Conflict Resolution Processes


The following Conflict Resolution Process is part of the General Blooming Lotus Social Contract.

Conflict in community forums is normal and healthy. We seek to work through conflicts as they arise in a civil, courteous, and constructive manner, mindful of the rights of all participants to a fair hearing, to equal protection, and to uniform treatment. To this end we agree to employ and support best practices in the art of conflict resolution.

These include the following recommended conflict resolution procedures which we agree to honor and respect:

When the terms of the Social Contract are thought to have been breached by any participant, the following procedures are recommended:

The aggrieved party will identify for the community the postings to which he or she takes exception and clarify for the community how it breaches the Social Contract. The party whose postings have been called into question will then be asked to clarify or rethink his or her comments in view of the grievance. If the situation warrants, the Host of the conference may intervene to hide or erase offensive posts that clearly violate the Social Contract.

Grievances which cannot be satsifactorily resolved may be taken to the Host for an administrative decision or to a more structured form of Mediation. The Mediator may be the Conference Host or any other qualified neutral party, provided all parties are amenable to the mediation process and the choice of Mediator. If the grievance involves the Conference Host as a direct party to the grievance, the Host will recuse himself or herself from a position of authority and hand that role over to another Host, Administrator, Ombudsman or other neutral Mediator. The mediation will involve the conference hosts, the parties to the conflict, and other conference members with a bonafide interest in assisting the resolution.

If no common ground can be found through Mediation, the Conference Hosts will decide what further steps to take, up to and including the removal of the conflict to other appropriate venues. Suspension or expulsion from a Conference will be a last resort. If no violation of the Social Contract is found, as determined by the Mediator or the Conference Host, the grievance will be dismissed.

It may be that some conflicts cannot be resolved within the available framework of the above processes. In that case, we ask people with unresolvable conflicts to seek more appropriate and suitable conflict resolution alternatives beyond the scope of this site. Suggestions for improving the efficacy of internal conflict resolution procedures should be addressed to the site organizers.