This is an essay on the Wikipedia:Dispute resolution policy. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

Shortcut WP:DRN-C

Here are the ground rules for any mediation that is conducted at DRN where the moderator specifies Rule C:

1. Be civil and concise.
   1. Civility is required everywhere in Wikipedia and is essential in dispute resolution. Uncivil statements may be collapsed.
   2. Overly long statements do not clarify issues. (They may make the author feel better, but the objective is to discuss the article constructively.) Overly long statements may be collapsed, and the party may be told to summarize them. Read Too Long, Didn't Read, and don't write anything that is too long for other editors to read. If the moderator says to write one paragraph, that means one paragraph of reasonable length.
2. Do not report any issues about the article or the editing of the article at any other noticeboards, such as WP:ANI or Arbitration Enforcement. Reporting any issue about the article at any other location is forum shopping, which is strongly discouraged. Any old discussions at any other noticeboards must be closed or suspended. If any new discussions are opened elsewhere while discussion is pending at DRN, the mediation at DRN will be failed.
3. Comment on content, not contributors.
   1. The purpose of discussion is to improve the article, not to complain about other editors. (There may be a combination of content issues and conduct issues, but resolving the content issue often mitigates the conduct issue or permits it to subside.) Uncivil comments or comments about other editors may be suppressed.
   2. "Comment on content, not contributors" means that if you are asked to summarize what you want changed in the article, or left the same, it is not necessary or useful to name the other editors, but it may be important to identify the paragraphs or locations in the article. It isn't necessary to identify the other editors with whom you disagree.
   3. Discuss edits, not editors. This means the same as "Comment on content, not contributors". It is repeated because it needs repeating.
4. Do not edit the article while moderated discussion is in progress, with reasonable exceptions. If the article is edited by a party while discussion is pending at DRN, the mediation at DRN may be failed. One reasonable exception is the reverting of vandalism.
5. Please inform DRN if there is interaction with editors who are not taking part in the DRN.
6. The article may be discussed at the article talk page or user talk pages, but other editors may or may not be following that discussion. Do not assume that another editor is following a discussion at another talk page.
7. The moderator may not have any background knowledge about the subject. It is the responsibility of the editors, who are familiar with the subject matter, to inform the moderator about the subject matter, just as the purpose of the article is to inform the readers about the subject matter.
8. Be specific at DRN . Do not simply say that a section should be improved, but tell what improvement should be made. Do not simply say that "All viewpoints must be discussed", but identify the missing viewpoints. If you say that the article has BLP violations, specify how they can be corrected.
9. The moderator will provide a section for back-and-forth comments. Keep your comments in that section, so that anyone else can ignore them. Comments in the back-and-forth section, like everywhere else, must be civil.
10. Other editors who are not listed as participants may take part in discussion in the same way as listed participants. Other editors are still required to address their comments to the moderator and the community, not to respond to the listed participants.
    1. Other editors may request to be listed. The moderator may decide to list any other editors who have been participating. It doesn't really matter if an editor is listed.
11. Do not engage in back-and-forth discussion to statements by other editors unless the moderator gives permission; that is, do not reply to the comments of other editors. That has already been tried and has not resolved the content dispute. Address your comments to the moderator and the community. Except in a section for back-and-forth discussion, replies to other editors or back-and-forth discussion may be collapsed by the moderator and may result in a rebuke.
12. It is the responsibility of every participant to keep the moderator informed as to whether they will take any wikibreaks or be absent due to real life. Every participant is expected to check on the case at least every 48 hours and to answer questions within 48 hours unless they have said that they will be absent. Discussion may continue in the absence of a participant, but will not result in any decisions that an editor cannot participate in.