Welcome!
SBitZ.NET
is a Google Groups email list for friendly and informative Santa
Barbara regional information and dialog. This list may be read by
anyone. SBitZ.NET also allows easy dialog and
posting of content by all Members on the website interface or via
email, so that news and information can be shared instantly in
emergencies via any web browser or email app. This includes on-scene reports and
photos, plus videos that can be added as attachments. Such quick and
easy access means that anyone can view, and Members can also contribute
via nearly any mobile device or computer using their normal email address
and app (see the FAQ below). The few dollars to register the SBitZ.NET
web address is paid annually by a donor, and is the only expense. So everything here is free and we're happy for everyone to visit often and view anything here they find useful.
Free Membership Benefits
1. Email access: Signing up for free membership enables you to receive useful info via email with a variety of options. We don't use or share your email address in any way, though you'll want to read the Google terms to see if and how they might.
2. Share your info/media: The
key to building and keeping SBitZ.NET an increasingly useful and
enjoyable resource is friendly and respectful collaboration, so we
warmly invite you to become a Member and join us in this community
service by having the option to quickly share info & media (photos, video, links, etc.). Even if you'd rather not contribute helpful info or media right now, we encourage you to sign
up for notifications only or to visit often - particularly during
emergencies. To reduce the risk of unhelpful or unfriendly content being
added here, we limit contributions to Members who have been approved by
Managers (2 at present) of this community Forum. Only managers can view
the list of Members, so you're also perfectly welcome to join for more
convenient viewing only and remain anonymous. Note that anyone who posts content that's deemed unfriendly or annoying by a Manager may have that content and their account suspended until we can sort it out. If such a case should arise, we'll strive to resolve it in a friendly and respectful manner.
To Join
Just
click the blue "Apply to join group" button at the top of the
SBitZ.NET page. That sends a Join request to the group Managers, and one
of them will Approve it when they get the automatic email. After that
you can peruse the options for automatic email notifications of
new posts here, and optionally post friendly and helpful content for the
community. Note that in the unlikely event your contributions are
deemed to be unfriendly
or unhelpful by a Manager, your ability to contribute may be suspended
until we can sort things out. For those who enjoy a little dust up,
Edhat
does a great job of trying to walk that lively invisible line between
chaos and censorship. Our focus here is on the fun of sharing and
collaboration in an informative and friendly environment.
Questions?
For
more details about SBitZ.NET we'll occasionally add to a growing FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions) below the line in this post (scroll down
below the Links List).
Notifications of New Posts
To
start out with SBitZ.Net as a new Member, while Signed In to your Google account click the "My settings"
pull-down menu at upper-right.
Click "Membership and email settings"
and explore the pull down menu of options next to the "Email delivery
preference" line.
Many of us use "Notify me for every message" -
especially during emergencies when we'd like to know every time useful
info is shared.
LinksHere's a Links List for other regional news & info sources you may find helpful:
. . . . . . . FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) . . . . . . .
Q: How I can become a Member, to comment or submit information to SBitZ.NET?
A:
To clarify - although anyone can view, you need to Sign In as a Member
of SBitZ.NET (it's free) in order to add content of any kind. This is to
reduce the risk of anyone adding advertising or negative material here
that would detract from its value to the community.
Just click
the blue Sign In link at the top-right of the page, or click the blue "Apply to join group" button at the top of
the
SBitZ.NET page. That sends a Join request to the group Managers, and one
of them will Approve it when they get the automatic email. If you have questions or encounter any problems, please contact the SBitZ.NET Managers directly by clicking this Contact link. After becoming a Member
you can post friendly and helpful content and contribute to the
community. Note that if your contributions are deemed to be unfriendly
or unhelpful by a Manager, your ability to contribute may be suspended
until we can sort things out.
Once you've joined you
can use the
various automatic email update options here. Many of us follow and
contribute to this group via our normal email apps. You don't have to
use the website interface to read and share information. You can send an
email from your Member address, or reply to an email you've received
from the group that was posted by someone else. You can also start a new
topic and attach files via your favorite email app.
---
Q: I
only got Gmail in order to sign up here. How can I get automatic email
updates of new content here, sent to my other email address?
A: Sign into the Gmail website, click on the button with a "gear" icon (top-right), select Settings, select Forwarding and POP/IMAP in the top row and click on the "Add a forwarding address" button to have all email sent to that Gmail account automatically go to the email address of your choosing.
---
Q: What does the SBitZ.NET name mean?
A: Names on the web are scarce, but SBitZ.NET was available when we started this Santa Barbara Citizen Network
group (email list). Adding the Z and using .NET instead of the more
familiar but unavailable .com gives us a short name that's somewhat
descriptive of our mission of providing "bits" of free news & dialog
to complement regional news outlets. We capitalize "SB" and "Z" (taking
the "it" and "Z" from the word "citizen") and "NET" to emphasize the
correct spelling, but sbitz.net or any other use of CAPs works just
fine. In case you're wondering, the perhaps more conventional name
SBits.com was taken.You may have noticed that the actual web browser
address is much longer, and that's why someone donated the SBitZ.NET
shortcut (domain name) to make it easier to type.
