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2007-11-17 09:58:50 Welcome to the Wiki. Please continue to notice bits of information that aren't up to date, but if you would replace the out of date information with correct information rather than just deleting it that would be much more helpful. Please read Welcome to the Wiki/Business Owner; it will help explain how you can make the wiki a positive experience for you without clashing with established wiki social norms. Please consider the importance of using your RealName. —JasonAller
2007-11-18 20:02:11 Thank you for your comments Jason. Actually, I didn't set up an account or business page on Davis Wiki and only was aware of its existence this past Saturday when one of our tenats called to tell us that we were being maligned on the Internet. For the record, Chamness Properties is not a property management company (I manage my own properties) and I hsve no web page (created by me). I only created an account Saturday to remove incorrect information posted by someone other than I. I did not enter the correct information since I did not intend to advertise on line. Should I intend to advertise on DavisWiki in the future, I will be happy to include all pertinent information.
Since I am just starting to explore what a Wiki is, I do not fully understand how it works. All I am aware of is that anyone seems to be able to post things about others that are not necessarily truthful and yet it is acted upon as if it were true.
I did not remove any of the comments posted as I am a firm believer in free speech. Unfortunately there are always two sides to every story that most do not consider when they read just one side posted on line.
It would appear that no one is available to contact other than through the Wiki regarding what is posted since it seems that everyone is an editor. It doesn't seem right to change or delete information posted by others about oneself so I decline.
From what I have seen so far, the Wiki has the ability to perform a valuable and positive as well enlightening service for the community. Unfortunately it can also be used as a platform for mudslinging which is not only negative and unenlightening but also disheartening.
Thank you again for your comments.
- Bob Chamness
Howdy, Bob! I would say that you've got the basic idea of how this wiki works: yes, it's like a real world gathering of people in a town square. Everybody is free to speak, and if somebody is saying something incorrect, somebody else has to speak up (or else their statement goes uncorrected). It's pretty much a open forum for the people of Davis, with all the benefits and drawbacks that entails. That's why Jason was encouraging you to use your name... we all benefit when we know who is speaking. There are a whole bunch of traditions and conventions here, pretty much all aimed at letting everybody say their piece and working the various threads into a comprehensible whole (I say traditions, because there are no real hard and fast rules, just what we've figured out works over the years). When everybody has weighed in, it is startling how clear the truth usually is, which is often how it works whenever you get a bunch of people together to state their views.
About the only misconception you might have is the comment about advertising; the wiki is not for advertising businesses: it is a resource for everybody in Davis (including businesses, but also people who live here, students passing through and even the pets). It documents all of Davis, from the cracks in the sidewalk to Mayoral campaigns to Chamness Properties. It is a resource for Davis, by the people of Davis (and a few ex-patriated Davisites like myself). The Chamness Properties entry is not "yours", it is merely about Chamness Properties, and is community created and owned, much like the public parks... or that town square I mentioned. Think of a newspaper article about Chamness Properties... only you can help edit it (which is a durn sight better than what the Enterprise would let you do). Many other businesses use their entries for listing specials and prices, and that's perfectly fine: it is a resource for the people of Davis, and specials and prices are a useful resource. It's also a place where everybody can comment about the subject. About the only thing we frown on is abusive behavior — deleting other people's opinions, spamming advertising across unrelated subjects, personal attacks on fellow editors. The kinds of things that aren't really tolerated at that town square either.
It's pretty easy once you wrap your head around the "how it works" part, and as I said, many business owners have found it quite beneficial to participate in the wiki. At the very least, you're in Davis, so I suggest that you spin through a couple of the entries elsewhere... comment on your favorite restaurant, or add a note about a group you are a member of. It's your wiki too, and you contributing your viewpoint adds to the whole. Repeat that by the 10,000+ editors we have, and that's how the entire site was built. — Evan 'JabberWokky' Edwards
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