Frequently Asked Questions About Indybay

1. General Questions

What is Indybay?

Indybay is an open-publishing website for social justice news. That means you can directly Publish your own stories in your own words, unfiltered by the corporate media. You are encouraged to include your own photographs, video, audio, and/or PDFs in your posts. We do not require that you have any formal writing, multimedia, or reporting experience, only that you have a story to tell.

Indybay maintains a popular Calendar, too, so if you are organizing an upcoming event, feel free to Add Your Event to Indybay's calendar.

Indybay news stories primarily focus on issues facing Northern California, specifically the San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay areas, however we accept stories published from across the U.S. and all over the world.

The San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center (Indybay) is the local organizing unit of the global Indymedia network.

How long has Indybay been around?

The Indybay.org website went online in the year 2000. Being that the site is has been online for over two decades of continuous publishing, it's more than just a resource for radical news and current events. We host an incredible trove of activism archives. We maintain a collection of hundreds of thousands of articles, event listings, photos, videos, audio files, and PDFs going back over two decades. Learn more on Indybay's About and History pages.

Who operates Indybay? Who contributes to Indybay?

The San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center (Indybay) is maintained by an all-volunteer collective committed to using media production and distribution as a tool to promote social, economic, and environmental justice. Over the years, the IMC has been a cooperative effort by hundreds of independent journalists and grassroots activists. We are neither owned nor funded by big conglomerates, foundations, or advertisers.

How much does Indybay cost?

Beyond the labor we pour into it, a labor of love, the financial costs to do all this are minuscule in comparison with the service that the website continues to provide to the Bay Area, Santa Cruz, and Northern California activist communities. Expenses run over one hundred dollars every month for hosting the website.

How can I donate to Indybay?

Visit our Donate page to see how you can donate online via PayPal or by check.

Do you need volunteers? / Can I be a volunteer?

Yes, we welcome new volunteers! We ask that the first step you take is to Publish Your News directly to Indybay. If you're looking for possible events to cover, the Indybay Calendar is a great resource.

We're happy to answer any questions that you may have about publishing to the site as you get going. Once you've published an article to Indybay, let us know you are interested in getting more involved. Contact us any time.

May we use a photo?

Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere.

If you would like to use an image on Indybay for commercial use, please contact the author of the post. If you can not reach the author, you can contact the Indybay collective regarding your Image Permission Request. The Indybay collective may or may not be able to contact the author. Only the author of the image can grant permission for commercial use.

2. Publishing and Editing

How can I add an event to the calendar?

To add a social justice event to the Calendar, click the red link on any calendar page which says "Add an Event".

After you've announced your event, try to line up someone within your organization to cover your event and publish a report about what happened, with or without photos, video, and/or audio.

How can I publish an article to the newswire?

To publish an article to the newswire, click the "Publish" link at the top of every page. On mobile devices, the link is in the navigation menu opened by clicking the button at the top right with the three horizontal lines (the “hamburger” menu).

How can I edit my event listing or article?

You can preview your posts as many times as you like before you publish, but after you click the “publish” button, you can no longer edit your own posts. Email indybay [at] lists.riseup.net to request changes, and please be sure to include the link for your post.

3. Privacy & Security

What is Indybay's Privacy Policy?

Indybay intends to give you, the user, as much control as possible over your personal information. You are welcome to publish anonymously or use your real name. We do not collect IP addresses or use tracking cookies for regular site users. Please refer to Indybay's Privacy Policy for more information.

4. Miscellaneous Questions

Does Indybay organize protests? / Can Indybay help me organize a protest?

Indybay does not plan protests. Indybay is a media outlet, not a protest organizer. If you are looking to organize an action, you should reach out to like-minded folks first. When you have a plan together with your group, feel free to publish an event announcement on Indybay's Calendar. Note, while announcing an event on Indybay helps get the word out, it does not guarantee people will show up.