Misplaced Pages

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What is advocacy?

Advocacy is that process in which an individual, not personally interested in the outcome of a dispute, presents the facts and the reasons related to a dispute from the point of view of a particular disputant or group of disputants in order to rationally convince others of the merits of that particular disputant's or group of disputants' perspective or perspectives on the dispute.

What is an advocate?

Disputants, individually or in the group scenario mentioned above, may decide that their point of view is best represented by an "advocate". The advocate can work with the member to help them to better present themselves in mediation or arbitration. The advocate may speak for the disputant to help to present the disputants point of view in a clear, concise manner to help facilitate the discussion process in mediation or arbitration. All decisions remain with the disputant(s) in such a case; if there is a compromise to be made the disputant must approve it. The advocate's job is only to help the disputant(s), not to make decisions for them.

The advocate is a facilitator, and in that way is similar to the mediator. Unlike the mediator the advocate does not have to encourage dispute resolution (though they may). Rather, the advocate will help with the articulation of the dispute so it can be better understood by the mediator or arbitrator and the other party or parties.

Advocates are volunteers who are willing to serve in this capacity. They can be contacted here on Misplaced Pages through the voluntary association known as the Association of Members' Advocates. Advocates may be anonymous when they privately help a member. If they appear in the mediation or arbitration process as publicly acknowledged representatives of the disputant(s), the advocate will formally become a "representant" of the disputant(s), and their usernames will then be publicly announced.

Basic principles behind advocacy

Advocates must be faithful to their disputants, but they should try to present the disputant(s)'s point of view in a detached, rational and succinct manner. If disputants are having difficulty in formulating the problem, they may wish to ask advocates to present their positions effectively. By having an advocate represent them, the disputant(s) may help others better appreciate the merits of their position, facilitating a better articulated dispute resolution process.

Advocates are most useful to the dispute resolution process when they are able to provide authority to back up their disputant(s) perspective(s), and thus they should be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Copyrights
• Warranty Disclaimers
• Policies
• Dispute resolution, mediation and arbitration rules and policies

and all such similar information that is available in the Misplaced Pages namespace.

Advocates can also help a member to navigate through the dispute resolution process that has become rather complex.

Advocates as counselors

Advocates can be useful in mediation by discussing their disputants point of view with them, reviewing the evidence and helping the disputant to determine if their perspective on the evidence is tainted with the point of view. This should be done in a non-judgmental point of view as it is not the advocates job, at least initially to judge the disputant, but rather to better understand their perspective with the presumption of the reasonableness of that perspective. As the advocate learns more about the disputants interactions he or she may naturally form their own opinion about the merits of the disputant's contentions. In this manner, if the advocate is open and willing to listen, the disputant may begin to see that their perspective on the situation is not the only way to look at it. It is at this point that the advocate may find it useful to try and introduce the opposing sides perspective to the disputan and to try to get the disputant to better understand the opposing point of view or views.

The advocate is not a substitute for the mediator however, and because of that difference the advocate may be able to discuss the issues with the disputant in a way that allows the disputant to better understand their own position without feeling compromised by the "impartiality" of the mediator. Of course even a advocate will have a point of view about the disputant's position but that should not stand in the way of an open and frank exchange going on between the advocate and the disputant, this is one of the main benefits of advocacy outside the role of an advocate as the disputant's representative (representative advocacy in contrast with the advocate as counselor).

As mediation is consensual the advocate should also try to explain the benefits of reaching a mediation settlement with the disputant and the adversary. Should a matter go to arbitration the disputant has lost control of the outcome and they should understand the consequences of that loss of control before giving up on mediation as a mediated settlement may help preserve the disputants editing privileges and prevent a temporary or permanent ban as imposed by the arbitration committee.

Representation by an advocate

The other main role of an advocate is to make representations of their disputants positions to mediators and arbitrators.

...to be continued...

The advocate as community representative

Another important role that an advocate can undertake is to be a voice of the community attempting to improve the dispute resolution process to develop relationships with mediators and arbitrators so as to be able to discuss issues, suggest changes and participate in further development of a fair process that respects such principles (generally speaking) as due process, fundamental justice, or fairness.

...to be continued...