Last updated: 30 October 2026
biberfan is a personal website about early and classical music. I am John Hendron, and you can reach me through the envelope link in the footer.
Reading the site
I do not ask you to log in or accept cookies to read biberfan. The site does not set its own cookies when you read it.
Like any web server, the host records basic technical details of each visit: your IP address, the page requested, the time, and your browser type. I use them to keep the site secure and working. DreamHost keeps these logs for 7 days.
To see which pages are read, I count page views with Burst Statistics, a WordPress plugin that runs on this site’s own server. It is set to cookieless mode, so it stores nothing in your browser, and nothing is sent to an outside analytics company.
The map and embedded media
The “Listening Around the World” map on the Fans page is a Google My Map. It loads only if you click to show it. When it loads, your browser contacts Google, which receives your IP address and may set its own cookies.
Some Musings and Reviews embed YouTube videos. A video loads only if you click Play, and then from YouTube’s privacy-enhanced address. Even so, playing it sends your IP address to YouTube (Google), which may set or read its own cookies. If you prefer, each video has a link to watch it on YouTube directly.
The podcast episodes under “Bachcast” are hosted by me, and I attach no tracking to playback. Downloads appear in the server’s technical logs like any other file. If you subscribe through a podcast directory, that service may require a login and track your listening.
The guestbook (Fans of Biber)
If you sign the guestbook, I receive what you type: your name or handle (required), and optionally your city and country, language, how you listen, what you follow, a favorite composer or recording, a short message, a website, and an email address. The date of your entry is recorded automatically. I do not record your IP address with your entry. To limit spam, the site briefly keeps a scrambled (hashed) form of the sender’s address, for one hour, so that one place cannot post more than a handful of entries; it cannot be turned back into your address and is not attached to your entry.
- You choose who sees it. “Private” means only I see it. “Show on the guestbook” means your name, place, message and the other details you filled in may appear on the site after I approve the entry. Your email address is never shown. A link to your website appears only if you tick the box that allows it.
- What I do with it. I read it. If you ask for a reply and give an email address, I may reply. I do not sell your information, share it with advertisers, or add you to a mailing list.
- Where it lives. Entries are stored on the site’s server at DreamHost in the United States, in encrypted form. The key is kept separately in the server’s configuration. This protects the entries if only a copy of the database were exposed; it would not protect them if someone gained full control of the server. Your entry travels to the site over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection.
- Keeping and removing. I keep entries until you ask me to remove yours. To have an entry corrected or removed, contact me and tell me the name you used.
Your rights
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you may ask to see, correct, or delete what I hold about you, and you may withdraw your consent to a public entry at any time. I handle the guestbook on the basis of your consent. Ask through the envelope link.
Changes
If this page changes materially, I will update the date at the top.