Cookies

You will no doubt have read that the rules on using cookies and similar technologies for storing information changed on 26 May 2011. 

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a piece of text stored on a user's computer by their web browser. A cookie can be used for storing site preferences (eg your preferred language, viewing/editing privileges), shopping basket contents or anything else that can be accomplished through storing text data.

Cookies may be set by the server with or without an expiry date. Cookies without an expiry date exist until the browser closes, while cookies with an expiry date may be stored by the browser until the expiry date passes.

A session cookie only lasts for the duration of the visit to the website. It will expire if a user closes their browser, or if a user hasn't visited the server for a certain period of time (this is when you often get the message "timed out").

What does this mean to your club's website?

Visitors and users are treated differently:

Visitors
Firstly, no cookies are set for visitors to your club website, nor to any of our websites. 

Google Analytics tracking (and most other web tracking software) uses cookies in order to provide useful reports about your site visitors. However, cookies for Google Analytics do not collect personal data about a visitor, the information is annonymous.

Club members (or at least those who log in)
Users who log in receive a session cookie.  This is used to remember information as they move between pages, it stores the access codes that set your previliges: whether a user has administration rights, editing rights or simply view-only rights. These are session cookies and once the user exits the website the cookies are deleted.

More information

Have a read of our Terms of Use "Cookies", (there is a copy on this website and on your own website for your visitors).

If you would like to read a more detailed report on the rules regarding cookies read the report on the Information Commissioner's Office website.

 

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