[WikiEN-l] ArbCom - too attached to 'equal treatment'?

Mon Mar 7 19:53:56 UTC 2005

It would seem that reasonable "due process" would require that if the
arbcom is contemplating imposing a sanction on a user as a result of
evidence of his misbehaviour presented in the course of a case, he
should be notified of this and invited to present his own evidence in
the case.

These procedural rights are accorded to the original "respondent" in
an arbcom case. If anyone else becomes a "respondent" in course of a
case, either as a result of a counter-charge by the original
respondent, or through any other evidence presented in the case, he or
should be accorded the same privileges.

If the arbcom believes that it is necessary to proceed in the
quasi-judicial manner that it has adopted, with "cases",
"respondents", "petitioners", "evidence", "injunctions", etc, then it
should afford all users the same procedural protections.

But personally, I think the arbcom should abandon its current
quasi-judial, excessively legalistic procedure and proceed more
informally as the implementors of the community consensus when
individuals misbehave according to the policies.  I would prefer to
see the Arbitration Committee change its name to the Moderation
Committee and operate more informally, imposing sanctions where
appropriate on any member deemed to have violated policy in an
egregious manner.    They should not wait for "complaints" and "cases"
to do this, although of course members should be able to bring
problems to their attention via complaints.

The reality is that (1)  the current procedure is not an arbitration; 
(2) the process of collecting "evidence", etc, simply slows down the
meting out of appropriate sanctions, and can be gamed by trolls; (3)
all the legalistic posturing by wannabe lawyers makes Wikipedia look
childish and silly; and (4) the arbcom is not in any case an impartial
panel of judges but are members themselves of the affected community
sharing its project (whether they recuse themselves or not), and most
probably the sanctions imposed by the Arbitrators are not made solely
on the basis of the evidence presented, but also on their personal
knowledge or investigation of the facts, and their own assessment of
what sanctions the community consensus will favor or support.

--Brian (BM)