Coastsider is a community news, information, and discussion site catering to coastal San Mateo County. It serves as a platform where readers can share stories, engage in discussions, and post questions on the Coastsider Insider forum. Coastsider encourages its members to contribute stories that have personal significance and add value to the coastal community's conversations.

Members can also comment on and answer questions posed by others. Founded in 2004 by Barry Parr, a seasoned media analyst and web developer, Coastsider aims to apply his expertise in building news sites to serve the coastal community. The platform is committed to maintaining a common-sense approach by enforcing its Terms of Use, removing spam, false information, disrespectful or illegal content.

Coastsider acknowledges that contributors retain ownership of their words while granting permission to reproduce them. The brand operates under a Creative Commons license, allowing others to reproduce content with proper credit