For The Record
Sep 23rd, 2007 by Don Ray
Maybe it is time to remind anyone that has stumbled onto this blog, that this is merely a blog. As the name says, it is “chatter” from me about my life and my thoughts, which are sometimes related to Panama and sometimes related to some other subject.
This blog should never be considered a guide, even though it sometimes may contain recommendations by me related to living in Panama. If I had intended it to be a guide, I would have named it differently. Anything stated within Chiriquí Chatter comes from my perspective and often times other’s perspectives differ from mine.
My primary reason for bringing this up today, is because sometimes what I write may be in opposition to what other people may think. If that is the case, I expect to be called to task and I am always willing to consider things I may have missed. My opinions can change, if I find that I have not considered all the facts or if circumstances change.
This is particularly true of any post which falls within the “rant” category. One thing I have found by living in Panama, is that nothing remains the same. For instance, I have had people tell me that some restaurants, I have been to in Boquete are not as good as they used to be when I wrote a post. They may be right. If I return to those restaurants and find that the quality has diminished, I will write what I find. I have also had people write and say that some restaurants I have rated poorly are extremely good. That may also be true and if I go there and enjoy it, I will write that as well.
A review, whether positive or negative, should be considered to have value for no longer than 6 months after the post. When it comes to restaurants, the chefs may change. When it comes to service providers, management may change. Six months is a fair yardstick to tell you that the post may no longer be valid.
Another example is exhibits, which a post may contain. I had management from Astrovision write and ask me to remove a post because the channel exhibit I had included was no longer valid and it was confusing people. I went back and changed the post to clarify that the exhibit was valid at the time I wrote the post as opposed to removing the post. I felt that someone considering moving here would still be interested in seeing an example of possible television viewing options, even though it might not be perfectly accurate.
You should consider this post as an invitation to comment on anything that you find written here, especially if it is a review of service by one of the local providers. If I have had bad service and your experience has been the opposite, you assist other readers by providing balance. If everyone’s comments reflect bad service, then it is a clear notification to that company’s management that there is a problem. Likewise, if I have had good service and you also have had good service, then your comment further says this is a good company to consider using.
I have always said that the comments of this blog probably add more value to understanding life and living in Panama than the blog itself. Well that is my blog caveat for the day. Now go out and have some fun.
