Wikipedia talk:Requests for mediation/Passive smoking/mediator and venue

Starting off
To start things off, I'd to take care of a few initial things. First, we'll need to confirm that you accept my assistance as a mediator for this case. Second, we'll need to address what venue people would prefer. After that, we can start to address the issues and concerns raised and work towards a consensus. Vassyana 03:45, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Mediator
Please sign below and indicate if you accept my assistance as a mediator:
 * Mickeyklein 04:23, 26 July 2007 (UTC) Accept
 * Dessources 00:17, 27 July 2007 (UTC) Accept
 * If you have any questions that could help resolve your concerns, you're more than welcome to contact me via my talk page or email. Vassyana 21:38, 26 July 2007 (UTC)
 * MastCell Talk 15:52, 26 July 2007 (UTC) Accept. I think most of the issues here have to do with application of Wikipedia's policies, rather than being strictly scientific, and I think Vassyana's well-qualified to help with that.
 * Accept Yilloslime 16:30, 26 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Chido6d 16:55, 26 July 2007 (UTC) Accept. The mediator's page did raise my eyebrow, but we don't need a scientific expert to help.  The debate is not over science.  We need someone who is fair, and familiar with the standards and policies of this site.
 * Accept 03:16, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Venue
A number of mediation venues are available. Please remember that formal mediation is always confidential and choosing a "public" venue provides no exception. Please indicate below which venue you would prefer.
 * 1) On-wiki. We could simply discuss the subject here. It provides a convenient location and can be placed on your normal Wikipedia watchlist. As a downside, there is a potential for previously uninvolved parties to comment on and possibly disrupt the mediation.
 * 2) MedCom wiki. There is an off-site and private wiki run by a MedCom member. It provides a private location with a standard wiki environment. On the downside, it is another location which must be checked regularly.
 * 3) IRC. IRC allows for real-time discussion of the issues, and can be used alone or as a compliment to other forms of mediation. On the downside, scheduling can be difficult and sometimes people say potentially hurtful things in the heat of the moment.
 * MedCom wiki Mickeyklein 04:24, 26 July 2007 (UTC), I would prefer MedCom to prevent any of us from grandstanding/soapboxing and to keep the discussion private and civil.
 * I have the same concerns, but would prefer to stay on-wiki for that very reason. My concern is that this will devolve into us arguing about the science and harms of passive smoking, when it should be about how we present the debate in the article. It sounds like you have similar concerns. I think that by doing things on-wiki will help keep things focused on the article content and prevent it from turning into a discussion forum where the handful of us debate the science. MastCell Talk 16:44, 27 July 2007 (UTC)
 * The actual page issues we are dealing with are very technical, most of them center around the fine print of wiki policies for sourcing and weight. The broader debate is very politicized as smoking bans have been identified with the "public health" movement and there is a lot of flack coming at that issue from all sides. A public debate would bring us closer to the latter. If we took it to a private channel we could carefully analyze wikipedia policies and precedents and figure out where we stand on the evidence.
 * A public debate after the evidence is worked out would be great, however, as eventually the things we agree on here will have to be put into text. Once that gets under way the regular site would be best to allow maximum collaboration on the finished product. Mickeyklein 17:51, 28 July 2007 (UTC)


 * My first preference is to do things here, on-wiki, for maximum convenience and transparency. Items which require confidentiality could be handled by email. If disruption becomes a problem, we could move to the MedCom wiki. I'm a neo-Luddite when it comes to IRC and would not be willing to use that venue, particularly as my hours of online access are somewhat unpredictable. MastCell Talk 15:55, 26 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I prefer here, and I cannot do IRC. (I would be fine with MedCom, too.) Yilloslime 17:11, 26 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Seeing that Crockspot has commented here and is not a party, I recommend MedCom (though my first preference would otherwise be On-wiki). I think leaving it open could potentially become somewhat chaotic and distracting. Chido6d 16:58, 26 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I prefer Wiki - convenience and transparency --Dessources 00:20, 27 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Wiki JQ 03:17, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Resolving venue
It seems a majority of participants would like to use on-wiki means to resolve the mediation. Is this acceptable to those who expressed a preference for the MedCom wiki? Vassyana 18:21, 30 July 2007 (UTC)


 * That's fine with me. Let's roll! Chido6d 19:23, 30 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Accept, I'm down Mickeyklein 19:53, 30 July 2007 (UTC)