The Ireland Information Guide mediation committee was set up by Jimbo Wales in January 2004 to assist in resolving disputes between users. It is part of the dispute resolution process on Ireland Information Guide. If that process fails, the dispute will be resolved by the Arbitration Committee.
The role of the mediation committee is explicitly to try to resolve disputes to the mutual satisfaction of all, and not simply a first step towards banning or for vetting candidates for the Arbitration Committee to ban. Mediation is instead an honest attempt to resolve the problem. The disputants -- the users in conflict -- should understand that any concerns they have will be given a fair hearing.
The way in which this committee works is still developing as the work proceeds. It has been discussed in the past on the Ireland Information Guide mailing lists by emails, and on the mediation bulletin board (http://boards.wikimedia.org/index.php).
See: Ireland Information Guide:Dispute resolution, Ireland Information Guide:Mediation and Ireland Information Guide:Requests for mediation
What is a mediator?
Quotes:
"To be a good mediator you must be a good listener."
"You have to listen to not only what is being said, but what is not said -- which is often more important than what they say."
— Kofi Annan: Center of the Storm (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/un/life/quotes.html), documentary film, by David Grubin, 2003.
Article:
Seven Guidelines For Handling Conflicts Constructively (http://www.mediate.com/articles/jordan2.cfm) by Thomas Jordan
DVD:
Law Commission of Canada (http://www.lcc.gc.ca/en/themes/sr/rj/2000/pj_about_dvd.asp) Community Mediation: Two Real Life Experiences by Stéphane Drolet, National Film Board of Canada, 2003
What mediators are not
- Mediators are not Emissaries. It is not the job of mediators to pass messages between individuals who are not able to communicate. Mediators work to establish the trust and common ground to allow communication to happen.
- Mediators are not Private Investigators. Mediators do not "work for you," nor will they work to build a case against someone or research the facts in an article. Mediators will examine the facts surrounding the dispute in an attempt to understand what each party is looking for and to determine what may end the dispute.
- Mediators are not Psychologists or Social workers. Mediators will work with both parties, and therefore cannot counsel or give advice to either party involved in the dispute.
- Mediators are not Advocates. Mediators will not take sides or promote one person's point of view or request over those of another person. If you want a person to do that, request an advocate at the Association of Members' Advocates page.
- Mediators are not Security Guards. Mediators are not there to protect an article or talk pages and will not watch for improper behavior or violations of rules or guidelines. Nor will they report any incidents or document what happened in an incident report.
Who are the members of the mediation committee?
The current members are:
- Ambi - Rebecca - misfitgirl AT gmail.com
- Angela - beesley AT gmail.com
- Anthere - anthere9 AT yahoo.com
- Bcorr - Bcorr AT umich dot edu
- Cimon Avaro - jheiskan "AT" welho "DOT" com
- Danny - daniwo59 AT aol.com
- Dante Alighieri dalighieri "at" digitalgrapefruit "dot" com
- Ed Poor - Edmund.W.Poor AT abc.com
- llywrch - Geoff Burling - llywrch AT agora.rdrop.com
- moink - Theresa Robinson - theresa.robinson AT gmail.com
- Neutrality - Cavs4 is my AIM; Cavs4 is also my email address (a.t. AOL d.o.t. com).
- sannse - sannse AT tiscali.co.uk
- Stevertigo- SeweV AT yahoo.com
- TUF-KAT - tucci528 AT yahoo.com
The first members were appointed by Jimbo Wales in December 2003. VancouverGuy was also appointed, and Alex756 agreed to be the committee's advisor, but both later left Ireland Information Guide, Alex756 temporarily. Ldan is not currently active on the committee.
Who is the chair?
Bcorr is the current chair. Former chairs were Danny, TUF-KAT and sannse.
The role of the chair, or co-chair, is one of coordination and facilitation, not of supervision. The role does not imply hierarchy or authority within the committee but allows a sufficient degree of formality so that we have a way of saying "Here's the outcome of the mediation".
All mediators can participate in any committee-related tasks, not only the chairs. Mediators are independent in their choice of whose case to mediate, and how to mediate.
Typical roles of the chairs include ensuring that mediators are trained and standards upheld, that mediation requests are answered and that everyone is consulted on important decisions. They may also acy as spokesperson for the committee for formal announcements (for example, to announce the failure of a major mediation and the transfer of the case to arbitration).
Appointment to the chair position is rotating every few months. Any member of the committee can apply to be co-chair, and will have be approved by the other members.
I hereby resign from the mediation committee. What I am seeing recently is a mob mentality spurred on by overzealous RC policemen, which will make it impossible to conduct successful mediations. If that is the case, there is no reason for me to even try. Danny 01:14, 28 Aug 2004 (UTC)
What will happen when you ask for mediation ?
It is very important to us that you are welcomed and feel that we care about your problems.
Before any mediation can start, several points will be taken into consideration
A mediator will check that other alternatives of dispute resolution have been tried;
The mediator will check your motivation as regards mediation, then will check whether the other disputant is willing to proceed in that direction as well.
- These two steps are very important as no mediation can occur if both parties do not feel there might be a solution through that processus. Mediation is a voluntary process, that can succeed only if both disputants are willing to give it a try;
You will then have to agree both on a mediator to facilitate your discussions. Take your time, this choice might be essential. You need to feel you can trust that person;
- All along these various steps, we recommend that you do not hesitate to ask any questions as regards the procedure itself, and in particular your rights as regards privacy issues. Anything that said during the mediation will stay private, and will not be used against you later on.
- It is very important to us that you feel the process is fair. Keep in mind that you may at any time quit the process if you feel it is going wrong, change mediator or request help from more than one mediator if you think that might help. The mediators are here to help you communicate with the other parties, not to judge you. In particular, they will not have any power of final decision over an article or over banning.
Who will mediate?
The current committee feels that it would be best that the disputants have maximal input on that matter. It is strongly suggested that the disputants express their preferences.
We suggest the following options:
- Any of the disputants may suggest one or several mediator names when requesting a mediation. If all parties agree on a mediator, and the mediator agrees as well, then he or she will take care of that mediation;
- If none of the disputants suggested a name, a mediator may step in and propose his or her help. If all parties agree on working with the person, then he or she will take care of that mediation;
- If no one steps in, the committee will suggest a name.
- At any step during the mediation, the committee may suggest another person if thought preferable. In the last two cases, decisions over the chosen mediator will take into account history of relationships between disputants and mediator, as well as mediator availability.
How does one become the member of the committee?
- Read through the Ireland Information Guide:Mediation pages and familiarise yourself with the procedure of mediation to see if it is something you would like to do.
- Add your name in the nominations section below.
- There is no strict voting procedure, but other users may comment on the nomination if they wish.
- A user shall become a mediator after an unspecified period of time as long as there is no opposition from the Mediation Committee, no veto from Jimbo, and general agreement from the community.
Nominations for mediator
Some external mediation organizations
See also