Most of the attention on DebConf19 has been about the intern scandals.
Behind the scenes, the anti-harassment gulag organized a Birds of a Feather (BoF) meeting to talk about their sinister work. There is a video available. This was not long after the blackmailing of Dr Norbert Preining and the death of Lucy Wayland.
Jackson, a former Debian Project Leader from the UK, comments that he doesn't like mediation. Could this be a hint about why Debian is now wasting so much money on a SLAPP attack to shut down the Debian Community News?
In the 45 minute video, nobody presents any alternative to mediation.
Jackson's intervention appears at approximately 10:50 in the video, we copy the transcript below:
I have a quite strong opinion about mediation at least mediation as it is generally understood the word you know if you look at like the wikipedia definition or dictionary definition or the definition that a lawyer might use mediation is facilitated negotiation you help the two sides to come to hopefully a mutually agreeable compromise it does not address any questions of you know who was, who has more of the right of whatever is going on it does not work to address any power imbalances that may exist and generally mediation works, can work to even entrench existing biases and existing power structures because its a way where if you are already the upper hand in some kind of situation the mediator will explain very clearly to you that your interlocuter how bad it will be for them if they you know if they can't come to a negotiated settlement whereas for you if you're in the better position the mediator will find it more difficult to persuade you to compromise I have engaged in mediation and as I suppose a mediatee and I found it I'm quite strong willed as you all know and I found it one of the most taxing experiences that I've ever had and I came under intense psychological pressure to give up the thing that ultimately a judge decided I was entitled to so I am really not a fan of mediation also mediation is tremendously hard work for the mediator so NO THANKYOU
Here we have a screenshot of the payment of $US4,000 of Debian money going from a Coutts account in London to a Credit Suisse account for the WIPO mediation center on orders from Elizabeth Stoppelmoor:
