Ombudsman for BetterMost Poll

[Phillip Dampier]

Current moderators and administrators are asked not to vote in this poll.  I am interested in the results from residents who do not hold an administrative function here.

An Ombudsman, as I would define it here, would be an elected individual, not currently a moderator or administrator, charged with acting as an independent observer of the community.  An ombudsman would be able to receive complaints and comments from residents of the community regarding matters those individuals feel are not satisfactorily being addressed, or are of concern to a resident that would like to draw attention to a problem but do so in an anonymous manner.

The ombudsman would then be able to independently investigate the matter by privately asking questions of all involved, collecting evidence, and should a complaint be substantiated, to report back to the community publicly with the findings.  Unsubstantiated complaints, or those determined to be unfounded, are generally not published.

A complaint determined to be substantiated can and should then be seriously reconsidered by the administrative staff for action.  Since the ombudsman is essentially a "people's representative," the position would be elected by the residents with one round of elections and then a runoff between the two top vote-getting candidates.

An ombudsman must be fair and impartial and consider submissions strictly on their merit, not by the person making the submission.  Most social communities with an ombudsman rarely need to call upon that person if the administration is responsive to the needs of the community, but can be helpful as an independent individual to approach in a confidential manner.

Many communities have no need for one, so this poll should not be taken as an indication of a need for one here.  It's rather a general poll to gauge interest.

[ifyoucantfixit]

Philip:

   For the reason that we have some very strong minded individuals here.  With many differing opinions,
i believe that there are instances where the people are not ever completely out of a tit for tat situation,
once the fracas begins.  There are people here with long standing feuds, and disagreements.  For the
most part, the people here get along well and treat each other with a great deal of courtesy, and even
care.. However there has become a few situations that are festering for such a long time, that they
need to have the fire department come in once in a while in order to put out the flames.
  I think also, some of the stuff that is brought out is merely misunderstandings.  But they never get
resolved either, because no conclusion or explanation is ever forthcoming. 
  In order for some of these things to get worked out for good and all.  With resolutions and satisfaction
to all parties...It would be good to have someone that could handle that...
  I know that Clarissa hesitates for varous reasons to become embroiled in this kind of activity, in order to
still enjoy her own participation here...But that being said..it really shouldn't be a part of her job...She has
to do so much already, that is stressful.  This would only add to her stress level..so if we could have a
nomination for this and an election.. I think that would be a good idea..i just hope there would be
someone willing to take the job on...                                                  janice

[BelAir]

Current moderators and administrators are asked not to vote in this poll.  I am interested in the results from residents who do not hold an administrative function here.

An Ombudsman, as I would define it here, would be an elected individual, not currently a moderator or administrator, charged with acting as an independent observer of the community.  An ombudsman would be able to receive complaints and comments from residents of the community regarding matters those individuals feel are not satisfactorily being addressed, or are of concern to a resident that would like to draw attention to a problem but do so in an anonymous manner.

just saying a few things before reading others thoughts or voting...

if you have one, you would probably you would need more than one... and they would probably need a 'term' during which to serve...

[Kelda]

just saying a few things before reading others thoughts or voting...

if you have one, you would probably you would need more than one... and they would probably need a 'term' during which to serve...

good thoughts Belair. I personally think this is a good idea (I presume I can say that Phillip - if not please feel free to delete)

[Phillip Dampier]

just saying a few things before reading others thoughts or voting...

if you have one, you would probably you would need more than one... and they would probably need a 'term' during which to serve...

Most enterprises have a single ombudsman to handle things.  Since we don't have an indication of needing one as of yet, I haven't gotten into further defining the role/term/etc.

I voted "No" because I think that the person you're describing doesn't exist.  We all know some members more than others, we all like some members more than others ... it can't be helped.

I think that there are non-aligned residents here who don't consider social connections to be a major component of their time here, and that would probably be a potentially excellent candidate for the role.  I agree that choosing someone that is part of a recognizeable subset of the community probably would pose a higher risk, but even some of those people can, if strong-willed sufficiently, set aside any inherent bias and engage solely independent of their social connections.  It's probably easier to choose someone from the former than the latter, but we'd cross that bridge if/when we came to it.

[ifyoucantfixit]

      one person in particular stands out to me, and a couple more would be good choices as well.  i will post their name
whenever you make the decision to take recommendations....

[dot-matrix]

I agree that choosing someone that is part of a recognizeable subset of the community probably would pose a higher risk, but even some of those people can, if strong-willed sufficiently, set aside any inherent bias and engage solely independent of their social connections. 

Hmmmm possibly,  but even some moderators have trouble seperating their own personal prejudices, likes and dislikes and playing fair. It's human nature.  We do not always rise to our higher selfs much as we would like too.    Hmmm I definitely agree someone with no obvious affiliations would need to be chosen if this had even a chance of succeeding because even if one who belong to a so-called "sub-group" were able to be fair minded and unbiased they would still be vulnerable to attack on that basis by those not satisfied with their findings.  That makes Bel Air's suggestion of a group, perhaps a Peer Review Board instead of an Ombudsman seem more effective.   Perhaps six elected officials serving as a triumverate with each member serving 6 months and elections once a year.     

[Artiste]

Wow, did not vote yet, and, but thought immediately to say no, and now would be pleased to vote yes!!

No men yet except Phillip and I; pray many will add their thoughts and/or votes!!

May I suggest:
Great idea for time:Terms would be needed. Terms are done in Canada, I do not know if that is so where this word (country started from.

To me, it is required too that we have more than one on here, since we are different groups: one for gay men, one for lesbians, one for ladies issues, one for straights, one for bi-s, one for others???
That would be six, and since this is Phillip's site (?) then he as the final vote if disputes are not solved before that!

I would like each ombudsman (ombudswoman, ombuds-person) to take the name he/she/or other selects,
as nominative. I would select to be called ombudsman-gay, for instance, if I was on.)

The first solving-effort would be individual: between the complainant/request-person and his or her ombusman/woman/person. If not solved there, then the complainant/request-person would ask for a 3rd person, that being another ombudsman/woman/person. The 3rd level, would be maybe all the ombudsman/woman/person, with Phillip to vote if there is a tie!! Is that too much??

I think that the comments are great!! And aim that will help Bettermost  to be Betterbest, since we are already best with all the members so far, with the moderators, and with Philip and others sharing all too!!

Don't be shy to contradict me or ask questions from me... you and you all here!! Bienvenue, welcome!

Hugs!!

[BelAir]

Most enterprises have a single ombudsman to handle things.  Since we don't have an indication of needing one as of yet, I haven't gotten into further defining the role/term/etc.

Okay, understandable.

Just to explain my own thought process... in trying to decide whether I felt an ombudsman was needed, I was trying to think forward to what life would be like with/for that person...  and I was sort of wondering if having one might somehow make things 'worse' rather than better...  (worse in quotes, because I am not certain a problem exists)

I do really appreciate it (globally and personally) that questions such as these are posted in a poll...

I was worrying that one person may potentially get overwhelmed, be accused of playing favorites, etc... hence the suggestion of more than one person...  And if I continue with this line of thinking, it stands to reason that if complaints were submitted anonymously, no one would be accused of favorites, and maybe it would be random who dealt with which complaint... On the other hand, the best 'critiquing' system I have ever seen was in a college seminar class where we all critiqued and graded each other, signed our names, and our reviews were public...  You had to "own" your opinion, in essence...  FWIW, I don't know anyone that has ever been involved with an ombudsman (online or elsewhere), so I am really just theorizing...

Regardless, the more I think about it, the more complicated things seem to get...

I voted no in the poll actually, because for me personally, I am not convinced it is necessary for BetterMost as a community.  (And I'm not disagreeing with anyone in the matter, only expressing what I feel personally.

[BelAir]

"An Ombudsman, as I would define it here, would be an elected individual, not currently a moderator or administrator, charged with acting as an independent observer of the community."

Hi Phillip,

I just reread the original post, and am wondering exactly what you mean by 'independent' observer?

Thanks.
Bel