Hello! We hope you're having a good day. And... "Thank You" for taking the time to read our terms and policies.

• Why should I read this?
• What we are
• How we get advertisers
• What we are not
• What we collect
• Why should you care
• Data Collection - Voluntary & In-voluntary
• Voluntary Data Collection
• In-person application
• Our "Contact Us" form
• Involuntary Data Collection
• Cookies
• What is a cookie?
• Third Party Cookies
• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy

Yeah, we know you have most likely seen something like this on just about every website you've visited or every mobile application you've used. Though... you may not have seen anything like this if you do not or have not read and understood a website's or an application's terms and policies. Which means, if you are like some of us, you just clicked "Accept", "Ok", or "Got It" or whatever buttons that are there just to close the annoyance and move on without reading anything. We understand and would again definitely like to "Thank You" for taking the time to read our policies and terms.

Well, our website isn’t going to be much different from all the other websites or applications you have visited or used. The reason behind all of this comes down to an individual's right to privacy, which we support and we’re no different from you, we like our privacy too. In the European Union (EU) there is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR is just the first in what will become a series of laws throughout the world. California, USA has adopted the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

For our website visitors the main requirement of the GDPR and the CCPA is that website and mobile application owners must notify all users that cookies or privacy related terms and policies are in use on the website or within a mobile application. Which is why on practically every website you visit or mobile application you use there should be a notification regarding the use of cookies or other data gathering devices. This is not to say that all websites are in compliance with the GDPR or the CCPA. Nor, does it mean that all websites not in compliance are unsafe or that they may misuse any data. Some of us are just making certain we are in compliance with all laws.

As mentioned above you've probably done the same thing we may have..., just clicked your way through without reading anything about the website owner's use of your information. Clicking just to move on isn't really a good idea. By doing so you are acknowledging and indicating that you have read and understand the terms and policies of the website. Also, in doing so should an issue arise between you our website visitor and our use of cookies, as long as we are in compliance then we will stand behind our use of cookies and the gathering of that data we have determined meets our analytical needs.

Thereby, by having your agreement to and acknowledgment of the site or application's terms and policies you are giving consent for a website or application owner to collect and use your data as outlined in the terms and policies. That you understand how your data will or may be used. Remember it's your data and some website or application owner's may not use your data in accordance with how you think it will or may be used. (see what data do you collect? ⁽¹⁾ see also Third Party Cookies ⁽²⁾)

Here we'll explain our business, why we use cookies and why you should care. So, let's identify what our organization is, what service(s) we provide, how our organization collects data and how our organization uses the incoming data.

We are an online interactive directory of vendors and merchants who are entrepreneurial participants in a monthly event called "First Monday Canton Trade Days" (FMCTD). FMCTD is held in Canton, Texas, USA, beginning on the Thursday prior to the first Monday of any month.

SFMC.com is dedicated to providing internet visibility of and access to FMCTD vendors and merchants who choose to be listed as a sponsor or an advertiser on SFMC.com's website. You might think of us as an online directory of small businesses and if our website is being visited while in attendance at a First Monday Canton Trade Days then our website could be considered as a handheld kiosk of the events of the day.

We perform an in-person interview with prospective and current clients in order to gather and agree to what data, personal or otherwise, will be displayed on the SFMC.com website. During the interview we explain our data gathering procedures and privacy policies.

With the exception of embedded third party Ads, all vendors or merchants displayed or shown on SFMC.com's website are active advertisers, sponsors or clients of SFMC.com or its affiliates.

SFMC.com:

• Is not affiliated with, nor are we supported by, the City of Canton, Texas USA
• Is not affiliated with, nor are we supported by any owner, operator or sponsor of any of the FMCTD grounds, buildings, events or sales.
• Is not a merchandise or a retail seller, nor are we affiliated with any vendor or merchant (beyond their listing/s on our website) who may operate a booth in any of the FMCTD grounds or buildings.
• Is not responsible for interactions that may occur between SFMC.com website visitors and FMCTD event participants.
• Is not a mediator or an arbitrator, nor will SFMC.com act as such should disputes arise between FMCTD event participants and FMCTD shoppers.
• Is not a mediator or an arbitrator, nor will SFMC.com act as such should disputes arise between the FMCTD event participants that advertise on SFMC.com's website and any of SFMC.com's online or offline shoppers.

Therefore, SFMC.com is not and will not be responsibile for any interaction(s) that may occur between a SFMC.com website visitor and a SFMC.com's website advertiser. Once an interaction between FMCTD members and shoppers has taken place all interactions from that point on become the sole responsibility of the FMCTD members or SFMC.com advertisers and SFMC.com's online shoppers.

Our data collection methods are not much different from any of the other websites you may have visited. We make use of a few methods to collect website usage data; one is analytical data collection via third party cookies and the other is through the use of our "Contact Us" form. By collecting website usage data we are able to analyze our website's performance. Therefore, through the use of third party cookies we're able to improve our website's functionality.

Our "Contact Us" form is the only "voluntary" data collection method being used on our website. The form requires a visitor to provide their email address and their first and last name. This is for the purpose of correspondance with one another, no other personally identifiable information is needed.

Completing an application is voluntary - our business model requires us to approach each prospective client in-person. An in-person interview is performed with each client where it is explained what we are, what information we may need for display on the website, and what personal data may be shared with our website visitors. We also explain how any or all data may be removed within the policies or laws regarding the safeguarding or removal of collected data.

Voluntary website data collection - many website owners place various data entry forms on or throughout their websites so visitors may contact website owners or administrators. Completing a data entry form is generally a voluntary act on the part of a website visitor. A good example of this is the use of a "Contact Us" form. No one is compelled to complete most forms found on a website.

Our "Contact Us" form is the only form that actually exists on our website. If you choose to use the "Contact Us" form, you will encounter required fields. The fields are required only if, and only if, the form is used. The required fields are the "First & Last Name", the "Email Address" and why you're making a request. The name requirement just gives us a way of being cordial with the sender. The email address requirement is for the purpose of communication with each other. The inquiry field... well, if it's not completed how are we going to respond to any concern? This information remains on SFMC.com servers until the concern is either resolved, when a written request for removal is provided, or a period of 90 days has transpired without any contact between the parties. Again, this is the only form found on our website. (how long do you keep data? ⁽³⁾)

Almost from the very beginning of the electronic computing age cookies have been used for data collection. Today many websites may place cookies in the background of a visitor's browser. Most company's use the data to improve a website's capabilities and visitor experiences.

Cookies may be persistent or non-persistent. Their use is determined by what information is to be collected and how that information is to be used.

Simply stated, a cookie is a small piece of code placed or stored in the background of a visitor's browser or in some cases their device. Some cookies may be persistent (they don't expire) and others maybe non-persistent (they expire).

Generally, a lot of websites and applications may use a non-persistent piece of code called a "session_id", which is a first party cookie (created by the website owner) that lets the website server know if this is a returning or first time visitor. If left on the visitor's device a session_id's use can be beneficial by accessing a website's content quickly. If the session_id is cleared or deleted from the devices's history then the visitor will be identified as a first time visitor.

Other cookies may be persistent. Some websites or companies who create or use websites and device applications may place persistent cookies in the device's background. Meaning that, if not deleted, this kind of cookie may continue to monitor your device's activities even when the browser, application or device is closed or turned off. By the way cellphones are never off even though you have turned off the power, they are constantly sending out their device id and other information to the system.

Persistent cookies allow for quicker responses of the website or application by reducing device data buffering time. Which means that an application or website's data buffering is nearly eliminated, thus, making the website or application's response time seem to be more instantaneous.

Along with our first party session_id cookie we use non-persistent analytical third party session_id cookies so we may analyze the data regarding our website's performance. By collecting, compiling and analyzing the website's performance data we're able to identify non-personal things like:

• How many visitors are onsite in real time?
• What were the number of visitors per day, per week, per month, per year?
• What is the overall visitation rate of our website?
• How long do visitors stay onsite or perhaps on an individual page?
• What pages are viewed most often and why?
• How did the visitor get to our website?
• Where did they come?
• Were they referred to our website?
• Did they arrive at our website by using an organic search?
• What country, state or city do visitors come from? (although increasing VPN use may make this obsolete)

By clicking the "Accept", "Ok" or a "Got It" button, you are acknowledging that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy regardless of whether or not you actually read the Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service.

You accept that some data may be collected through the use of first and/or third party cookies.

Further, you agree that should you voluntarily submit an inquiry using our "Contact Us" form that we may collect your first and last name and your email address. That we may use your name and email address for the purpose of corresponding to your inquiry.

Should you decide to use any link or follow any advertiser or sponsor link found on SFMC.com's website then you agree that from that point on any and all interactions are solely between you and the advertiser, sponsor, or any FMCTD participant.

You further agree that any disputes that may arise regarding any data collected by third party cookies or Ads will be conducted between you the website visitor and the cookie or advertisement orginator i.e., Google Analytics, Google Ads or Bing Ads.

Whereby, that upon receipt of a written request that SFMC.com shall in response provide any appropriate contact information to any or all third party cookie provider(s) and shall/will not be held as mediator or arbitrator, nor be held liable, nor held responsible for any unauthorized data collected by third party cookies.

Should a dispute arise between a website visitor and a vendor/merchant, SFMC.com will not act as mediator or arbitrator on behalf of either party. SFMC.com only provides a means of contact between website visitors and vendors/merchant who are generally participants of FMCTD.

All personal data collected through the use of our "Contact Us" form is not only private but confidential. Under most conditions, no visitor or client's information may be divulged without the express written permission of an identified website visitor or client.

At times there may be situations where we may have to refuse the removal of data. A refusal to remove data may arise where we may be required by local, national or international laws to hold data beyond any specified period(s). In such cases we will provide the requested information and, when allowed, will refer the website visitor to the authority where the hold request orginated.

It is our policy to remove/delete any "Contact Us" data after a period of 90 days. Unless... the issue has been resolved before the 90 day period is over or a written request for deletion has been received before the end of the 90 day period or unless, as explained above, a legal hold has been placed on the data.

All client applications (hard copy forms) are kept in physical filing cabinets in the offices of SFMC.com and are not kept on our website or on the servers of SFMC.com.