a call for justice

[drewkitty]

I am not fond of the court of public opinion as a medium for justice. Talk is cheap, gossip is malicious and to quote Mark Twain, "A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on." The best advice I've found, and it has sustained me through dark moments when I've been slandered (links reluctantly redacted), is a line from Lois McMaster Bujold, "Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will."

I am also not fond of the criminal courts. The burden of proof is steep, justice is expensive and not very blind, one must rely on the sense of the average person (!) and the system says from the start that they'll let a guilty person go before they mistakenly convict an innocent (they do anyway!). Punishments are severe (and more often than not deservedly so) but essentially random.

I'm going to throw the gauntlet down to the entire alternative community. This includes but is not limited to the science fiction fandom. SMOFs take note.

We need to come up with a justice system within the community, that is responsive to the needs of the community, that functions according to and within community standards, which protects us from the asshats yet has safeguards against abuse.

Oh, wait. Wikipedia's done that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration_guide

We need something like this for former fen who should no longer be welcome to purchase a badge, because they have abused the trust of the community by committing serious offenses.

Comments

[drewkitty.livejournal.com]

A court, but not of public opinion. A trial by one's peers, in the community of one's peers, according to rules under a neutral arbiter or arbiter(s).

For one thing, participation by the accused would have to be voluntary. For another, the accused would have to have something to gain from participating -- such as the potential of either clearing their name or salvaging some of their reputation. (Note: the appeal must be to both innocent accused and guilty accused, which is two different sets of motivations.) The victim would also have to have something to gain, such as the potential for serious sanctions and redress of harm, set against their pain and effort and potential for re-victimization.