Orientation · approximately ten minutes
What we mean by remaining whole
You are probably not in crisis. Most people who read this page are managing. They work, they answer, they arrive roughly on time, and they have the persistent sense that their life is being conducted in pieces by someone slightly behind schedule.
We do not think this is a personal failing. Modern life rewards fragmentation more often than coherence, and it does so without malice, by making every interruption marginally easier than the work it interrupts. A person can lose a decade this way while behaving impeccably throughout.
The Continuance is a practice, not a belief. It consists of attending regularly, paying attention deliberately, finishing what you begin, and accepting a small number of obligations that other people can actually rely on. That is the whole of it. There is nothing underneath.
We do not have all the answers. We have maintained a practice that some people find useful.
Nothing on the following pages asks you to register, contribute, or agree.
Begun in error, or wish to sit it afresh?
What this page stores, and where
What you type is saved automatically in this browser, unencrypted, and stays there unless you are signed in and have turned on synchronisation to your account. Signing out does not delete anything. Data saved in this browser stays in this browser, and anything stored against your account stays on the server until you delete it. If you lose this device, anything saved only in this browser is gone and cannot be recovered by the Institute. Anything you synchronised can be read again by signing in elsewhere.
- Orientation progress and answers, in this browser
Stored in: localStorage key continuance.orientation-progress.v1
Written when: Written automatically as you type and as you move between sections. You are not asked to save.
Leaves this device: No. This key is never sent anywhere.
Encryption: Not encrypted. It is readable by anyone with access to this browser profile on this computer.
Who can read it: Anyone who can use this browser profile. The Institute cannot read it and receives no copy.
Kept for: Kept indefinitely until you delete it or the browser clears its storage. It does not expire.
Deleted by: Removed by ‘Delete everything this orientation has stored’ on the orientation page, or by clearing site data in your browser.
- The completed orientation entry, in this browser
Stored in: localStorage keys continuance.common-record.v1, .series.v1, .movements.v1 and .lodgement.v1
Written when: Written when you close the orientation, and when you amend the entry afterwards.
Leaves this device: Only if you are signed in and choose ‘Lodge a copy’ on the Common Record page. Otherwise no.
Encryption: Not encrypted in the browser. It is readable by anyone with access to this browser profile.
Who can read it: Anyone who can use this browser profile.
Kept for: Kept indefinitely until you delete it.
Deleted by: Removed by ‘Withdraw this record from the device’, by the full delete control, or by clearing site data.
- Progress synchronised to your account
Stored in: database table orientation_progress, one row per account
Written when: Only when you are signed in and have ticked the synchronisation box. It then uploads about a second after each change.
Leaves this device: Yes. Data is sent to the Institute's server about one second after you stop making changes.
Encryption: Sent over HTTPS. Stored as plain text in the database, encrypted only by the hosting provider's disk encryption. It is not encrypted with a key that only you hold.
Who can read it: Your signed-in account, through database access rules. Other members and stewards cannot read it. People who administer the database can read it, as with any server-stored text.
Kept for: Kept until you delete it. Signing out does not delete it, and it survives losing or replacing your device.
Deleted by: Deleted immediately when you untick the synchronisation box, or when you use the full delete control.
- A copy of the entry lodged with your account
Stored in: database table common_records, one row per account
Written when: Never automatic. Only when you are signed in and press ‘Lodge a copy’.
Leaves this device: Yes, at the moment you press that control.
Encryption: Sent over HTTPS. Stored as plain text in the database, encrypted only by the hosting provider's disk encryption.
Who can read it: Your signed-in account, through database access rules. Not other members, not stewards. People who administer the database can read it.
Kept for: Kept until you withdraw it. Signing out does not delete it.
Deleted by: Deleted when you press ‘Withdraw from the house’, or by the full delete control.
- The PDF copy of your entry
Stored in: a PDF made in the browser and downloaded
Written when: Made automatically in the browser when you close the orientation, and again whenever you ask for a copy.
Leaves this device: No. The file is produced in the browser and is not uploaded.
Encryption: Not encrypted. It is an ordinary file in your downloads folder.
Who can read it: Anyone with access to the downloaded file.
Kept for: Kept until you delete the file. The Institute has no copy and cannot delete it.
Deleted by: Delete the file yourself.