spearmaster said:
I think you've missed something here. Players are not being bound to any secrecy agreement - they agree not to post on the forums or otherwise discuss the case while it is in mediation, nor ask another party to arbitrate...(etc etc)
Of course, a requirement to remain silent during the mediation stage is an absolute catch-all fix for any glitches a posting might create, no argument about that. That is NOT to say that a balanced post (as opposed to the "slashing and burning" Jetset is apparently concerned about) will necessarily do any actual harm to this process, IF the facts are factually stated, without heat. You might reasonably argue that people are not capable of limiting to themselves to the facts and not getting emotive, but isn't that their problem? If they say something that jeopardises the outcome, more fool them.
Given that a sensible post should jeopardise nothing, it can have value:
1) The process may be long drawn out; in the meantime, while the aggrieved player is holding his peace, a lot of flies may end up getting snagged by what turns out to be a stiff casino. A reasonable post, made at the outset, INFORMING potential customers about potential problems that they might also encounter, might save all those flies getting stuck in the honey pot. We've certainly seen it happen time and time and time again: "Thanks, I was going to play here - you've saved me no end of hassles." Kinda neat, that. It certainly beats a bunch of pissed off players saying "Why the hell didn't someone say something before I went ahead played here??".
2) Mediators don't necessarily always call it right first time. Bryan will acknowledge he's often taken on board intelligent input from posters - remember PirateOfC21, to name just one? I recall that a Gambling Federation player, facing an $8000 stiff, was paid after the GPWA mediator took advisement from the players and changed her stance. No post? Bye bye, $8000. Lake Palace / Ecogra, remember that? Player kept his peace and was told he was SOL. Player posted - and was paid. Players can help things along - but only if they know what's afoot.
3) Even IF things manage to get bloody, let's face it: this is the way, historically, that many disputes are resolved. Look at the Gaming Club issue of three years ago, in which you had a lot of input yourself: would the players have got paid without that thread? FORGET it. SciFi? FortyPlus? Goodfellas? POC21? Without the interaction the forums allow there is NO way these matters would have been resolved, in my opinion. For myself, Angelciti and Cirrus: the slaughter-job that Jetset and I dished out on the former had a huge effect on that approximately $20,000 finding its way back to the players. Not just that, by any means - Bryan had quite a part, lol - but certainly it did a lot of GOOD. My Cirrus case, which Cindy resolved: I received my remaining $3500 precisely BECAUSE I posted here and at WOL. No post = no more money. Waiting and "hoping" would have been totally pointless. The post gave things just the push they needed.
4) You mentioned the danger of creating "bias". It works the other way, too: while a forum blood bath might bias the mediator one way, a quiet earful from the casino, about the evils of "bonus abuse" or whatever other casino-speak codswallop they might come up with in private, might bias the mediator the other way. Bias is not a one-way street into the player's camp. An open discussion about a current issue is a big help to the mediator. (This is essentially the same as point 2 above, but I wanted to comment on the bias issue specifically.)
So basically: although I don't exactly dispute what you say, there is more to it than that.
