Cookies
This site uses cookies to count visits. Where you are decides which of two things happens, and the site works it out from your browser’s time zone rather than by looking your address up anywhere. In the UK, the EEA and Switzerland nothing is set until you say yes, and a short notice at the foot of the page asks. Everywhere else the counting is simply on, and you can switch it off with the button below. What was set is deleted on the spot.
The analytics cookies
We load Google Analytics, which sets the two cookies below in your browser, after you agree if you are in the UK, the EEA or Switzerland, and otherwise unless you have said no. They tell us how many people visit and which pages get read. They do not tell us who you are, and we do not use them to advertise to you anywhere.
| Cookie | Set by | Lasts | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics | 2 years | Tells one browser apart from another, so two visits from you are not counted as two people. |
| _ga_<id> | Google Analytics | 2 years | Keeps the state of your visit: when it started, and whether this page view is part of the same one. |
What is set either way
Signing in sets a session cookie. That one is not optional and is not covered by the notice, because without it being signed in would not survive loading the next page. It carries no tracking and is deleted when the session ends. If you never sign in, it is never set.
Your answer to the cookie notice is remembered in your browser’s local storage rather than in a cookie. It never leaves your machine and is never sent to us.
Changing your mind
Saying no deletes the two cookies above straight away. You do not have to go and clear site data yourself. The button below forgets your answer entirely: if you are somewhere the notice appears it comes back and nothing is set until you answer again, and if you are not, the site returns to counting visits.