Stewart said eQuibbly does what has been done informally for years and added "even things that might be settled by the courts might start being settled by the crowd because they're better."
EQuibbly has a more serious side, though, which allows individuals and businesses to agree to a debate with a binding resolution.
Soskin sees shortfalls in the justice system that online dispute resolution might solve.
The justice system is somewhat biased toward people who have money and time, he said.
"You can't go to court for a few hundred dollars," he said.
"Most of the court systems in the U.S. and Canada are backlogged with thousands upon thousands upon thousands of cases."
The British Columbia government announced in May that it will set up an online tribunal to help people solve small civil claims outside court. It's expected to be in place by 2013-14 and save money on travel time and court costs.
"Once online dispute resolution is started, ongoing participation would be mandatory until a voluntary or binding settlement was reached," the B.C. government has said about the service.
There's also mylegalbriefcase.com, which helps guide people through Ontario's small claims court system.
Associate Prof. Erik Knutsen said concerns have been raised in the legal community that individuals could either lose some of their rights or not be aware of their rights by having disputes resolved online.
