. I founded The Well-read Naturalist over a decade and a half ago solely for the purpose of spreading the word about interesting natural history books. I pay all costs to keep it online out of my own pocket as I’ve never made a dime from it and never had any intention of doing so.

Quite honestly, I’m just daft enough to think that if more people read more books about important subjects – such as natural history – that what they learn from them might inspire them to live their lives a bit more thoughtfully and the world would be a better place for us all to live as a result. Therefore I do what I can to encourage that to happen by drawing people’s attention to books that I think they will find interesting, informative, and enjoyable to read. I consider it a service to the community; the community of all the planet’s inhabitants.