Davis Timeline/Talk

This page is for discussing the contents of Davis Timeline.

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The intent of the page was originally a "timeline for Davis history," almost redundant with Town History. As such, I think entries need to meet some standard of historical significance pertaining to the town of Davis. If the timeline gets too cluttered with items of marginal or questionable significance, its utility decreases.

JabberWokky, I agree with some of your recent additions to the timeline.:
Japanese Internment, for instance, has undisputed historical significance to Davis.
The first parking structure at UCD is significant as well, though less so. I'd put that at about the margin of items that ought to be included in this timeline. It's significance is limited to the Davis campus, but it is a "first," and it conveys something about the politics of cars in Davis.

But I think we should remove some other entries:
The two bank robberies don't really belong. There have been numerous bank robberies in Davis, and we can't put them all on here. That's why I created the Bank Robberies page. I don't think they are significant enough to include on the Town History timeline.

Same with the Aggie Cycling Team honors. They've won the Nat Championship three times. But putting all three on the Town timeline, along with all other collegiate championships of the same caliber, would just cause needless clutter. I think it is enough to note their achievement on the Cal Aggie Cycling Team page.

The Pamela Maus Contest in Creative Writing is great, but again, we can't include the origins of all UC Davis student competitions. The English Dept alone has seven other contests.

Let's keep this timeline sleek and streamlined, and include only events of (subjectively) "high" importance to the town of Davis.

- MattJurach

• Well, I'm pulling things in with the idea of eventually breaking out the individual years (or the decades) in the same way that the post-2000 years are done. In fact, I was just thinking that it's getting about time (once the wiki is combed for dates) to break out the 1990s (note that the Cycling Team honors are also on the 2001 and 2006 entries). I agree that some of my additions are below the threshold for a combined entry, but rather than removing them, I see that as a sign that they are about ready to be broken out to individual years as the information becomes more detailed. I view the timeline the same as any other entry; it starts as a short stub with a bit of high level spotty information, and then as the detail increases, it becomes more fleshed out until the level of detail in some sections becomes so great that they break out into their own entries. On the master timeline, as we link out to the individual years, there could be a terse summary of that year's main highlights... perhaps that would be a good way to provide both a "high level" and "detail" view? —JabberWokky

• Sounds like:
  

- You've thought about this more than I have, and


- A lot of work


I've liked the quick 100-year overview style of this timeline so far. I think it gives a good first-impression look at Davis over the years, underscores the historical significance of central structures and people, and gives good jumping-off points for further investigation. I hope that future versions of the timeline can keep this feel. -MattJurach


• I have thought about it quite a bit, but I like your "brief high points of history" vision. I'll aim to maintain that in the main timeline entry. I honestly see no reason for a set of in-depth year or decade entries indexed by a "higher view" timeline entry to conflict; they both complement each other nicely. Now I (or somebody) needs to go through and see if there are any key points to pull "back" from 2000-2007. I'll go ahead and move over the more minor points from the 1990s to year entries in the next week or so (I usually do my gnoming in the morning), and see if I can rework the last two decades in the main entry to encompass both types of presentation (year in detail, overview of history). —JabberWokky
  

• I like the idea of a comprehensive timeline with everything in it. It makes it easy to look back at "this day in Davis history". —DavidGrundler
  

• Well, if that's the case, there's a way to do both, and I'll demo it here: Complete Timeline. Doing it that way would require that we maintain the individual years/decades and this entry (the "Davis Timeline") as a 'highlights of history' entry. Speaking of which, shouldn't this be "Timeline" rather than "Davis Timeline"? —JabberWokky
  

• Good catch. It should be "Timeline". —DG
  

• Okay, this has been my "master plan" for the Timeline entry, dating back quite awhile, and I've been editing slowly toward that as a goal... well, probably for years now. I've been flirting with the "Included Nav" concept as an alternate, but this was the original idea (I've discussed it a bit in IRC at times). Now, the key question is: "Maintain a 'highlights' timeline plus the individual years?". I think it's doable. Another question is "maintain the Nav bar or drop it now that the complete timeline exists?" That's less certain in my mind. Thoughts? —JabberWokky

• Personally I think you guys need to be consulting with some of the town historians if you really want to do this project, from what I see this is very skeletal at best. —DavidGreenwald
  

• It's only skeletal because we're doing our best with what we have, and those knowledgeable town historians haven't contributed — yet. If you're thinking of anybody in particular, please please encourage them to contribute to the wiki! I'd love to see this expand, and I'd be happy to help anybody who knows more about Davis history. This is a public resource, and it can only reflect the work the public puts into it. —JabberWokky
  

• That was intended as a suggestion, I'm sorry if the tone seemed harsh, it was not intentional. I would consult John Lofland and I would consult Dennis Dingemans, both of whom are retired professors. Consult Michael Fitch's book: http://www.cityofdavis.org/cdd/cultural/30years/about.cfm and also the Davis Historical Society Web page: http://www.davishistoricalsociety.org/ —DavidGreenwald
  

• No worries, it didn't seem harsh... and thanks for the links. I always encourage people who know more than I about a subject to add something (like you did with those links); just like every volunteer effort, this wiki is only the sum of what people like you contribute. My PBS pledge and community theater fundraising past is showing, but it is true: the success of community projects depends on the community itself. If a single local historian got involved with the wiki, we would have much more here. As it is, the dog owners and other local groups have gotten involved, and look what they've done to represent their own chosen interests on the wiki. —JabberWokky