Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Suggestions for mediators

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Mediation is a form of dispute resolution that involves coming to some sort of compromise with those involved in a dispute. Not all cases recieved by the Mediation Cabal require mediation, however. Some cases may simply require giving someone guidance about what they should do in a difficult situation or may involve referring the requester to policy. Mediation is not arbitration, such that you do not impose a solution on the parties involved. Instead, you work on creating a compromise.

1 General process
2 What to remember
- 2.1 Arbitration
3 What you should not do
4 Policy to guide you

[edit] General process

Determine the problem, receive clarification if necessary.
Figure out a location to deal with the problem, Try just starting on the article talk page without immediately declaring you're a member of the cabal (TINC!). This is the least hard work. If that doesn't work, resort to the following, in roughly that order:
- In order of mediation power (and escalation) : Article talk page, case page itself, e-mail, irc, skype, the local pub over a glass of beer.
Find out what the parties involved want and what their view on the matter is.
Find a way to come to some sort of compromise, working with everyone involved.

[edit] What to remember

Be civil and remind users to assume good faith, refrain from name calling and to observe Wikiquette.
Remember that you are an informal mediator. What you say isn't necessarily what must go. Your job is to get those involved to come to some sort of agreement, not impose one upon them.
If people come to the Mediation Cabal asking for something that is not mediation, do not shun them, but instead help them anyway by pointing them to the proper channels.
Ask for help. If you have a question, don't hesitate to ask another cabalist or anyone else for help for that matter. Mediation involves a community compromise, so other mediators are encouraged to hop on to a discussion.
Do not impose sanctions, but do kindly ask users to follow Wikipedia policies.
To stop edit wars you might want to recommend a page for protection.
Be nice to people, help them cool down, then get them to agree with each other on things. Get them to agree on any things at first (e.g. that they need mediation). Build from there, step by step.
Some mediation cases do not require knowledge of the topic of the article while others may require expertise. If a mediation case is getting difficult the reference desk may be a help. Once again, don't be afraid to ask for help.
If your mediation attempt is rejected by some disputants you can try to mediate between the people willing to participate, if that is possible. In case of misconduct you can also place the appropriate warnings on a user's talk page, reminding him or her to be civil. You can also recommend other methods of dispute resolution that appear sensible to solve the given conflict. If a disputant states in advance that he or she will also reject formal mediation by the Mediation_Committee you can advise that this behaviour may lead to arbitration (but don't mean it like a threat!). Especially if the disputant is convinced to be right he or she should try not to bother the Arbitration Committee with a trivial case and explain his or her position to the mediator instead. Other methods of dispute resolution include WP:3O, WP:RFC and WP:CS.
We can crib some notes from the official mediation process. There is no need to follow that here, but it does have some good ideas about mediation, especially why you might prefer private dispute resolution to public dispute resolution.
The formal mediation process is the Mediation Committee. As a Mediation Cabal mediator you are just another editor. People are free to ignore your mediation if you are not successful in making them want your mediation and accepting you as a mediator. The Mediation Cabal is an inofficial attempt at dispute resolution and has no authority.

[edit] Arbitration

Mediation and arbitration have very different goals. Mediation seeks an amicable resolution to a content dispute. A mediator should notice when behavior makes this impossible, and hand things over to the arbitration committee when the conduct needs to be addressed in a binding fashion. There are times when this will benefit Wikipedia much more than trying to work with someone who may be viewed as harmful to Wikipedia, just because you're supposed to be the mediator. However, arbitration is indeed a last resort and you should not be too quick to go to them, and remember that it focuses on behavioral issues, not content disputes. If you have your doubts about a mediation case, ask for help at Wikipedia talk:Mediation Cabal to see what should be done.