On April 1^st^, otherwise known as wiki:WikiPedia:April_Fools_Day April Fools Day, the Wiki Developers Wiki Administrators decided to play a fairly nasty trick on the wiki users.  When you entered the site via http://daviswiki.org you were presented with http://daviswiki.org/cool_files/intro.html an extravagant flash intro movie.  The movie showcased a few images from the site, had the Wiki Logo twirl around a bit, and ended with the http://msn.com MSN butterfly being stamped onto the Wiki Logo Davis Wiki Logo.


Once the main page was brought up, there were a few noticable differences: http://google.com/adsense Ads were pasted above and to the side of every page, the Wiki Logo had the http://msn.com MSN butterfly next to it, search results had wiki:WikiPedia:eBay eBay results laced in, and there was a news item noting:
  We are pleased to announce that in our continuing effort to bring quality online content to Davisites, Davis Wiki has partnered with MSN.  In doing so, we hope to offer a more pleasurable experience to all of our readers and editors.  Rest assured that aside from a few unobtrusive, highly targeted ads that improve your browsing experience, we remain true to our commitment to provide this unique medium as a totally free collaborative online community.  Davis Wiki by MSN Its better with the butterfly.

 April fools featured page 

On april fools day, a page called Manholes was made featured.  A play on pages that catalog locations (such as Payphone Project), this page was entirely made up in a matter of minutes.  While Users/PhilipNeustrom I realize that a cool Manholes page could be made, I thought it would be funny to pretend to have a page listing all the manhole locations in Davis along with what its like to crawl into a sewer.  If someone actually wants to document all the manholes, the http://www.cityofdavis.org/gis/library/ Davis GIS data has the manholes listed.

A manhole (also known as a maintenance hole) is an entry way from the street into the great underground depths.  While almost always unnoticed by the casual pedestrian or driver, these manholes lead to an array of treasures such as sewers, storm drains, telephone switches, and the eversoelusive gas pipes.

Until now, citizens of Davis had to stumble helplessly through the streets in search of manholes.  The City and various corporations attempt to limit information on this important topic.  In the interest of the public good, we press on with a critical analysis of Davis vast and often chaotic manhole and manhole cover system.

After reading this page you should feel comfortable:
 1. Spotting manholes as you walk by them.
 2. Identifying different kinds of manholes by their cover design.
 3. Cataloging newly identified manhole covers for future scientific and public inquiry.
 4. Finding manholes with the use of GIS data, GPS receivers, and the Wiki Map functionality.
 5. Opening manhole covers and exploring sewers.

 Manhole identification 

Manholes can usually be spotted by means of finding their manhole cover  a (usually round) region cut out of the normal sidewalk or street, typically with a few holes through it.  The cover usually reads Sewer, Water, or Telephone.  However, the only real way to know whats inside of the manhole is to open it yourself (covered below!)

 What to do if you find a manhole 
In the rare event you encounter a manhole, what is the proper way to report it?  Here is the recommended approach, used by __Citizens for Open Manholes__:

 Step 1 

 Step 2 

 Step 3 

 Step 4 

 Step 5 

 Opening manholes 

While taking an interest in the manhole cover itself may often reveal important details essential to urban survival, there is often the need to adjust things like telephone service, sewer systems, and water pipes in a more prompt and effective manner (after all, when was the last time city services got this right on their own?)  Unfortunately, like so many other things, matters are best taken into your own, skilled hands.

The first thing youll need to do when opening a manhole is identify the holes in the cover.  These are typically circular and toward the edges, but they can be found in different shapes and locations.  The manhole at Third and B (pictured left) features 4 holes, each on the far edge of the disc.   In order to open the manhole it was required to use a pair of crowbars.  In this case, two people worked together to open the manhole, but in the case youre going at it alone youll need to either get both crowbars in independently then push on both at once (somewhat difficult to do but requires no prep work) or weld two crowbars together at the base and press a single bar down (easy to do but requires metal shop prep work).

 Entering the manhole 

An entire world opens up before your eyes once the manholes cover has been lifted  but beware!  Many sewers are infested with rats (which carry the plague) and possibly alligators (please update if you can confirm alligators in Davis sewers).  There may or may not be a ladder to ease entry into the sewer system.  You should be prepared with a headmounted light, as well.  After youre inside, make sure you dont let the manhole cover slip back over the hole!  It can be very, very difficult to remove a manhole cover from the inside (trust me on this one.)


 Finding manholes 

Because manholes are so rare, we attempt to compile a map of local manholes.  Through the amazing collaborative powers of wiki, we can maintain a record of all manholes, information about each one, some designs (see What to do if I find a manhole), photographs, and personal stories/accounts of various manholes.

  {{{Downtown Manhole 1}}}
  {{{Downtown Manhole 2}}}
  {{{Downtown Manhole 3}}} (a favorite among many)
  {{{Downtown Manhole 4}}}
  {{{Downtown Manhole 5}}}
  {{{Downtown Manhole 6}}}

 Some reactions 
20050401 08:38:02 nbsp Hmmm.... I hate the ads. I hate MSN probably about as much as I hate ads. I realize the need for funding and that some of us yes, I mean myself have been extremely lame in that department. But of all the things Ive chosen to live with, inviting corporate into the community is not something Im sure I can handle. Im actually kinda surprised at how much this disturbs me. Maybe it would be helpful to know what benefits msn, its ads, and data collection provide... shouldnt we at least get some sort of privacy notification now that weve been sold to corporate? Users/AlphaDog

20050401 08:41:23 nbsp Users/AlphaDog, look at your calendar. Users/KenBloom

20050401 12:40:23 nbsp Personally, I have the https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?applicationfirefox&version1.0&categoryHumor&numpg10&id217 Adbar on my version of Firefox.  I just dont feel comfortable browsing places like daviswiki without the familiar wiki:WikiPedia:Fnord fnords. Users/BrentLaabs

20050401 13:03:03 nbsp I dont like the new intro at all. It took too long to load on high speed and its excessive. Id rather have it the way it was. SS

20050401 13:37:38 nbsp WTF. Better with the butterfly? It makes it seem like the wiki is being coded by people from microsoft? Can someone please explain a little bit better? Users/MattJojola

20050401 14:09:11 nbsp Chill out. Please everyone check your calendar, and wait a couple days before complaining about all of the new features. Users/KenBloom
  When I saw your first response, I just figured you were being, uh, smart. Now I realize that Im not being so smart... whats this calendar that it sounds like I should know something about?? Maybe we could have some sort of discussion about financing the wiki. I really enjoy it to the point that I spend way too much time here, and definitely appreciate all the time and money that you guys have poured in to create this community. Im curious to know if this might be something that would be eligible for community funding from the City of Davis  that might at least offset the direct costs of hosting the wiki. BTW: Shouldnt that msn butterflies & moths flutterby be linked to one of our internal pages?? Users/AlphaDog

20050401 15:33:49 nbsp http://daviswiki.cheshirehall.org/  the new AD FREE WIKI!!! Users/JabberWokky

20050401 16:04:22 nbsp 1) look what day it is 2) i cant see the ads, get the adblock extension for firefox Users/ArlenAbraham

20050401 21:23:36 nbsp This is some funny shit, man! :) Users/SummerSong

20050401 21:58:26 nbsp Crap... its payback time. Users/AlphaDog
