Wikipedia:Dispute Resolution Improvement Project/Newsletter: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:16, 4 September 2012

Revision as of 20:50, 4 September 2012

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*Over half of all respondents (and 80% of females) were older than 40.

*94% had requested assistance from a dispute resolution forum at some point, and 62% within the last year. Respondents were generally unhappy with their experiences in dispute resolution – only one in five were satisfied.

*Requests for Comment is the most used dispute resolution forum, with 60% participating in the last year. Mediation Committee proceedings were used the least, only 10% were involved in proceedings.

*Opinions of dispute resolution were overall relatively negative - Arbitration was rated as the best dispute resolution forum by respondents – with one in three respondents rating it as good or better. In contrast, Wikiquette assistance was rated the worst – only 1 in 12 rated it as satisfactory.

*Dispute resolution volunteers do so because they felt the process was critical to Wikipedia functioning, liked helping people or as payback for previous assistance.

*Some respondents haven’t volunteered due to the unpleasantness of disputes, the prolonged nature of dispute resolution, or due to poor past experiences or a lack of knowledge in resolving disputes.
*When asked about their personal experiences with dispute resolution, positive aspects were that their dispute was resolved, the examples set by volunteers and the positive behavior of their fellow participants, while negative aspects included the time it takes to resolve a dispute, and the potential for the the processes to become unfair - many citing the source of this unfairness as as administrators that became involved in the process.

*The main problems given for dispute resolution are its complexity, its inaccessibility, and that there are too many resolution processes and not enough volunteers. Respondents want stricter action taken against problematic editors, a simplified, more accessible process where closure can be bought to a dispute quickly.