This page covers the legal stuff that nobody actually wants to read but that everybody’s lawyer insists on anyway. It applies to Hapa Media, LLC and every website I run under that name: kevinbae.com, satsandsounds.com, chasingtheyield.com, thecasualhike.com, moderatemethod.com, and podcastidiot.com. If I launch another site later, this page covers that one too, whether or not I remember to come back and add it to the list above.

Privacy Policy

Behold the fruits of what the GDPR hath wrought. Do these sites really need a privacy policy? Probably not, given the traffic on most of them, but here we are. Consider this accurate as of the date posted, not a permanent guarantee, since WordPress and its plugins change things without asking me first.

Comments. When visitors leave comments on any of these sites, I collect what’s shown in the comments form, plus the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string, which WordPress uses automatically for spam detection. An anonymized hash of your email address may be sent to Gravatar to check whether you have an account there; their privacy policy is at https://automattic.com/privacy/. Once approved, your Gravatar picture becomes visible next to your comment.

Contact forms. Some of these sites have a contact form asking for your name, email, and a message. When you submit one, it gets emailed to me so I can read it and, if I feel like it, respond. I don’t add you to a mailing list or use it for anything beyond receiving what you sent.

Media. If you upload images to any of these sites, avoid uploading ones with embedded location data, also called EXIF GPS data. Anyone who visits can download an image and extract that data.

Donations and purchases. Where a Donate link appears, it takes you directly to PayPal. I don’t collect or see your payment information there. kevinbae.com also embeds a store hosted by Spreadshirt, a print-on-demand marketplace; buying through that embed means you’re interacting with Spreadshirt’s platform, under its own privacy policy at https://www.spreadshirt.com/privacy-policy-C3259, and I never see your payment details, only aggregate sales reporting.

Outbound links and embeds. Several sites link out to things like YouTube and Spotify playlists, or embed content such as videos from other websites. That content behaves exactly as if you’d visited the other site directly, and it may collect its own data through its own cookies and tracking. I have no control over that and I’m not responsible for it. The RSS feed on each site is a one-way push of content to whatever reader or app you use, and it doesn’t collect anything from you either.

Cookies. Opting to save your name, email, and website in a cookie when you comment lasts one year. A login session cookie lasts two days, or two weeks with “Remember Me,” and contains no personal data of its own. Editing or publishing a post sets a cookie containing only the post ID, expiring after a day.

Analytics. These sites run standard WordPress analytics through Site Kit by Google. I rarely check them, since none of these are ad-supported, but the data gets collected regardless of whether I look at it.

Who I share your data with. Nobody, beyond the plugins and services already named: WordPress’s spam filter, Gravatar, PayPal, Spreadshirt, and Google’s Site Kit, each getting only what it needs to do its job.

How long I retain your data. Comments and their metadata are kept indefinitely so approved commenters aren’t stuck in moderation on a repeat visit. Contact form submissions live in my email inbox for as long as I keep that email. Account information, on the rare site that has accounts, is kept until you edit, delete it, or ask me to.

Your rights. You can request an export or deletion of the personal data I hold on you. Email me and give me enough to find it, since I’m not digging through a comment database blind. I’ll honor legitimate requests within a reasonable timeframe unless I’m legally required to keep something.

How I protect your data. I keep WordPress and its plugins updated, which covers most of the practical risk on sites this size. I don’t store payment information anywhere myself. Treat anything you post in a public comment as public, because it is.

Data breach procedures. If I become aware that data has been exposed in a breach, I’ll post a notice on the affected site and notify affected users directly where I have contact information for them.

Terms of Use

Use of any Hapa Media site is at your own risk. I make no warranties, express or implied, about the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of anything published here, and I’m not liable for damages arising from your reliance on it. Content changes, disappears, and gets corrected without notice, because that’s how a one-person operation works.

These sites link to a lot of external content, sources, products, and services. A link isn’t an endorsement of everything on the other end of it, and I’m not responsible for what those third-party sites do, say, or collect. If a link breaks or leads somewhere unexpected, that’s on the internet, not on me.

I can update these terms whenever I want, without advance notice. Continuing to use any of these sites after a change means you’ve accepted the current version, whether or not you went back and reread it.

Copyright & Licensing

Everything I write, photograph, or record across these sites is mine, copyrighted the moment it’s published, whether or not it carries a notice saying so. You’re welcome to quote a short excerpt with attribution and a link back to the original. You’re not welcome to republish full posts, full episodes, or substantial chunks of either without asking me first. If you want to reprint or syndicate something at length, contact me and we can probably work something out.

Disclaimer

Nothing on these sites is professional advice, and treating it that way is your choice, not my recommendation.

Investing content (Chasing the Yield). I’m not a registered investment adviser, and nothing on Chasing the Yield, its podcast, or any related content is a recommendation, an offer, or a solicitation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument. I may hold positions in anything I mention. Everything is provided for information and entertainment purposes, based on sources I believe are accurate but don’t guarantee, and past performance never predicts future results. Talk to an actual investment professional before you act on anything you read there.

Health and fitness content (Moderate Method). I’m not a doctor, dietitian, or licensed trainer. What works for my body, my kitchen, and my routine is not medical advice and isn’t guaranteed to work the same way for you. Talk to a physician before changing your diet or exercise habits, especially if you have an existing health condition.

Outdoor and trail content (The Casual Hike). Trail conditions, difficulty, and hazards change with weather, season, and time, and a description that was accurate on the day I hiked it may not be accurate on the day you go. Hiking, and especially anything involving water, waterfalls, or elevation, carries real physical risk. Use your own judgment, check current conditions before you go, and hike at your own risk.

Everything else. Political and cultural commentary across these sites reflects my personal opinion, not verified fact, unless I’ve cited a specific source for a specific claim. Treat it as one guy’s take, because that’s what it is.

Contact Information

Reach me through whichever site’s contact form applies, through a comment on that site, or through the social links listed there. If you’re requesting your data or asking me to delete it, say so specifically and tell me where to look.