\n\nDaniel Rainey said:<\/cite>

To kick off this discussion, let me offer a little perspective (admittedly with my own bias built in) about where we've come from and where we are with ODR.In 1996, the first articles about online dispute resolution (ODR) were published, followed closely by books about ODR by Ethan Katsh and Janet Rifkin, and Colin Rule. In 1997, I was working with the National Mediation Board to find ways to integrate technology into the dispute resolution work the agency was doing in the labor management arena. In 2003, Ethan, Janet, Colin, and I began to see a convergence of interests associated with the commercial, fourth party work they were doing and the conflict management\/case management work I was doing. In 2004, Ethan and I were part of a team that won the first of two NSF grants to study the impact of technology on dispute resolution, and that work is still ongoing today.One could visualize the ODR world in a number of ways, but one way that hits home with me is to think of the continual divergence and re-convergence of interests surrounding commercial disputes (particularly those generated online) and interests surrounding the use of technology to conduct, in whole or in part, more \"traditional\" ADR work outside the commercial realm.In the mid-1990's, it was pretty hard to find anyone outside a small band of evangelical converts to technology willing to endorse the usefulness of ODR - the \"I've gotta look 'em in the eye\" mentality was very strong, and it was not unusual for members of our group to present panels at professional meetings where the panel outnumbered, or nearly outnumbered, the audience.The situation seems to have changed radically. The annual international ODR conferences now draw hundreds of conflict resolution professionals from around the world to talk about dispute resolution technology, and at the last ACR conference one of our ODR panels (scheduled in the last slot on the last day when city tours of Chicago were being offered) drew a crowd that filled the room. The world-wide conversation about ODR now is lively, and routinely demonstrates the common interests of a wide range of dispute resolution professionals in a wide range of venues.The question I'd like to use to start off this discussions is, simply, \"why has ODR now seemingly become an assumed part of the ADR mainstream instead of a fringe idea?\"Your answer, of course, may be that it hasn't become mainstream, or you make take exception to the thumbnail picture of the state of ODR that I've drawn. That's fine, too - but whatever your perspective coming into the discussion, let's talk.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/div><\/div>\n <\/dd>\n
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