Privacy Policy
For The Boards (“For The Boards,” “I,” “me,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a personal project and brand operated by an individual based in California, not a separate company or corporation. Income from sales goes to that individual. This Privacy Policy explains what information is collected on fortheboards.com and related pages (the “Site”), how it is used, and the choices you have. It applies when you visit the Site, request a program quote, report a correction, view or download free samples, or purchase the study companion.
This policy covers privacy only. For rules about using the Site and buying products, see the Terms of Use.
1. Who operates the Site
For The Boards offers a physical ABIM study companion and free specialty sample PDFs for residents and residency programs. It is run by one person in California under the For The Boards name.
Privacy questions: Slaton@ForTheBoards.com.
2. Information we collect
Information you provide
- Program / contact form. When you request a program quote or contact us, we may collect name, work email, phone number, program or institution name, approximate number of residents per year, and your message. That form is submitted through Formspree (see third parties below).
- Correction reports. When you report a correction on the errata page, we collect the name you want credited, your email, and the specialty, page, statement, and supporting reference you describe. That form is also submitted through Formspree.
- Email and feedback. If you email us (for example corrections, content suggestions, or order questions), we collect the address and content of your message. Please do not send patient names or other personal health information about third parties.
- Purchases. Individual book orders are completed through Lulu Direct checkout, with payments processed by Stripe. Lulu and Stripe collect the contact, payment, billing, and shipping information needed to complete and fulfill the order. We receive order confirmation details (such as your name, email, shipping address, and what you bought)—we do not receive or store your full card number.
Information collected automatically
- Basic technical data. Like most websites, our hosting provider and the browsers you use may process IP address, browser type, device type, referring URL, pages requested, and timestamps as part of normal server and security logs.
- Analytics. We use Cloudflare Web Analytics to count visits and see which pages and referring sites people use. It does not use cookies or local storage, and it does not fingerprint visitors or follow you across other sites.
- Third-party resources. The Site loads fonts from Google Fonts. Google may receive your IP address and browser information when the fonts load. See Google’s privacy policy for details.
Cookies and similar technologies
We do not use advertising cookies, and our analytics does not use cookies. Essential cookies or local storage may be set by us or by service providers (for example Lulu’s checkout pages, or Formspree) to process a form submission, complete a payment, or keep a session secure. Your browser settings can block cookies; some features (especially checkout) may not work if cookies are disabled.
If we add other analytics or marketing tools, we will update this policy and describe them.
What we do not intentionally collect
- We do not operate a public account system or newsletter signup on the Site today.
- We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. The Site is intended for adults in medical training and education.
3. How we use information
- To operate the Site and show free sample materials.
- To process and fulfill book orders (including shipping and customer support).
- To respond to program quote requests and other inquiries.
- To improve the book and Site (including reviewing content feedback you choose to send).
- To prevent fraud, abuse, and technical issues.
- To comply with law and enforce our Terms of Use.
We do not sell your personal information for money. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
4. How we share information
Information is shared only as needed to run the project and fulfill orders:
- Stripe. Processes payments made through Lulu’s checkout. See Stripe’s Privacy Policy.
- Formspree. Delivers program-quote and correction-report form submissions to us. See Formspree’s Privacy Policy.
- Lulu. Provides checkout, prints and ships purchased books, and sends shipping notifications. Order information shared for fulfillment includes the recipient’s name, shipping address, phone number, email address, and book quantity.
- Brevo. For orders placed through our previous checkout, sent transactional shipping emails using the recipient’s name, email address, and available tracking information. The site operator received a blind copy for order support.
- Cloudflare. Hosts the Site and provides its cookie-free analytics. It also stores records from orders placed through our previous checkout, such as order references and fulfillment status, for support and record-keeping.
- Shipping carriers. Name and address as needed to deliver physical books.
- Legal and safety. If required by law, legal process, or to protect rights, safety, and security.
- Transfer of the project. If the project is later sold, assigned, or reorganized (for example into a formal business), information may move with it under appropriate protections.
When we credit contributors in a future edition for accepted feedback, we only use the name you ask us to publish.
5. Free samples and downloads
Specialty sample PDFs can be viewed or downloaded from the Site. Viewing a PDF in the browser or downloading a file may involve standard web request logs. Samples are for personal evaluation and study; see the Terms of Use for license limits.
6. Retention
Personal information is kept only as long as reasonably needed for the purposes above—for example, order and shipping records for taxes and support, and inquiry emails until the conversation is resolved or longer if required by law. You may ask for deletion of information under our control, subject to those limits.
7. Security
Reasonable care is taken with information received (including relying on reputable processors such as Stripe for card data). No method of transmission or storage is fully secure; absolute security cannot be guaranteed.
8. Your choices and rights
- You can decline to fill optional form fields.
- You can email to request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information held about you.
- There is no ongoing marketing list by default; messages are mainly sent when you write in or when needed for an order. You can ask to stop non-essential email at any time.
California residents. The Site is operated from California. If California privacy law applies to you, you may have rights to know, delete, or correct certain personal information, and to not be discriminated against for exercising those rights. For The Boards does not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. To make a request, email Slaton@ForTheBoards.com. Depending on where else you live, other laws may also apply; reasonable requests will be handled in good faith.
9. Third-party links and services
The Site may link to third parties (for example Lulu’s checkout or external study resources). Their privacy practices are their own. Review their policies before providing information on those sites.
10. International visitors
The Site is operated from California in the United States for a primarily U.S. medical-education audience. If you access it from elsewhere, you understand information may be processed in the United States, where laws may differ from those in your country.
11. Children’s privacy
The Site is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child provided personal information, contact us and we will delete it where required.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top will change when we do, so please check this page from time to time. Material changes that affect how we handle personal information will be reflected on this page.
13. Contact
Privacy questions or requests:
Slaton@ForTheBoards.com
For The Boards (sole proprietor, California) · fortheboards.com