Online Petitions...do they work?

[Mike Weins]

Hi all :)

I received and interesting email from a friend that is not very computer savvy and always forwards me everything he gets (even his personal email :confused: ).

Anyways he sent me an online petition regarding the veterans hospital in Fresno Ca. After reading the petition, visiting the website, and talking to the VA office in nearby Hanford Ca I was directed to a link on snopes.com (Urban Legends).

So here's the link for you all to read for yourself :)

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/internet.htm

[Matt A]

I've always viewed on-line petitions with the same eye as on-line scams. The unsolicited "Won't you please please help...." in the in-box just gets deleted. Where did they get my addy from? Being referred by someone else just makes me tune out.....

The only 2 petitions I've ever signed were to 1)allow a local man to get his name on the ballot to run for office and 2)keep a gentlemen's club from opening up in our suburban neighborhood. These were in-person on paper petitions from people I knew personally.

Nobody needs MY name on a petition to help people in another country. They're free to go there themselves and help all they want without me.

[mrsdoubtfyre]

except to people I know well. Email today is full of dangerous crap! I don't ever open anything that I don't know the sender!

I delete almost everything out of principle!

[The Dude]

Some people say they dont work...........(Signatures cant be verified,etc.....)

[jd3]

I have responded to quite a few environmental and activist petitions. There have been a few that worked directly. Indirectly who knows? It makes me feel good and I haven't seen any abuses yet.

I am in Nevada and Senator Reid responds with a detailed letter giving his history and future intentions toward the issues:) . The rest of the NV delegation--forget it!

[Bobbi]

I signed a couple, only, then, I started wondering about the verification and efficacy, too. The ones I signed or participated in actually didn't state how the signatures would be submitted (to someone, an office or someplace that could be verified).

Maybe some are better than others... in that the signatures are verified and delivered :). For others, though, maybe it's about some type "popularity" or ego-stroking.

[Izzy]

What I can't understand is: say I send a petition with 80 names to 10 people who forward it to 10 more people, my name is then on the petition 20 times. I don't think anyone is going to sit down and mark my name off on all but one petition.???? Those don't work.

However, there are legitimate petitions that you can sign at certain web sites that do go to the places they are supposed to go, such as through an email that I get that got enough signatures to get a certain singer to cut out part of her planned program on tv. But you go to their url to sign it and do not forward a bunch of names.

The ones I get in email I delete. I wrote one sender and told him if he could explain to me how it could work I would sign it. He couldn't.:D

Have a good one,
Izzy~