Privacy policy
According to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR), please be informed that:
- The personal data controller is the 16colo.rs ANSI/ASCII art archive (http://16colo.rs). We can be reached through e-mail at contact@16colo.rs. Feel free to contact us regarding any issues that you might have. We always aim to find constructive solutions to problems.
- Personal data is processed
to provide website functionality and to facilitate website use, which is the controller’s legitimate interest, GDPR art. 6(1)(f)). This site uses cookies. We use information saved using cookies for a variety of reasons such as advertising, statistics and to adapt our site to the individual needs of visitors. Using our site without changing the settings for cookies means that they will be saved in the device's memory. By using this website you agree to the use of cookies in accordance with current browser settings. Details of cookie usage are outlined in the Cookie policy below. Note that cookies used to distinguish between humans and bots are necessary to keep the website safe and accessible. Provided services described in the section below.
to provide 16colo.rs visitors with an archive of ANSI/ASCII artpacks, digital releases of primarily textmode artworks created for textmode consoles such as those using the legacy MS-DOS ANSI.SYS driver. Processing personal data for such purpose is a legitimate interest of the controller, namely for the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and information based on GDPR art. 6(1)(f).
The concept of an artpack originated in the early 1990’s on dial-up Bulletin Board Systems which rose and then declined with the mass adoption of the internet in the late nineties. E-mags (Electronic magazines) are similar to artpacks, but are intended to provide information, news articles, reviews, etc.
As the technical medium in which the artworks and other data were produced is obsolete, there is a need for archiving and preservation as the produced work is of enduring value.
16colo.rs is collecting publicly released artpacks and e-mags with the aim of preservation in a useable state and making them available to the public through modern means such as a public website. The file formats of files within an artpack or e-mag would otherwise require specific viewers and/or emulation software to be viewable.
Artpacks tend to be released by collectives of artists who submit their contributions for the artpack or e-mag in the form of a digital release at a set point in time chosen by the collective. As the ANSI/ASCII art scene had a competitive nature, collectives released and still release their artpacks to the public through various means.
16colo.rs strives to facilitate the collective memory and safeguard the history of this “ANSI/ASCII art scene” which had its peak between 1990 and 2000 but still produces artpacks today. The archive provides reliable evidence of past and present actions through the right to freedom of expression and information.
The use of pseudonyms within artpacks and e-mag contents is standard practice. Real names of actual persons are rare. This means that the 16colo.rs archive is generally unable to identify who exactly is responsible for certain content unless the author or subject shows up and lays claim on his past creations. Identifying all creations by an author by pseudonyms is one of objectives of the archive, linking a pseudonym to a natural person however is absolutely not.
Despite the use of pseudonyms, the archive contents may hold information about living people that could be identified. Artpacks and e-mags were and are manifestly made public by collectives and its contributors, as the aim for them was to be as widespread as possible. The 16colo.rs archive will only collect and preserve releases such as artpacks and e-mags that were released to the public.
Artworks within artpacks remain at all times the intellectual property of the creator. By no means exposing the contents in a public archives a visitor is entitled to reuse or alter the creations without permission of the original author.
It's noteworthy to mention that ANSI/ASCII artworks may be heavily inspired by the work of other artists. American Comics for example appeared to be a popular theme among ANSI artists in the early 1990s. The 16colo.rs archives encourages crediting original authors however for older artworks, authors may not have been credited properly which we attempt to correct through a tagging system. The 'copy practice' should be interpreted as 'fan art' and is an integral part of the history we aim to document and preserve.
An artpack or e-mag could be compared to a free magazine in which authors willingly and knowingly publish their creations and information with the objective of being widespread. The contents however remain the intellectual property of the authors.
The 16colo.rs archive is a personal non-profit initiative, offering public access to the entire archive free of charge. The archive and metadata generated based on its contents are publicly available for download and/or consultation (such as FTP/RSYNC for file contents and static JSON or a REST API for the metadata). We encourage anyone interested to mirror/copy the data we expose as this contributes to preservation.
- where applicable - to process your submissions, requests, complaints, or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, which is legitimate interest of the controller and bases on GDPR art. 6(1)(f). As an archive, 16colo.rs is always interested in adding additional material. An upload mechanism is available to submit artpacks/e-mags to the archive. The uploads are verified with an e-mail feedback loop to confirm the validity of the upload. Additionally, we will perform a human/robot check through Google reCAPTCHA. The upload data including the e-mail address is deleted 30 days after the upload. Uploaders of newly released artpacks acknowledge that they have done the utmost to credit the original artist wherever applicable such as for example derivate works. Either in the artwork directly or in the SAUCE comments of the file.
The scope of personal data processed. We process personal data either in the scope you provided or to extent that was published along with an artpack, e-mag or similar works mentioned on this website. Typical artpacks and e-mags contain:
- Phone numbers and/or telnet addresses of (defunct) dial-up Bulletin Board systems.
- News articles, reviews and other information about individuals (based on pseudonyms) and/or their work.
- Very rare cases of personal data deliberately disclosed by an author such as for example: name, street address, email address.
- Details on the scope of personal data processed to provide website functionalities facilitate its use, have been provided in detailed sections below.
The recipients of your personal data may be:
- Companies providing IT services or solutions.
- Website visitors who view the website collection and authors of particular works.
- Public authorities receiving data in connection with the performance of legal obligations.
- Firms providing advisory and auditing services.
- Firms conducting marketing activities.
In principle, your personal data will not be transferred outside the European Economic Area (henceforth: EEA). However, within the scope of the services provided by the Controller's subcontractors in the implementation of support for ICT services and IT infrastructure, the Controller may commission specific activities or IT tasks to recognized subcontractors operating outside the EEA, which may result in the transfer of your data outside the EEA.
Non-EEA recipient countries covered by the European Commission decision, ensure an adequate level of personal data protection in accordance with EEA standards. In the case of recipients in the territory of States not covered by the decision of the European Commission, in order to ensure an adequate level of this protection, all contracts with recipients of your personal data are based on standard contractual clauses issued by the European Commission in accordance with Art. 46 (2) (c) of the GDPR.
A copy of the standard contractual clauses can be obtained by contacting the controller at the contact details provided above. The method of securing your data used by the controller is consistent with the principles set out in Chapter V of the GDPR. You can request further information about the applied safeguards in this respect, obtain a copy of these safeguards and information about the place of their disclosure.
Retention periods. As one of our goals is preservation of artpacks (containing textmode artwork, newsletters, memberlists, magazines, etc). We intend to store the contents of the archive indefinitely. Other categories of personal data are processed according to until the expiry of the limitation periods for claims arising from legal relationships between you and the Controller, or until you file a valid objection to processing basing on GDPR art. 21, depending on which date comes earlier.
Details on the retention periods for data processed to provide website functionalities facilitate its use, have been provided in detailed sections below.
Data subject rights. In situations provided for by law, you enjoy:
- the right to access your data and receive a copy of it,
- the right to rectify (amend) your data,
- the right to delete personal data,
- the right to limit data processing,
- the right to data portability - if the legal basis for their processing is consent (Art. 6 (1) (a lub Art. 9 (2) (a of the GDPR) or a contract (Art. 6 (1) (b of the GDPR),
- the right to withdraw consent to data processing when it is the basis for data processing (Art. 6 (1) (a of the GDPR), however, this does not affect processing before the withdrawal date,
- the right to object to the processing of your personal data - if the legal basis for the processing is a legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) (f) of the GDPR).
We'd like to point out that 16colo.rs is an archive in the public interest containing items that were manifestly released to the public. GPDR Art. 16-22 may render the rights above not to be applicable for items in the archive.
- If you find that the processing of your personal data violates the provisions of the GDPR, it is your right to lodge a complaint to your data protection supervisory authority.
Providing personal data is voluntary. Not providing it would not entail any negative consequences other than not allowing us to process personal data to deliver you our website functionalities or solve your case.
- Your data will not be subject to automated decision-making.
Service specifics
Public website of the archive
The public website 16colo.rs (and its current aliases such as for example sixteencolors.net and textmode.es) distinguish between public and authenticated visitors. No personal data are collected from visitors of the public website.
Visitors who choose to create a personal account will provide a username (preferably a pseudonym), password and an e-mail address intended for verification and account recovery. The passwords are stored with a bcrypt hashing algorithm of which the output can’t be decrypted to clear text.
The webserver creates log files which include the visitor’s IP address and URL path. These logs are retained for a maximum of 30 days.
In addition to the regular webserver logs, actions performed by users logged on through an account with elevated features will be logged. This includes rating content but also the so-called ‘editor features’ such as render corrections, tagging and hiding clutter files.
Other services
The 16colo.rs archive provides some services aiding in the creation of ANSI/ASCII textmode art and supporting the community such as the meta-data editor (SAUCE), file sharing (PASTE) and collaboration servers (Moebius/Pablodraw).
For any of these services it’s strictly forbidden for users to add or create any content that may include personal information about themselves or others.
Data submitted to the archive or one of its services are stored in infrastructure based in Germany, Finland and Belgium. Our servers are backed up nightly and the backup data is retained for a maximum of 60 days.
16colo.rs reserves the right to remove any content for any reason whatsoever, including but not limited to inaccurate, false, misleading, defamatory, offensive, abusive, uncivil, harmful, threatening, hate message or personal attacks against others. This applies to functionality provided such as, but not limited to PASTE, SAUCE and the ANSI editor collaboration servers.
Public collaboration servers
Pablodraw and Moebius are popular ANSI/ASCII art editors which both feature networked collaboration over the internet by connecting to a server. 16colo.rs is hosting public Moebius and Pablodraw servers, these servers allow users of a Moebius or Pablodraw client to connect remotely to collaborate on the same canvas and chat (text). As these servers have a public nature, anyone who connects acknowledges that any content created and possibly chatter is publicly viewable by other visitors and also at our preview page at https://16colo.rs/servers/
All servers will create backups of the content which is stored for 30 days. For debug purposes server logs with connection information, client status, file saves and public chatter may be logged and retained for a maximum of 30 days.
PASTE
The 16colo.rs PASTE feature available at https://16colo.rs/paste/ or through the API (as for example integrated in Moebius) only collects contents with consent of the submitter. The file submission generates a random URL address which can be shared with others. Only those knowing the exact URL address have access to the content. The submitter chooses the file retention ranging from 1 second to forever (or as long as the service is provided).
Whether the content on the PASTE feature is publicly available is entirely depending on the URL address sharing done by the submitter. In no way 16colo.rs is making this content available to others.
Cookie policy
Cookies are small text files placed on the device of the visitor to be able to differentiate between users and/or track their movements. You can prevent the storage of cookies using the appropriate browser software setting. However, necessary cookies are required for the proper functioning of the website and can’t be disabled by the visitor although their use is limited to either logging on to an account or when uploading.
Cookie list
| Name | Category | Provider | Type | Validity | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16c | Necesssary | 16colo.rs | HTTPS | 2 weeks | Maintains the status of the visitor's session between different pages. This cookie is only used when users register and login to an account. |
| rc::a rc::c |
Necesssary | Google Recaptcha | HTTPS | Persistent | Google reCAPTCHA: cookie used to distinguish between humans and automated software. Data is sent to Google for analysis. |
| 16cp | Preferences | 16colo.rs | HTTPS | 1 year | Saves the viewing preferences of the visitors on the website. Visitor may alter the way the content is viewed, basic viewing preferences are saved in this cookie. |
| _ga _gat _gid collect |
Statistics | Google Analytics | HTTPS | Session end or 2 years | Registers a unique identifier to produce statistical data about the use of the website and the origin of visits. Sends data to Google about the device and behavior of the visitor. Follows the visitor on different devices and marketing channels. The data sent to Google is anonymous. |
| _hj | Statistics | Hotjar | HTTPS | 1 year | Is sporadically (a few days a year) used to collect data about the behavior of visitors such as navigation, mouse movements and clicks (heatmaps). This information is completely anonymous and will be sent to Hotjar. |
Google Recaptcha
16colo.rs uses Google reCAPTCHA on our webforms such as the login, upload and user registration forms. This service is provided by Google Inc. reCAPTCHA allows us to differentiate between humans and automated software (also known as ‘bots’). For this purpose reCAPTCHA analyzes the behavior of the visitor on the website. In this analysis various elements are included such as IP address, time spent on the website, mouse movements or touch events or input behavior. The data collected is forwarded to Google to enable them to perform the analysis and create a score one the likeliness that a certain visitor is human. Data processing is based on legitimate interest of 16colo.rs to prevent automated crawling, account creation and/or spam. Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply here.
Google Analytics
The 16colo.rs website is using Google Analytics, a web analysis service provided by Google Inc. Google Analytics uses cookies to analyze how visitors are using the website. We have signed a Data Processing Amendment with Google, the last octet of your IP address is being masked and we have not given Google permission to share the data nor do we use other Google services in combination with Analytics cookies.
The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. However, due to the activation of IP anonymization on these pages, your IP address will be shortened earlier by Google in the Member States of the European Union or in other countries that are parties to the agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be sent to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activity and to provide other services related to website activity and internet usage for the website operator. The IP address provided by Google Analytics will not be combined with other data held by Google.
The purpose of data processing is to evaluate the use of the website and compile reports on website activities. Other related services will be provided based on the use of the website and the Internet. The processing is based on the legitimate interest of the website operator.
Google Analytics collects data on IP addresses, network location, date of visit, operating system, browser type.
Hotjar
Occasionally we will make use of Hotjar to analyze the behavior of visitors on our website. Hotjar is creating a log of all mouse movements, clicks and touch events of random visits which can be replayed afterwards. This allows us to identify areas where our website can be improved. Personal data is not being transferred. Every possible measure towards anonymization has been taken: keystrokes are not being recorded, your IP address is not being stored and some areas of our website which may contain personal data are entirely excluded from the logging. We are storing these records for a maximum of 4 weeks. In no way Hotjar is permanently used, typically it is used after introducing changes on the website to review user behavior, nevertheless as it may be used it’s mentioned in this policy.