Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/10 January 2012/List of oldest universities in continuous operation

Where is the dispute?

 * List of oldest universities in continuous operation‎

Who is involved?

 * User:Eraserhead1
 * User:Gun Powder Ma
 * User:Athenean
 * User:Omar-Toons
 * User:Vice regent

What is the dispute?
The dispute is about whether we should include Islamic Madrasah's in the article as well as European Universities.

What steps have you already taken to try and resolve the dispute?

 * Talk:List of oldest universities in continuous operation‎
 * Neutral_point_of_view/Noticeboard
 * Neutral_point_of_view/Noticeboard/Archive_29

And previously:
 * Dispute_resolution_noticeboard/Archive_1

What issues needs to be addressed to help resolve the dispute
Whether and how we should cover Islamic Madrasah's in the article.

What can we do to help resolve this issue?
Help us come to a consensus on how Madrasah's should be covered in the article that's acceptable to the community.

Mediator notes
Hi there! I noticed an opening for this case that hasn't been tended to for quite awhile. I apologize for the wait and would like to open myself up to mediate this dispute. If you accept me, I hope that we can find a resolution to this dispute. Remember that, mediation may require compromise and during discussions please abide by Wikipedia policies and standards. If you accept my mediation of this case, please indicate your acceptance below. I will allow for 72 hours leetime for all involved parties to comment—if no one rejects my offer of mediation, I shall assume acceptance and begin mediation. If any party rejects this offer, I shall withdraw my offer of mediation and allow another to take my place as per the suggestions page on mediation. Thank you.  Whenaxis  about &#124; talk 02:02, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

Please sign just your username below, as well as Agree or Disagree, with four tildes (~) to indicate your agreement or disagreement with the ground rules and your participation in the case. These shouldn't be taken lightly. If you agree to these it is expected you will abide by them.
 * Please keep all comments focused on the mediation. Proper editing decorum must be maintained and, as such, incivility and personal attacks must not occur. I reserve the ability to archive, refactor or remove comments of such nature.
 * Try to keep an open mind in the case, and realise that sometimes, you need to give a little to get a little. Mediation is not possible without compromise as well as keeping an open mind.
 * When there are multiple issues that need to be addressed in a dispute (such as this one) only one particular issue or dispute is to be discussed at a time. Discussion that veers off course of the current topic may be archived at my discretion.
 * MedCab is not a formal part of the dispute resolution process, and cannot provide binding sanctions. Nevertheless, I ask that all of you agree to abide by the outcome of this case.

I will keep your comments below in mind. Vice regent, I am happy to accommodate your request, I will allow for more leetime when awaiting for responses. Also, Eraserhead1, I highly encourage you to participate as much as you can to serve your best interests, I need to know what you want to see happen and your vote most definitely counts in finding a consensus to this dispute.  Whenaxis  about &#124; talk 21:54, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Support
Participants, please indicate your support or opposition of my position of mediator and the statement above .
 * I agree with Whenaxis' mediation and the points above. But, could we please be patient? I can only engage in the discussion every 2 days or so. If Eraserhead1 is right, no one is anxious to get this matter resolved ASAP.VR talk  00:45, 29 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm happy to go along with any result, but I don't intend to participate particularly greatly. -- Eraserhead1 &lt;talk&gt; 11:53, 29 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Comments from mediator: It appears that you two are the only ones still interested in this mediation. We could continue this mediation and if there is a dispute later about this topic you can redirect the parties to this page. Also, the parties who are involved can contribute to this mediation later if they would like—if you have a problem with this, please let me know, otherwise I will assume that my proposal is okay. To carry on this mediation in a timely manner, I kindly request that you add this page to your watchlist (you can do this, by clicking the star icon next to the searchbox in the top right corner) and when you are available, please add an opening statement in the section below outlining the key issues that you think need to be discussed. Thanks,  Whenaxis  about &#124; talk 21:31, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Administrative notes
Reopened on 20:50, 28 January 2012 (UTC) by  Whenaxis  about &#124; talk Closed again on 23:05, 29 January 2012 (UTC) by  Whenaxis  about &#124; talk

Mediation Agenda
''This is a rough draft of the agenda for this mediation. It may change as the mediation progresses.'' [1%] Garner party agreement to mediation and ground rules. ✅ [5%] Obtain opening statements from all involved parties. [50%] Initiate discussion on main issue. [60%] Bring up and discuss any secondary issues to the main issue that need resolving. [85%] Re-visit the initial issue, discussing alternative solutions, if required. [90%] Discuss the articles with parties, offering advice as to how to better manage disputes in future. [95%] Discuss long term options to help keep the article stable, for example agreement to abide by certain rules when editing these articles. [100%] Seek resolution of dispute through party agreement, then close mediation.