Jimmy Wales wrote:
I think that mediation has mixed success, but not because of the intentions or the people involved, but because we've made something of a structural error. Too many people aren't taking mediation seriously, preferring to go straight to arbitration. The fact that mediators can't really do anything other than talk sweetly is probably the main issue.
Once a few people get visibly scr*w*d by arbitration decisions, I think others will be much more interested in mediation. One would imagine the random Wikipedian smart enough to understand that the arbitration committee's powers are considerable, and that they really really want to avoid its clutches, but it seems the more stubborn will have to "learn by doing". :-)
Stan