[WikiEN-l] Who's a good mediator?

[Erik Moeller]

With discussion about mediation going on again, off again, maybe we should  
ask ourselves what kind of people we want to do the job, besides Ed who  
regularly reminds us that *he* wants to do it. Seeing that I have a  
reputation for spreading peace and justice on Wikipedia even among morons  
and pathological liars, I think I am well qualified to lay out the  
criteria needed for achieving the ultimate WikiHarmony. My initial thought  
was to kick out all the Republicans, but I'm not sure if Jimbo would  
authorize a vote on that.

So who is qualified to mediate in disputes? I think the following  
attributes are crucial:
- mostly refrains from editing controversial articles because they seek  
harmony or just want to get work done
- is patient and willing to listen, but also wants to make decisions
- keeps strong personal opinions and beliefs mostly to themselves
- uses clear, non-offensive language (this rules out using a Perl script)
- treats each act of mediation as a new one, i.e. forgives and forgets

Perhaps most importantly, a good mediator is accepted by the entire  
community and has Jimbo's stamp of approval on his forehead in biblical  
fashion.

Realistically, we probably won't find someone who meets all these  
criteria. People have flaws. That's why we won't want to have a single  
mediator but a team. But we probably don't want to have people on it who  
fail on all or most of these counts (and I do include myself here, because  
I consider myself more of a truth seeker than a harmony seeker).

That being said, I think nominations should be public, and should be voted  
on, because this is really a matter where community opinion matters. We  
don't need consensus, but we need something very roughly like it (85-90%  
support). Basically like the Requests for Adminship page.

To get the ball rolling, I support the following people as mediators:
- Ed Poor (obviously). I think he would do a great job in a team. He does  
have strong beliefs and participates in controversial articles, but he  
mostly comes across as benevolent and understanding.
- Daniel Mayer (Mav). While he can be a bit brusque, he is incredibly  
dedicated, pragmatic and gets things done. He would definitely be a  
valuable team member.
- Martin Harper (MyRedDice). I personally think he could do the job alone  
if given the authority, but he's a bit too bold in editing to have *that*  
much support. I do think he is very impartial and goal-oriented, and even  
if you disagree with some of the things he does, he should be involved in  
the mediation process.
- Vicki Rosenzweig. She declined one of my requests for mediation because  
she thought she was too partial and the subject too complex, if I remember  
correctly. Being able to reflect on your own involvement is really healthy  
and important, and she could prevent the team from becoming too cocky (no  
pun intended).
- The Cunctator - ha, ha, just kidding.

The mediation team should, in my opinion, be allowed to make *binding*  
decisions by consensus, and recommendations to Jimbo by majority vote.  
This includes most of the decisions Jimbo usually makes that relate to the  
enforcement of Wikipedia policy through bans, warnings etc. But of course  
they should try to avoid using these measures when possible. The team  
should be large enough so that some members are always available within a  
span of 3 or 4 days.

They could use a closed mailing list, mediation-l, where non-members can  
only post but not read. Their decisions would be posted on the appropriate  
talk page. Team members personally involved in a debate should recuse  
themselves for obvious reasons. Conflicts within the mediation team (e.g.  
"Person <x> makes consensus decisions impossible") should be resolved  
mostly internally, with Jimbo's help, and taken public if necessary.

So there you have it -- an actual plan that can be implemented within  
days. All it needs is some kind of official go-ahead, and we can start  
voting/discussing who we want to put in those seats. I wonder if anyone  
actually reads my mails this far or if I could just write gibberish at  
this point. The quick brown fox jumped over the yellow chicken and caused  
a warp core breach in the process.

Cordially,

Erik the Red