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Gabriola Connects

Your Island Community Hub

Welcome to Gabriola Connects! 🏝️

What is Gabriola Connects?

Gabriola Connects is a free, community-driven platform built by islanders, for islanders. We created this website to help our community of 4,500 residents stay connected, informed, and engaged with what's happening on Gabriola Island.

Website: gabriolaconnects.ca

Why We Built This

Living on Gabriola Island is wonderful, but staying informed about community events, local services, and island news can be challenging. Information gets scattered across different websites, social media groups, bulletin boards, and word-of-mouth.

We experienced this firsthand and decided to do something about it. Gabriola Connects' goal is to bring everything together in one easy-to-use place, making it simple to:

  • Discover what's happening on the island
  • Connect with your neighbors
  • Support local businesses
  • Stay informed about ferry schedules and community alerts

What You Can Do Right Now

📅 Community Calendar

The calendar functionality is built and ready - we're now working to fill it with live event data.

Our vision is to create a single, comprehensive calendar where islanders can find every community event, workshop, market, and gathering happening on Gabriola. No more checking multiple websites, Facebook groups, and bulletin boards.

Where We Are Now: The calendar works beautifully, but we're still in the process of connecting with island organizations to populate it with their events.

Our Collaboration Plan: We're actively reaching out to collaborate with community organizations to share their events on our platform, starting with the Gabriola Island Chamber of Commerce. Our goal is to eventually partner with all of these incredible island groups:

Community & Business:

  • Gabriola Island Chamber of Commerce
  • People for a Healthy Community (PHC)
  • Sustainable Gabriola

Arts & Culture:

  • Gabriola Arts Council
  • Poetry Gabriola
  • Lulu Performing Arts
  • Gabriola Arts & Heritage Centre (GAHC)

Recreation & Sports:

  • Gabriola Recreation Society
  • Gabriola Golf & Country Club
  • Gabriola Lands and Trails Trust (GaLTT)
  • Gabriola Dragon Boat Club
  • Gabriola Power and Sail Squadron

Social & Senior Services:

  • Rollo Centre (Gabriola Seniors Centre)
  • Gabriola Senior Citizens Association
  • Gabriola Lions Club

Education, Youth & Family:

  • The Haven
  • Gabriola Library / Friends of the Library
  • Hope Centre
  • Gabriola Elementary School (GES)

Markets, Fairs & Environmental:

  • Gabriola Commons
  • AGI Co-op
  • Gabriola Garden Club
  • Gabriola Rod, Gun & Conservation Club
  • Gabriola Tool Library

Community Venues:

  • Community Hall
  • Agricultural Hall
  • Silva Bay Marina

The Goal: One calendar. All events. Easy access for everyone.

In the meantime, island residents and organizations can post their own events to help build our community calendar. Every event added helps connect more islanders with what's happening in our community.

💬 Community Forum

A space for open, honest conversation among neighbors.

The Gabriola Connects forum is designed to allow free-flowing discussion about any topic that matters to our community. We believe in open dialogue and minimal censorship.

Our Philosophy:

  • ✅ Discuss community issues, ask questions, share knowledge
  • ✅ Debate topics respectfully, even when opinions differ
  • ✅ Share local information, recommendations, and experiences
  • ✅ Connect with neighbors on topics that matter to you
  • ✅ Self-moderate through community standards and mutual respect

What's Not Allowed: We have only three firm boundaries, all based on Canadian law and basic human decency:

  • ❌ Child exploitation in any form
  • ❌ Pornography or sexually explicit content
  • ❌ Activities that are illegal under Canadian law

Beyond these clear lines, we trust our community to engage in good faith. Disagreement is welcome. Different perspectives make us stronger. We're all neighbors here.

Community Moderation: Volunteer moderators help maintain a respectful environment and address issues when they arise, but their role is light-touch. The forum is yours to use, not control.

📖 Local Business Directory

Find local services, shops, and businesses right here on Gabriola.

Our directory complements the Gabriola Chamber of Commerce directory by providing another way for residents to discover and connect with local businesses. We're not competing - we're adding value to the existing ecosystem.

Why Have Both?

  • Different platforms serve different needs
  • More visibility helps all local businesses
  • Residents benefit from multiple ways to find services
  • Cross-listing increases the chance islanders find what they need

Support your island neighbors and keep our local economy thriving by choosing local first.

⛴️ Ferry Schedules

BC Ferries schedules, conveniently accessible when you need them.

We've built this feature to make it easier for islanders to check ferry times without hunting through multiple websites. It's a simple tool that we hope makes island life just a little bit smoother.

Quick access to departure times, current conditions, and schedule information - all in one place on Gabriola Connects.

🔔 Community Alerts

Stay informed - on your terms.

Our alert system is designed to help you be as informed (or as unplugged) as you want to be. You control what you see and when you see it.

  • Emergency alerts - Critical information about safety, evacuations, or urgent community needs
  • Community announcements - Important updates about island services, road closures, or public meetings
  • Event reminders - Optional notifications about upcoming activities (if you choose to enable them)

Your choice, always. We believe you should decide how much information you want to receive. Whether you check alerts daily or only during emergencies, the system works the way you need it to.

Set your preferences to match your lifestyle - from "tell me everything" to "emergencies only" to "I'll check when I want to."

Current Status: Beta

Please note: Gabriola Connects is currently in beta testing. This means:

  • ✅ The platform is live and working
  • ✅ You can use all features now
  • ⚠️ Some features are still being refined
  • ⚠️ You might encounter occasional issues
  • 🔧 We're actively improving the platform based on community feedback

About the Calendar: The calendar system is fully functional, but we're still in the process of partnering with island organizations to populate it with event data. We're starting with the Chamber of Commerce and will be expanding collaborations over time. In the meantime, any community member can post events.

Your feedback matters! If you encounter any problems or have suggestions, please let us know through the forum or contact us directly.

How to Get Started

  1. Visit gabriolaconnects.ca
  2. Create an account (it's free and takes 30 seconds)
  3. Explore the calendar, forum, and directory
  4. Join the conversation - we'd love to hear from you!

Coming Soon

We're continuously working to improve Gabriola Connects based on YOUR feedback. Here's what we're planning:

Near Future

  • 🔍 Search functionality - Currently not working; this is a priority to fix
  • 📱 Mobile app - Access Gabriola Connects on the go
  • 📧 Email notifications - Get alerts about events and topics you care about
  • 📸 Photo galleries - Share and enjoy island moments
  • 📊 Improved event RSVP - Better tools for event organizers

Under Consideration

  • 🗓️ Personal calendars - Subscribe to events that interest you
  • 🏘️ Neighborhood groups - Connect with your specific area of the island
  • 🎫 Event ticketing - Simple online registration for paid events
  • 🛍️ Marketplace - Buy, sell, and trade locally
  • 🚌 Ride sharing board - Connect islanders traveling on/off island

Got ideas? Share them in our forum! This is YOUR platform, and we want to build what YOU need.

Who Built This?

Gabriola Connects was created by the Strachan family, longtime Gabriola Island residents who wanted to give back to the community they love. This project is built on their time and dime, with no ads, no data selling, and no corporate interests.

Our Mission: To strengthen our island community through better communication and connection.

Visit: gabriolaconnects.ca/strachan to learn more about us and our vision.

Community Values

Free Forever: Gabriola Connects will always be free for our community to use.

Open Source: The platform is built with transparency. The code is available under the MIT license for anyone who wants to see how it works or even create their own community platform.

Privacy First: We respect your privacy. We don't sell your data. We don't track you across the web. What happens on Gabriola Connects stays on Gabriola Connects.

Community Moderated: We maintain a respectful space through community standards and volunteer moderators who are also your neighbors.

Resident Verified: We verify island residents to maintain the authenticity and safety of our community space.

Privacy & Security: What You Should Know

We believe in transparency about how your data is handled and protected. Here's what you need to know in plain language:

🔒 Private Messages Are Truly Private

Your private messages are exactly that - private. When you send a private message to another user:

  • ✅ Only you and the recipient can read it
  • ✅ Messages are stored encrypted in the database
  • ✅ Admins and moderators CANNOT read your private messages
  • ✅ We (the Strachan family) cannot read your private messages
  • ✅ Messages cannot be intercepted or viewed by anyone except sender and recipient

Exception: If you report harassment or abuse through private messages, you may be asked to provide screenshots as evidence. We cannot access the messages ourselves to investigate.

👀 What Admins and Moderators CAN See

Public Forum Posts: Moderators can see, edit, or remove forum posts and comments to maintain community standards.

User Profiles: Basic information like your name, profile photo, and bio are visible to moderators.

Activity Patterns: Admins can see general activity (number of posts, login times) to help maintain platform health.

What They CANNOT See: Your private messages, your password (encrypted), your private contact information beyond what you choose to share publicly.

🛡️ How Your Data is Protected

Passwords: Your password is encrypted using industry-standard methods. Even we can't see what your password is.

Data Storage: All data is stored securely on Supabase (a trusted platform used by thousands of companies). We don't store data on our personal computers.

No Data Selling: We will never sell, share, or give away your data to third parties. Period.

No Tracking: We don't use tracking pixels, advertising cookies, or analytics that follow you around the internet.

Data Deletion: If you delete your account, your data is permanently removed from our database.

📊 What We Collect and Why

Essential Information:

  • Email address (to create your account and contact you if needed)
  • Name (so neighbors know who they're talking to)
  • Password (encrypted, so you can log in securely)

Optional Information:

  • Profile photo (to personalize your presence)
  • Bio and location (to help connect with neighbors)
  • Phone number (only if you want to be contacted this way)

Automatically Collected:

  • Posts and comments you create (they're meant to be shared!)
  • Events you create or RSVP to
  • Login times (to help us troubleshoot issues)

What We DON'T Collect:

  • Your browsing history on other websites
  • Your location data (unless you manually enter it)
  • Your contacts or address book
  • Credit card information (the platform is free!)

🔓 Open Source Transparency

The entire Gabriola Connects codebase is open source on GitHub. This means:

  • ✅ Anyone can review the code to verify our privacy claims
  • ✅ Security researchers can identify and report vulnerabilities
  • ✅ The community can see exactly how data is handled
  • ✅ There are no secret backdoors or hidden tracking

For the technically curious: Visit our GitHub repository to see exactly how we handle data, encryption, and privacy.

⚠️ What You Should Know

Email Communications: We may occasionally email you about important platform updates or security issues. You can unsubscribe from non-essential emails.

Public Posts Are Public: Anything you post in the forum or calendar is visible to all users. Don't share personal information you want to keep private in public forums.

Deleted Content: When you delete a forum post, it's removed from public view but may remain in backups for a short period for technical reasons.

Beta Stage: As we're in beta, security is continuously being reviewed and improved. If you discover a security issue, please report it to us immediately.

🤝 Our Commitment

Your trust matters to us. We're not a big tech company with complicated terms of service written by lawyers. We're your neighbors who built a tool for our community.

We promise to:

  • ✅ Always be transparent about how data is handled
  • ✅ Never sell or monetize your data
  • ✅ Fix security issues immediately when discovered
  • ✅ Notify you if there's ever a security breach
  • ✅ Improve privacy protections as we grow

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it really free?

Yes! No subscription fees, no hidden costs, no ads. Gabriola Connects is provided as a service to our community.

Do I have to live on Gabriola to use it?

Anyone can view the calendar, directory, ferry schedules, and community alerts. Creating an account and participating in the forum is open to everyone, though we verify island residents for certain features.

How do you make money if it's free?

We don't. This is a community service project, not a business. The platform costs are covered by the Strachan family as their contribution to the island community.

Can businesses advertise here?

Local businesses can list in our free directory. We will never have paid advertising - we want to keep the platform focused on community, not commerce.

What about my privacy?

We collect only what's necessary to run the platform (email, name, etc.). We don't sell data, share information with third parties, or track you across the internet. Your data stays with us and is used only to provide you with community features.

Who moderates the forum?

Volunteer community members who care about maintaining a respectful, helpful space. Moderation is done transparently with clear community guidelines.

Can I delete my account?

Yes, anytime. You're in control of your data.

Will there be a mobile app?

Yes! A mobile app is in our development roadmap. For now, the website works great on mobile browsers.

Get Involved

Share Gabriola Connects

Tell your friends, neighbors, and family about the platform. The more Gabriolans who join, the more valuable it becomes for everyone.

Contribute Content

  • Post events to the calendar
  • Share local knowledge in the forum
  • List your business in the directory
  • Help answer questions from visitors and new residents

Give Feedback

Found a bug? Have a feature idea? Love something? Hate something? Tell us! Use the forum, send us a message, or visit our roadmap page to see what we're working on and vote on priorities.

Spread the Word

Help us grow by mentioning Gabriola Connects at community gatherings, sharing the link on social media, or simply telling people about it in conversation.

Stay Connected

A Note from the Creators

We built Gabriola Connects because we love this island and its people. We've lived here for over three decades and have experienced firsthand how challenging it can be to stay connected with everything happening in our community.

We hope it helps you discover events you'd otherwise miss, connect with neighbors you might not otherwise meet, find services you need, and feel more engaged with our incredible island community.

Gabriola Connects is far from perfect, and it's still growing and improving. We're excited to see how it evolves as more islanders join and help shape what it becomes.

Thank you for being part of our island community. We're looking forward to seeing how Gabriola Connects grows and improves with your input and participation.

Welcome home to Gabriola Connects! 🏝️

— The Strachan Family

Technical Note

For developers interested in the technical implementation, architecture, or contributing to the codebase, please see CONTRIBUTING.md and our GitHub repository.

Last Updated: December 11, 2025
Version: Beta
License: MIT License (Open Source)

Gabriola Connects is an independent community project and is not affiliated with the Gabriola Island Chamber of Commerce, Regional District of Nanaimo, BC Ferries, or any other official organization. We're just islanders helping islanders.

About the Strachan Family →