# Mediation ## Who is a mediator? A mediator is a real person responsible for deciding the outcome of a disputed swap order. They typically work with other mediators to decide the ruling for a dispute. ## How can I become a mediator? To become a mediator, you must purchase a mediator ticket and stake a minimum amount of P2P tokens to be used as a security bond. The security bond is designed to encourage thoughtful and responsible mediation. Unfortunately, a portion of the mediator's bond is slashed and burned whenever a mediator gets it wrong or fails to vote when called. ## What is the cost of a mediator ticket? The cost of a mediator ticket is determined by the supply and demand of tickets at a point in time. Joint protocol calculates the prices based on supply and demand. If the demand for tickets is high, the price will rise. When demand is low, the price falls. ## What is ticket maturity? Ticket maturity describes how long a ticket must wait before it is ready to join a market. A newly purchased ticket must wait sometime before it becomes mature/ready. Ticket maturity prevents an attacker from purchasing a ticket and joining a mediator pool to influence mediation. ## Can a mediator ticket expire? Yes! Mediator tickets cannot be idle for an arbitrary duration or stashed for future use. If a ticket has not joined its assigned pool after maturity, it will expire after some time. The owner can cancel an expired ticket, allowing the security bond to be withdrawn. ## Can I resell a mediator ticket? No. Ticket owners cannot transfer tickets to another wallet. ## What is a pool? A pool is a collection of tickets owned by many mediators. A pool brings mediators skilled at mediating a certain type of market. Market creators designate pools responsible for resolving disputes. ## How many pools can a ticket join? A ticket can only join the pool that it was assigned to when it was created. The ticket owner cannot change it or join a different pool. ## Can a ticket leave a pool at any time? A ticket can only leave a pool when the owner requests to cancel the ticket. ## What is drafting? Drafting is when a mediator ticket is selected to solve a dispute. ## When is a ticket drafted? A ticket is randomly selected and drafted when a dispute is created. Any ticket in the pool has an equal chance of being drafted. ## How does voting work? When mediator tickets get drafted to a dispute, the dispute will enter into an *evidence phase* where the mediators will be allowed some time to request and review evidence from the swap counterparts. After the *evidence phase*, the *vote-committing* phase begins. In this phase, mediators must encrypt and cast their votes. After the vote-commit phase, the *vote-reveal* phase begins. In this phase, mediators must reveal the vote they previously committed. After the vote-reveal phase, the vote is tallied, and the outcome is executed by the smart contract with the help of miners. ## What happens if a ticket votes with the minority? A fraction of the ticket's security bond will be slashed. Also the ticket is removed from the pool. The ticket owner can cancel the ticket and withdraw the remaining security deposit. ## What happens if a ticket misses a vote? A fraction of the ticket's security bond will be slashed. The ticket will also be removed from the pool. The ticket owner can cancel the ticket and withdraw the remaining security deposit. ## Do mediators earn a reward? Yes. Mediators are rewarded for their service to the protocol. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.joint.exchange/faq/mediation.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.