by Joshua Encinias
Published on October 10, 2007
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that gives users access to edit various pages of information ranging from Mark Twain to boxing gloves. The Web site’s html is composed of open source software, giving everyone the right to create sub-wiki sites.
But when it comes to information regarding the Pensacola area, options are slim.
“If it were a national issue, I could simply look up the relevant Wikipedia article, but there was nothing like that for the Pensacola area,” said Pensapedia Founder Joseph Vinson.
Vinson created Pensapedia to compile the most comprehensive and complete source for Pensacola facts and history on the web.
In the final weeks of the Community Maritime Park referendum, Vinson was displeased over the lack of straightforward information of park funding and who would control the project.
Vinson created Pensapedia to help citizens like him find unbiased facts through press releases, editorials and local gossip.
Pensapedia works as an interactive encyclopedia. Registered members are allowed to update and create pages of local history, art, buildings, and anything else associated with Pensacola. Some popular pages receive daily renovation.
Articles are cross-referenced to other Pensapedia pages. Some are even linked to Wikipedia when the topic deals with national and already well documented information.
For example, former Escambia County Superintendent Nathan Burrell Cook’s page links to Wikipedia for a broader view of the Reconstruction period. This gives context to the Cook family’s move to Pensacola after the Civil War.
We sat down with history teacher Randall Broxton, PJC history teacher, to look through the Web site. Given Broxton’s vast mental collection of local, national and international history, surprisingly he ended up enjoying the photos of local landmarks most.
“The photos are great and I think that has a chance of providing some information. I think that’s nifty,” Broxton said.
Pensapedia creator Vinson, an avid historian in his own right, wasn’t always interested in local history.
The influence of his boss, local historian John Appleyard, helped change Vinson’s interest in the community.
“Mr. Appleyard has the amazing ability not only to remember the people and events, but to understand their place in a broader historical context,” Vinson said.
Vinson and volunteer contributors are slowly filling Internet space. To date there are 1,116 articles that make up Pensapedia’s repertoire.
“Eventually, I would love to have enough funds to hire a director for full-time research and site administration, but that’s a long way off,” Vinson said.
But the site’s reliance on volunteer work has its restrictions.
Pensapedia holds a neutral point-of-view policy. Users are discouraged from writing “vanity pages,” says Vinson. But, “we accept the fact that most business articles will be written by people involved with those companies. We just ask that they stick to general, agreed-upon information – no promotional copy.”
Pensapedia’s singular downfall is its lack of articles. During research for this piece, the amount of articles on Pensapedia started and stayed at 1,116.
But Pensapedia makes note of its key weaknesses in the About Pensapedia section.
Open software is susceptible to vandalism, factual errors, or controversial rewrites. This has led Pensapedia to operate a full editorial dispute resolution process.
In other words, if a user has issues with one of Pensapedia’s pages, Vinson is open to lengthy discussion prior to potential removal of the disputed page.