Please Support Edhat in 2022

Happy New Year edhat readers!

Another year is in the books, and our second year in a global pandemic. While we all thought 2021 was the year we’d see a bigger light at the end of this tunnel, we’re hopeful that 2022 will offer some kind of return to normalcy. It’s my sincerest hope that you are all healthy and staying safe as we continue in these pandemic times. 

As we toss out our old calendars and pin up a fresh one (ours is full of adorable baby animal photos), it’s my wish we can all turn to the positivity and hope a new year brings and approach one another with kindness. 2020 felt like a year of connectivity with loved ones, 2021 reminded us of our resilience, and perhaps 2022 can be the year of gratitude.

While uncertainty has been pervasive these past few years, our goal at edhat has been to keep you all informed, entertained, and connected with the community. Just over 18 years ago Peter Sklar published edhat’s very first article with the goal of bringing neighbors together through an online platform. With the hard and generous work of our dedicated staff, scanner reporters, columnists, and valued readers, edhat continues to strive towards that goal while providing a free local service.

With that, the cost to keep edhat running continues to take a toll. I’m shocked to say this past year has been more difficult than 2020. Advertising revenues took a much bigger hit than the previous year. I’m committed to keeping edhat online as long as you all keep reading, commenting, and subscribing, but we need your help. 

Please renew your edhat subscriptiongift a subscription to a friend or loved one, make a financial contribution, and urge your favorite local businesses to advertise with us! [Instructions on these below]

We wouldn’t be able to keep the community engaged and informed without the support of our readers. Continue sending in your questions, photos, news tips, reports, and anything else you think the community would like to know, and we’ll keep doing what we’re doing. 

Thank you to everyone for your continued support and readership, we greatly appreciate it. And let’s cheers to a happier, healthier, and kinder 2022.

Sincerely,

Lauren Bray (publisher),
Ed (the boss),
and the Dedicated Staff of edhat.com
 

RENEW YOUR EDHAT SUBSCRIPTION

Many of you have subscriptions on auto-renewal but if you’ve let your subscription lapse and would like to re-renew, click here. If you’re unsure what the status of your subscription currently is, click on “Manage account” or email us at ed@edhat.com. (Keep in mind if your subscription is currently active, you may be signing up for a duplicate subscription. Try a gift card instead!)

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You can purchase a gift card for edhat subscriptions or merchandise through our Edhat Store. Give the gift of local news to a family member, coworker, friend, or yourself! While you’re at it, pick up a very trendy edhat shirt, hat, or bag.

DONATE TO EDHAT

Click here to donate any amount of money to edhat. Keep in mind, any contribution to edhat, LLC is not tax-deductible and is considered a gift to keep this local grassroots organization going. We appreciate the support!

CONTRIBUTE TO EDHAT

Are you interested in reporting and writing? Or do you love to listen to scanner traffic and are willing to report? We’d love to hear all about it. Email Lauren at lauren@edhat.com.

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Visit your favorite local businesses and tell them how great they are and how they should advertise on Santa Barbara’s best-read website!

lauren

Written by lauren

Lauren is the Publisher of edhat.com. She enjoys short walks on the beach, interesting facts about bees, and any kind of homemade cookie.

What do you think?

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44 Comments

  1. Sacjon My point is illustrated in the anonymous post at 12:32. That person is at the ready to determine who is an ignorant sociopath. It’s not the first time sociopath has been used here unjustifiably in my opinion. Words matter.

  2. I would donate to Edhat beyond the membership fee if bullying on this site was controlled. As it stands now, you have several notoriously nasty bullies on the site who are allowed to operate virtually unchecked, constantly attacking their neighbors with insults on almost any topic it seems. Other sites don’t permit that, and they are much more vigilant about responding to flagged posts. I think bullies should be banned from having a membership if they cannot control their behavior and be civil and kind to their neighbors.

  3. CMKR I wholeheartedly agree with you. There are anonymous posters who repeatedly call other people derogatory names who rarely get their posts deleted. Those people shut down discussion on all sorts of topics. Other sites do not tolerate such behavior, but it gets tolerated here. People who post actual true facts and true data get the bully treatment which diminishes the community here.
    That’s why I stopped my paid membership last year. I plan to resume my paid membership in 2022 with the expectation that unacceptable bullying and derogatory name calling is brought into check at EdHat.

  4. SHASTA – What derogatory name calling do you see here that is not deleted? Any time certain people resort to name calling, they’re pretty quickly deleted. As for getting “bullied” over “true facts,” well…. when it comes to citing youtube videos as medical “evidence” and “facts” relating to COVID, it’s not bullying when others question the source. Not saying you do that, but I’ve seen it plenty here. Being questioned on your source’s integrity is just that. When it resorts to name calling, then it’s “bullying” and almost always promptly deleted.

  5. Sacjon I’m not going to give the bully(ies) additional jollies by listing the terms they repeatedly use to belittle other posters. That’s all I’m going to say on the topic. All I know is that posts containing those terms hang a long time without ever getting deleted. It’s one thing to disagree, and I’m fine with that. It’s another thing to ridicule someone else with a derogatory term in order to shut down dialog.

  6. We delete all comments in accordance with our edhat commenting policies. If there’s a comment that you feel should be reviewed, email us at ed@edhat.com. Unfortunately, many people ask us to delete comments they simply disagree with but do not violate our policies. 
    Thanks for your feedback.
    -ed staff

  7. We delete all comments in accordance with our edhat commenting policies. If there’s a comment that you feel should be reviewed, email us at ed@edhat.com. Unfortunately, many people ask us to delete comments they simply disagree with but do not violate our policies. Additionally, users get very upset when their comments violate our policies and are deleted, especially when it involves misinformation.
    Thanks for your feedback.
    -ed staff

  8. Certain viewpoints often posted here, expressing support for fascism and bigotry, spreading lies about public health measures and climate science, are no more than ignorant expressions of sociopathy, and deserve ridicule. It’s depressing how many times the same individuals are involved in those behaviors. They either think that their harmful stances are somehow worthy of dialog, despite all evidence to the contrary, or they just enjoy being sociopaths.

  9. Thanks for your feedback but we disagree. Readers asked for and appreciate the ability to post anonymously, one of the perks of having an upgraded account. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to make everyone happy with these types of decisions but you do have the option to not post anonymously.
    -ed staff

  10. “Sacjon I’m not going to give the bully(ies) additional jollies by listing the terms they repeatedly use to belittle other posters.” – so you’ll just call them names (“bullies”) without anything to back your claim. Yeah…… that seems about right.

  11. Yikes Channel. You do realize that edhat is a private entity and can run their business any way they wish right? Just like CNN and Fox News can. Considering all the trolls and conspiracy BS on the internet these days I think they do a good job of moderating. So the “fascism” and “censorship” doesn’t apply but it’s hilarious how your like-minded people drone on about it. Perhaps 8chan is a better forum for you.

  12. Channel.. dude. You realize edhat is just one local media source right? The internet offers you a world where you have “full view of all” and you can choose what to believe. It is a free world and you have the power to read all kinds of content at your fingertips. I really hope you’re writing Newsmax, Fox News, and OAN with this type of stuff too and not just criticizing this small local publication whose main goal is to save you from fires and give you the best idea for burgers in town. Get a grip.

  13. I’ve been reading edhat since the beginning and even then I remember people complaining about the comments. “People are too mean, there needs to be more moderation!” and “Too much moderation, let people say whatever they want!” I hope you can all see the issue with those too statements, an impossible task. They do a great job, you all clearly read it and engage so let’s support them.

  14. Chevy-just read this post. Yeah lots of sources, the complaint is the filtering, in all of them. Yes it takes many sources, BECAUSE, they all seem to censor and bias. It has just been extra severe with Covid, especially here.

  15. I’m proud to be a paying member to edhat. I read it nearly every day and they do provide a community service. It’s frustrating to read comments like “but I don’t like the mean comments” or “it’s unfair they delete my comment,” etc. Imagine what it’s like to read comments from community members likening a pandemic to the holocaust and spreading wild conspiracy theories and then most likely having to deal from angry emails from those people about censorship. Edhat moderators literally cannot win. Websites and platforms across the internet are all dealing with this and yet people who clearly read edhat and comment every day complain and nitpick against this bootstrapped service and refuse to donate? Geez. Pony up people or else this site will go away.

  16. I disagree CMKR. Aggressive or attacking comments seem to be deleted, but people are allowed to disagree. Looks to me like there are a few who have taken it upon themselves to combat the insane claims of the far right science deniers and I applaud it.

  17. @Shasta, if someone is stating intentional mistruths, it’s ok to state they are wrong. If that same person continues ad nauseam (which I’ve seen on this board and am shocked edhat hasn’t banned them but I suppose it’s the “fair” thing to do), then I support continually stating that person is blatantly spreading false information or stirring the pot for the heck of it.

  18. It’s seem the science deniers have switched sides recently as the “denied” science is now becoming mainstream; like covid is airborne, non-N95 masks don’t work for airborne viruses, the vaccines aren’t effective at stopping transmission, and covid will become endemic. All things “science deniers” have been saying for over a year but are all of a sudden now become “the science”. FYI, “the science” was there all along but if you silence or discount credentialed experts because you don’t like their opinion or political affiliation this is what we get.

  19. @9:39 No, but those are few and far between and certainly not repeated ad nauseam. Similarities can be drawn to the rise of previous (and current) authoritarian regimes but until we start calling for the unvaxxed to be put into special camps comparing it to the Holocaust isn’t appropriate.

  20. Because those public health officials are making black and white proclamations and mandates in the face of a novel and ever-evolving virus. If they are using their best guess, they should be providing guidance and advice to the population, not mandates and control of the population.

  21. VOICE – sadly, you’re wrong. The comments comparing covid restrictions to the Holocaust are hardly “few and far between.” It is a common sentiment by ignorant fools that is drilled over and over here and all over social media.

  22. Edhat has been and continues to a great extent, to be a hue local information asset. IMHO it is fraught with the same fascist censorship that has become vogue, and trusts not the Citizens ability to asses and decide for themselves. That posts are censored on grounds of civility is fabulous, but when any entity censors information, due to its perceived veracity, that is blatant Censorship. Censorship that negates capacity and respect for a Free populace. The proper pablum must be fed to assuage the ignorant masses and to maintain their ignorance.

  23. SBSURF…Imagine a world where we had full view of all and WE choose what to believe. The deletion or parsing of political thought is NEVER acceptable in a “Free World”. Yes, the Nannies are overworked and could reduce their toll by half were they to allow all to speak freely. I’m way to old for political nannydom.
    That someone goes overboard likening it to the Holocaust is overboard free speech, but at least they’re not Holocaust deniers. Whom I hate to say, should have their voice too in a Free World. Freedom is complicated.

  24. And I see by the slew of comments here from many of the notorious bullies that my point has been made once again. Apparently, these people just can’t stop themselves from bullying, regardless of the topic, and seem to have nothing better to do than troll this site attacking and insulting their neighbors. That’s also not a good way to win people to your point of you, no matter what it is. Remember the old expression, “you catch more flies with honey”. Definitely true

  25. CMKR – do you read any other website? It’s pervasive on the internet, not just edhat. Any website that gets this much traffic that is. Look at Nextdoor, that has peoples names and neighborhoods and doesn’t stop the “bullying” and “insulting neighbors.” Such is life on the internet. At least edhat tries and removes it when it’s a direct insult and bullying, but you can’t call it bullying when someone is getting corrected for spreading misinformation.

  26. I am not referring to people correcting misinformation, which I very much appreciate, especially when it comes to the virus. I am specifically referring to nasty, childish, completely unnecessary personal attacks on people, regardless of their point, that is clearly bullying, because they serve no other purpose but to demean the person being attacked and do nothing to further the point under discussion. There are bullies on here who routinely insult their neighbors personally and otherwise spread their negativity on nearly every story, thereby starting these long, back and forth insult threads, sometimes digressing far off the topic, as is the case here. Many of these aggressively insulting comments are never removed.
    As for other sites, such as next-door, they are moderated by each neighborhood lead, so I think the policing of offensive posts such as these varies widely but, thankfully, these sorts of comments are almost immediately reported and removed in my area and surrounding neighborhoods

  27. “long, back and forth insult threads” – you mean between me and VOICE? We may disagree violently on almost everything, but we try (at least I do) to avoid direct insults or ad hominem. Again, just because someone proves you wrong, doesn’t mean they’re “bullying” you.

  28. Ed has me on a short leash but I appreciate the (often times) good back and forth. My grievances were always on the School Board and all those who supported the closure of schools…it never made any sense in any capacity…but there were some people pushing it strongly that deserved a comment (or 300)…

  29. DUKE – yeah, where you been? I always appreciated your level headed approach when VOICE and I would go off the rails. It was refreshing to see/read someone open to change their minds sometimes. Heck, even ol’ Voice has changed my mind on a thing or two, but there’s no changing his lol!

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