How to recognise valid and
invalid petitions
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How to recognise valid and
invalid petitions
Petitions are an important
way for people to have their voices heard, but some petitions may have
unexpected consequences because of the way they have been constructed
and circulated. Make sure that the petitions you are taking time to complete
are valid - and that they are actually helping to further the causes you
espouse.
 Valid
petitions
A
Statement for Peace and in Opposition to War is an example of a valid
petition. Why? Well, it operates in the same way as a traditional petition
on paper. You go to a set website and add your name and contact details
to the petition's signatories. When the petition is sent to the government,
it will be accompanied by the list of (hopefully billions of) signatures
and comments, but each name will be recorded only once, so you
can feel confident that the petition can help to make a difference.
A petition that is housed on
an actual website (ie. with a URL address that begins with http://www.)
is likely to be valid. To be sure, when you visit the petition's URL,
look for information about the creators of the petition, and where the
signatures wil be sent.
Invalid
petitions
Emailed petitions (also called
e-petitions) can't be counted as valid or effective when they use
a pyramid-form of email distribution which quickly duplicates people's
names over and over again. Unfortunately, this is the way many emailed
petitions are set up.
Some of these pyramid-style
petitions are created with the best of intentions. Others are deliberate
pranks or hoaxes. Either way, emailed pyramid-style petitions are ineffective
and dangerous because:
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They create duplication
and confusion in the signature list. Many people will be forwarding
duplicate sets of signatures to lots more people, and, at regular
intervals, emailing a copy of these duplications back to one address.
Depending on the email's instructions, it could be the 50th or the
500th person who will email a copy of the signatures collected so
far to a designated address. This creates long lists of signatures
that can't be considered valid for the purpose advertised because
there is just too much repetition of names. As an Australian politician
has told wilpf members, these emailed petitions are largely ignored.
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They can be a deliberate
hoax to stop a particular email system from operating. For example,
a recent emailed petition about Iraq claimed to be from the UN,and
gave the UN as the designated return address. Yet the UN had nothing
to do with the petition. Someone else had set it up. If the petition
had kept circulating, the UN could have been forced to terminate
their email account. That has happened to other innocent email accounts
such brandeis.edu, the unasked recipient of myriads of the pyramid-style
Afghan women petition. (To read about what happened with this petition,
go to the information website http://www.jungle.ca/main_file.php/politics/426
- when that site is upgraded). These hoaxes can be seen as anti-peace
efforts and even as email terrorism.
- They waste the goodwill
of people wanting to make a positive difference to our world.
We can't afford to waste a drop of this goodwill, and we certainly
can't afford to have it used for destructive purposes.
What
can we do?
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When you receive an
e-petition, have a look to see whether you are being asked to
send on the same list of names to a number of other people;
and whether you're being asked to email the list to a particular
address if you're the xth person. If that's the case, don't
send it on. It's an illegitimate petition. Even better, let the
person know who sent the email to you, and ask them to let others
know. This is the only way we can stop such hoaxes from spreading.
And copy&send the URL for this wilpf page so they can learn
more about valid and invalid petitions.
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Check at any of the
virus software companies' websites when you receive an email
petition. These companies willl have comprehensive listings and
details of viruses and hoaxes. For example, try http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/.
Or go to a search engine such as Google
and, in the search box, type in 'petition', and also the address
where the petition supposedly originated.
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Provide everyone you
know with the above information. This can help them make informed
decisions that will help - not hinder - their work towards peace.
To contribute to a genuine
and valid petition, add your signature to A
Statement for Peace and in Opposition to War petition at www.PetitionOnline.
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