Signing up as an arbiter

Contracts with arbitration feature of Obyte platform has one major advantage for users: there is a third party arbiter that can resolve any disputes during contract fulfillment. Any user with proper professional background can become an arbiter, and make profits by resolving disputes between users when they arise.

Although being a professional lawyer is the best option to become an arbiter, nothing can stop any person from signing up as an arbiter and helping other Obyte users, as long as they honestly describe their skills and experience. In the end, it's up to users to pick the arbiter they think can fit their needs best. However, the ArbStore reserves the right to unlist the arbiters that don't add value to the store.

Arbiters wanted!

Passionate professionals with expert knowledge and high reputation. We offer great opportunity to transform the legal landscape!

Pair with the ArbStore by clicking "Sign up as arbiter" button on the home page of the ArbStore, or on this page above. Your installed Obyte wallet will open and pair with the ArbStore, and you'll see a chat window with a welcome message.

The ArbStore will ask you to get attested by Real Name Attestation bot first. The bot is available through Bot Store tab on the Chat page of your wallet. After finishing the attestation process, click and save your private profile that the Real Name Attestation bot sent to you.

Real name attestation is strongly recommended for added credibility, however you do not have to reveal your real name during signing up as an arbiter.

Now go back to the ArbStore chat. Insert your attested address by clicking the "Insert my address" button.

The ArbStore will ask you to sign a message first to prove that you are the owner of the address. Click the link inside the message to sign it. Double check that you are signing a message that clearly expresses your current intention of signing up as an arbiter with the correct address.

After the signature was sent, the ArbStore will ask if you'd like to stay anonymous or reveal your real name to users. Click your choice.

At this point, it is strongly recommended to back up your wallet (burger menu -> Settings -> Backup all wallet data) to make sure that you can always post your decision about a dispute. The contracts that have chosen you as arbiter indicate your wallet address and it cannot be changed once the contract is signed. Only you can post from this address and neither the ArbStore nor Obyte can help you to recover the wallet if it was lost.

When you have revealed your profile (or chosen to stay anonymous), the ArbStore will send you your personal secret link to the ArbStore web site to continue filling your arbiter profile. Click it.

Fill all the fields on the web page. Be concise but clear. Write down the ways that users and ArbStore moderators can reach you outside of Obyte platform.

Pay special attention to thoroughly filling the Bio field. In particular:

Describe your professional background. Indicate any professional communities you are a member of. Back your claims with links to the relevant pages.
Describe your dispute resolution process. Indicate the approximate time it takes (depending on the contract's nature and complexity).
Describe how you have backed up your wallet (number of backups, how they are stored, etc). It's important — if you lose your wallet, you won't be able to post your decision and the money might be stuck on the smart contract forever!

Then pick the specializations (topics of the contracts) that you are good at and are interested in resolving. Indicate the approximate fee for your service of resolving contracts of each topic.

Select the languages that you speak.

When the web form was successfullly sent, the ArbStore will send you a payment request to fill up your deposit (if any) with a minimum amount. The amount and asset of the deposit depends on ArbStore configuration. The deposit is used as a source for funds to compensate users for incorrect arbiter decisions or any other misbehavior. The deposit should always have enough funds (at least the minimum amount that you were asked for during this step) to make your arbiter listing visible for users.

Wait for the payment to be confirmed in Obyte network.

As the last step, you will be asked for a permanent pairing code that will be used by users and ArbStore moderators to chat with you in case they want or need to.

Success! The ArbStore has now posted an announcement transaction revealing to the network that a new arbiter has been signed up on this ArbStore and is ready to work.

You can check that your listing is visible on the ArbStore's arbiters list.

From now on, you can change your listing details or completely hide it from the ArbStore by sending commands to the ArbStore through the chat.

You can always send "help" in the chat to see the list of available commands.

Resolving disputes

When users that picked you as arbiter in their contract decide that they need your help and raise a dispute, you will receive a message from the ArbStore in chat with full info about the contract and contract parties.

The most important link is the first one which starts with "Dispute request for contract...". Clicking it will open a window with the contract being disputed.

The second link is used to set your service fee for resolving this dispute.

First, take a look at the contract to determine its complexity, whether it fits your stated scope of contracts you resolve, and estimate the amount of work that the resolution will require. If the contract doesn't fit any of the topics stated in your profile, you can refuse to resolve it. If necessary, pair with both parties by clicking the pairing links in the contract window and gather additional information that would help you better estimate the amount of required work. Don't try to resolve the dispute at this stage yet, you are not supposed to do this before you are paid.

Decide on the fee that the plaintiff will pay for your work. Click the link in the chat message from the ArbStore (1), it will pre-fill the input field for you in the chat with the formatted message containing three fields separated by new-lines: — contract_hash — amount — comment Now change the amount (2) to the desired value, the asset of the amount is displayed in the message from the ArbStore. On the screenshot, the asset is in GB, so the amount will be in GB.

Optionally change the comment. It will be sent to the plaintiff, so it's always good to add some details into it explaining why you chose this amount for the resolution fee. At least replace the phrase "OPTIONAL COMMENT ...." with some more appropriate text.

Leave the contract title there, it will help both you and the plaintiff to associate the fee payment request with the contract being disputed.

Send the message. The ArbStore will then ask the plaintiff to pay for your services the exact amount you stated, locking the funds in your deposit. You will be notified when the payment is received.

IMPORTANT: You can re-send the same message, changing the amount or the comment, but it will trigger more payment requests to the plaintiff, so use this with caution.

Along with the payment request, the plaintiff receives your pairing code, so they can chat with you if they have any questions.

Once the fee has been paid, start studying the details of the case. Read the contract. Pair with both parties by clicking the pairing links in the contract window, then request evidence from them. As soon as you have collected enough information to make a decision, post your decision by clicking the corresponding buttons in the contract dispute window.

Now the side that you chose as winner can claim funds locked on the contract.

The service fee that the plaintiff has paid for your services will be unlocked to your deposit as soon as you post your decision.