User:Peter M Dodge/DR watch

Dispute Resolution Watch
Hello, and welcome to my dispute resolution watch page. Here I try to keep an eye on disputes that are going on in Wikipedia, and try to help out where I can. You can feel free to use this page to watch Wikipedia disputes yourself, as well. If you would like to change the layout of the page, or request something else watched, please do so on the talk page. This page is maintained by myself and Eagle_101, although anyone can feel free to assist.

Early Intervention
While the Mediation Committee and Arbitration Committee are the dispute resolution venues that see the most attention, there are several earlier steps that are possible in dispute resolution. One should take these steps before elevating the dispute to a higher venue.


 * Request for Comment - This is the first step in dispute resolution and can be used as a tool to build consensus.
 * Mediation Cabal - Similar to MedCom, this is a "first step" mediation venue.

Mediation Committee
The Wikipedia Mediation Committee was set up in January 2004 to assist in resolving disputes between users. It is part of the formal dispute resolution process on Wikipedia. Requests for a mediator to assist in a dispute are made at Requests for Mediation.

If mediation fails, the dispute may be referred to the Mediation Committee's sister committee, the Arbitration Committee for binding resolution. The role of the Mediation Committee is explicitly to try to resolve disputes to the mutual satisfaction of all; it is not simply an intermediate step towards banning or a method of vetting candidates for the Arbitration Committee. Mediation must be an honest attempt on the part of all parties to resolve disputes; parties to mediations should understand that they will be given the opportunity to express any concerns they have, but mediation is not a court hearing, and mediators do not issue binding decisions. The decision to mediate, and to abide by the result of mediation, is voluntary.


 * The specific ways in which this committee serves the community is continuously developing, as the work proceeds and the needs of the community change.

New MedCom Requests

 * Toyotomi Hideyoshi 2
 * Urartu
 * Use of "Replaceable fair use" template
 * Gigablast

Rejected MedCom Requests

 * Toyotomi Hideyoshi
 * Landmark Education
 * Jodi Huisentruit
 * Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom
 * Mountain Meadows massacre

Arbitration Committee
The Arbitration Committee exists to impose binding solutions to Wikipedia disputes. This solution may be anything up to and including a ban from editing Wikipedia for a period of time.

The Arbitration Committee is the last step in the dispute resolution process &mdash; it is a last resort to be turned to when all else has failed. Other steps, including discussion between users and, where appropriate, mediation, should be tried first. The Arbitration Committee exists to deal with only the most serious disputes and cases of rule-breaking.

Until the beginning of 2004, Jimbo Wales, the previous head of the Wikimedia Foundation, which governs Wikipedia, dealt with all serious disputes and was the only person with the authority to ban users who were not engaging in simple vandalism (straightforward vandals could be blocked by any administrator). This role has now largely been passed to the Arbitration Committee. Jimbo wrote:


 * "The Arbitration Committee [...] can impose a solution that I'll consider to be binding, with of course the exception that I reserve the right of executive clemency and indeed even to dissolve the whole thing if it turns out to be a disaster. But I regard that as unlikely, and I plan to do it about as often as the Queen of England dissolves Parliament against their wishes, i.e., basically never, but it is one last safety valve for our values." – January 2004

New ArbCom Requests

 * Huaiwei and Singapore Changi Airport (0/0/0/0)
 * Husnock (3/0/0/0)
 * Accepted by: Dmcdevit, Fred Bauder, Charles Matthews


 * Starwood/ACE et al. links (2/0/1/0)
 * Accepted by: Charles Matthews, Fred Bauder
 * Recused: Dmcdevit


 * Nobs01 stands alone (Appeal) (0/3/0/0)
 * Rejected by: Fred Bauder, Dmcdevit, Charles Matthews


 * 1.2 Professor Omura/BDORT (4/0/0/0)
 * Accepted by: Dmcdevit, Charles Matthews, SimonP, Fred Bauder


 * Deltabeignet (4/0/0/0)
 * Accepted by: Charles Matthews, Dmcdevit, SimonP, Fred Bauder


 * Rgfolsom, Smallbones (3/0/0/0)
 * Accepted by: Fred Bauder, SimonP, Charles Matthews

Requests for ArbCom Clarification

 * Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Zer0faults

Motions in Prior ArbCom Cases

 * (None outstanding)