One of the purposes of NCN is to encourage connections and interaction and
collaboration amongst members.
Now, that might take many forms, including that people might work together
on common projects or they might do business with each other.
And in any kind of interaction there is always the possibility that
disagreements and disputes will develop. And the question then is what we
do about that when it happens.
Case in point. NCN member A has a web site where he offers various goods
and services. NCN member B saw the web site on the list of NCN member
sites, liked what she saw, and corresponded with A and ordered some items.
There were problems with the delivery of a particular
several-hundred-dollar item. It was delivered in bits and pieces over 6
months or so. Also B wasn't happy with the quality of the item when she
finally got it. She asked for her money back, but didn't get anywhere with
that.
B wrote to me and asked, since this happened somewhat within the space of
NCN, if I would be willing to intermediate and help getting their dispute
resolved. She also included their previous correspondence, which seemed to
be very cordial, but unproductive. I said "OK, I'll drop A a note and see
if I can help". I wrote A a friendly note, saying I shouldn't really need
to be part of this, but I got the request for assistance, and I hope they
would sort it out between themselves. That got A to finally answer B,
albeit a non-committal answer.
Now B sends me a long and angry letter. She insinuates that I and NCN as a
whole are seriously lacking in integrity in allowing somebody like A to
defraud her and in refusing to help her, and she states that she will
publisize that matter in international magazines to warn others about
people like us.
Now, I personally don't have a big problem with being yelled at once in a
while, even if I don't think it has a whole lot to do with me. It is human
enough to get angry, and we don't always pick the most appropriate target
when we're upset.
However, the reason I bring it up here is to invite input on what
facilities you think NCN ought to have or not have in terms of arbitration
and settlement of disputes. I see very few of them here, but once in a
while conflicts happen.
Would any of you like to volunteer as possible arbitrators when needed in
the future?
Do any of you have suggestions for what to do when the arbitrator becomes
the target?
There might very well be more disputes than I hear about, so maybe there
could be a slightly more formal scheme where people are encouraged to write
and request assistance in sorting out a dispute.
One thing I've had in mind, but haven't implemented, would be a way of
recording one's satisfaction in dealing with other people or organizations.
Like, if somebody offers some goods or services, there ought to be a place
where one can go and fill in a feedback form on how happy one is with the
services. Then others who might consider utilizing the services of the same
people can go and see their track record. That would produce a more honest
look at what is going on.
Finally, let me state that NCN as a whole is not an entity that condones or
condemns or is liable for the actions of individuals who use it. It is a
network, a meeting place, a neutral zone. NCN is not a legal entity doing
any kind of business, it is an abstract space and a gridwork of
associations. I hope that we can all use it in a civilized manner, and I
hope that nobody will mis-represent it as being something else than what it
is.
Send any feedback either to me or to ncndiscuss-l@newciv.org
- Flemming
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/ \------------------ Flemming A. Funch ------------------/ \
/ * \ World Transformation/New Civilization/Whole Systems / * \
/ * * \ ffunch@newciv.org / * * \
o-------o----------- http://www.worldtrans.org/ ----------o-------o
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