Wiki Community/Glossary

This is the Davis Wiki Glossary. If you're looking for a glossary for the community of Davis, click here.

Below are some terms that get tossed around a lot on the Wiki and might not have quite the same meaning you're used to.

Comment Section - This term generally refers to the area below a comment bar, where signed comments are put by default. This area is no different from any other part of the page! There's no reason comments have to go below the bar; that's just where they get put by default. Opinions, information, and contributions all belong above the comment bar as much as they do below it. You shouldn't make changes to signed comments, since it would effectively put words into the person's mouth. Taking good information or viewpoints from comment and moving them to the top (sometimes with attribution, sometimes without, depending on what is being moved) is called "comment integration", and is one way the wiki grows.

Edit History - Every edit made by an editor is preserved in their edit history. You can view it by going to their user page, clicking on the "Info" button (right next to the page title), and then clicking on the little "User's Info" tab.

Editor - Anyone who adds to, deletes from, or changes anything on any page of the Wiki is an editor. Also sometimes called a user. Anybody is welcome to edit the wiki, so the term only means that somebody is active on the wiki... it does not carry any kind of authority. A person who signed up an hour ago is an editor as much as somebody who signed up seven years ago. If you added a comment, created an account or edited the wiki, you're an editor.

Entry - The actual words and photos in a page on the wiki. Used occasionally to specify the actual content of the page rather than full page (which includes the tabs and login above the content and a footer below). In most cases, it's a fair synonym for "page".

Glossy - A reference to glossy flyers used for advertisements, this term is used on the wiki to refer to entries that are too promotional. The wiki is subject to advertising restrictions because of its agreement with the IRS as a non-profit corporation. Entries need to be informational rather than promotional in tone and nature. See Wiki Community/For Profit Restrictions for more information.

Meatpuppet - A somewhat derogatory term used to describe a new user who (apparently) was recruited by an existing user to join into a discussion or disagreement solely to support the existing user's viewpoint. Because wiki disputes are generally resolved by the editors involved, meatpuppets are sometimes used to try to influence the outcome of the dispute by adding voices to a particular stance. A meatpuppet is different from a sockpuppet in that there is a distinct individual using the meatpuppet account.

Public Figure Page - A page about a person who is a public figure in the Davis community. Like all other entries, public figure pages are owned by the community. The subject of the public figure page—the person it's about—does not control the content of that page. Public figures who are active on the wiki generally also have a user page whose contents they do control.

Recent Changes - A wiki tool that shows the changes made to all pages on the Davis Wiki within the last 1, 2, 3, or 7 days, depending on the settings you use. Many frequent wiki users watch Recent Changes to see what's going on in town, what pages are being worked on, and so on. To get there from any page on the wiki, just click on the Recent Changes tab at the top of the screen, just beneath the DavisWiki logo.

Revert - Undo one or more changes. Anybody can revert, and if you spot something that shouldn't have been added (like somebody accidentally adding the same comment twice, or a nefarious vandal changing the phone number to a 555 number), feel free to revert the changes. You can do so by going to the Info button and choosing a previous version of the entry to switch to.

Sockpuppet - A term used to describe new accounts created by an existing user to try to reinforce that user's viewpoint. This tactic is sometimes used in disputes to try to give a user the illusion of support. It's also sometimes used by businesses to leave false reviews about their business. Because all activity on the wiki is openly available to everybody, it is often quite obvious and is very frowned upon. It's essentially seen as being caught lying in public for personal gain and can cause long lasting distrust. Please don't do it. Unlike a meatpuppet, the sockpuppet account is controlled directly by the same individual using the original account.

Talk Page - A page used to get help with editing or to discuss the contents of its parent page. Talk pages are specifically used for meta-discussion, i.e. Wiki contents, not real-world information. Information or discussion about a topic in Davis should go directly on the parent page. For example, the Coffee House on campus was recently renovated. Information about the renovations or about the pre- or post-renovation Coffee House belongs on the Coffee House page. When editors were discussing how to organize the information on the page, they used the Coffee House/Talk page. In that example, Coffee House is the parent page, and Coffee House/Talk is the Talk page. For more information on when to use (and when not to use) a talk page, as well as a visual guide to how to create one (it's easy!), see Wiki Community/Seeking Help.

User Page - This is essentially a user's personal profile. You can use your user page to introduce yourself, share your favorite pages, and so on. Conversations between users that aren't about the content of an entry generally take place on user pages. Unlike most pages on the wiki which are owned and controlled by the entire community, a user exercises primary control over the contents of his or her user page. Some users who are prominent in the Davis community also have a public figure page about them.