Last updated: September 2026
The Blackboard Guru (blackboard.guru) is a personal blog written and operated by Terry Patterson. This page explains what information the site collects when you visit, subscribe, comment, or get in touch, and what happens to it. The short version: I collect as little as I can, I don’t sell anything, and I don’t run advertising.
Email subscriptions
If you subscribe to new posts, your email address (and your name, if you provide it) is stored in the site’s newsletter system, MailPoet. Subscription uses a double opt-in: you’ll receive a confirmation email and won’t be added until you confirm. Your address is used only to send you new Blackboard Guru posts. Every email includes an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing takes effect immediately. MailPoet may record whether emails are opened or links are clicked so I can tell whether posts are reaching people. I may use your email to communication new features or surveys collecting information about topics or issues for future blog posts.
Contact form
When you use the contact form, the name, email address, and message you enter are sent to me by email so I can reply. I don’t add contact-form senders to the mailing list or share their messages.
Comments
When you leave a comment, the site stores the name, email address, and website you enter, along with your IP address and browser user agent. Your name, website, and comment are displayed publicly; your email address is not. To filter spam, comments may be checked by Akismet (a service run by Automattic) and Antispam Bee. Akismet’s privacy policy is available at automattic.com/privacy.
Analytics
I use Matomo, an open-source analytics platform, to understand which posts are read and how visitors find the site. Matomo records information such as pages visited, referring site, approximate location based on IP address, browser, and device type. This data is used only in aggregate to improve the site and is not shared with advertisers. The site also uses Jetpack (by Automattic), which may collect basic visit statistics and security information.
Cookies
The site uses a small number of cookies: functional cookies that remember your details if you leave a comment, analytics cookies used by Matomo, and login cookies for site administrators. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; the site will still work for reading posts.
Embedded content and third parties
Some posts include embedded content such as videos or links to other sites. Embedded content behaves as if you visited the other site directly, and that site may collect data about you under its own privacy policy. New posts are also shared automatically to social media; that sharing involves only the post itself, not any information about readers.
How long data is kept
Subscriber information is kept until you unsubscribe. Comments and their metadata are kept indefinitely so follow-up comments can be approved automatically. Contact-form messages are kept in my email as long as they’re useful for the conversation.
Your choices
You can ask to see the personal data the site holds about you, or ask for it to be corrected or deleted. Just send a request through the contact page. This doesn’t include data I’m required to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Changes to this policy
If the site starts collecting something new, this page will be updated and the date at the top will change.