Explore/Talk

This page is for discussing the contents of Explore.

Some fairly basic things are missing from Explore such as Banks. Much of my call for creating a full index of businesses has been due to these sorts of omissions. I think it would be worth tinkering with some of the sub-groups here. First of all, I propose breaking up or ditching some of the existing sub-categories. City Life should be broken up into further subcategories such as Arts and Recreation and something like Shopping for Essentials. This is just one tentative example. In the end, Explore would be a little longer, but in my opinion, a heck of a lot less confusing. Keep in my mind, we don't need to shoot for the full comprehensiveness of an index, but it would be nice to see some of the flaws in Explore addressed. —ScottMeehleib

• Check my comment in Businesses/Talk. It very much applies here. -jw
  

• Okay, I read your comment on the talk page. I think the wiki's strength is that it is half free-form and half logical. Having said that, I'm willing to abandon indexing if people allow improvements to Explore without viewing it as a sacred cow. Some form of hierarchy should be allowed based on logic; it was clearly intended for Explore but there are some things that don't cut it. Another example is thrift stores. Too specific and should be removed from Explore in favor of something more basic and essential. -SM
  

• After trying to think of several different ways to split City Life apart, I was dissatisfied each time. Unless somebody can think of a something they like better, I'll just leave the main categories alone. - SM
  

Thoughts on adding Internet Providers under the Computer and Internet heading? Seems pretty pertinent, and something anyone moving to Davis would want to know. Also, is LUGOD really all that Explore-y? —TomGarberson

• Agree with the inclusion of ISPs. Although LUGOD is cool, I believe it's too specific for Explore. -SM
  

• One thing about ISPs is that it's a pretty boring topic. Useful for newcomers moving here, but pretty damn dull. Is it Explore appropriate, based on those factors? —tg
  

• In my opinion it's still worth it, especially since its a way for people to find about Omsoft, which is a pretty interesting and very Davisy ISP. Also, I believe that Explore should be slanted towards newcomers, with the hope that they will full in love with the wiki and learn to use the search function eventually. ;) -SM
  

Let's try it this way. List of pages that don't seem great for Explore:

• Catering - Most of the food ones seem very relevant to exploring Davis. Catering, not so much. It's not something one checks out while out and about. It's "one of those things you only care about if you're looking for it," to quote somebody or other.
  

• Local Publications - Good idea. Bad page. Doesn't belong on Explore unless/until it gets fleshed out. See Local Publications/Talk
  

• It sucks and I just deleted it from the listing. If it anybody wants to make a case for why it should be restored to Explore in it's current state, by all means, please tell. -SM
  

• LUGOD - Cool organization. Seems to fit into the category of "one of those things you only care about if you're looking for it" though. On the other hand, I could see the argument that it's just one of the interesting, quirky things in Davis.
  

• Another problem with listing LUGOD is that it's right next to Linux, meaning that anybody who is interested in Linux in Davis is going to find out about LUGOD on that page anyway. -SM
  

• UCD Administrative Officers - Another good idea on a bad page. It's a naked list. One possibility for improving it would be to add actual information about what they do. As is, it's essentially meaningless information. Here's a list of administrators. You're on your own to figure out who you want to speak to about X. Might as well just link a campus page.
  

I'm assuming you guys will want to keep the Payphone Project on Explore. Right now it's in a prominent spot near the top. Can we at least move it down next to Town History since the things are going the way of the dinosaur anyway? I'll wait this out until late tonight, and if nobody complains by then, I'll move it. -SM

That's one of those pages that I think is really cool. Not useful, just neat when you're exploring Davis. I also think Elements belongs on Explore somewhere, although I suppose there's an argument that Elements would be a fun one for people to find on their own after poking around a bit. —tg


• I like PP as well. It's probably cool enough to be left on Explore as a fun, semi-historical entry. -SM
  

• As a point of trivia, it's what spawned the wiki as a whole (and from there, all the Wiki Spot wikis, and the Local Wiki wikis...) -jw
  

• Well, damn! I guess I better not mess with it then. Hehehe -SM

A while back, we re-organized Explore to be more than simply a taxonomy of "all things Davis" and instead a "taxonomy of things, sorta" + "just neat things we want people visiting to see and start exploring the wiki through." So pages like Payphone Project or Cows, while not really "high level categories", are there to help people begin exploring the project. I can't find the discussion we had at the time, unfortunately. —PhilipNeustrom

• Yeah, makes sense. Cows and the Payphone Project are cool with me - SM
  

• This echos my "Explore is to explore Davis". Don't remove the serendipity (but honestly, I personally feel you can change it up too... although I see it hard to find something more inherently "Davis" than Cows, there are probably topics that are cross-linked in neat ways). -jw