Advocacy Online - Designing electronic petitionsPrepared by Dorothy OkelloAt one time or another, you may have received an electronic petition - typically "chain-letter" style with a request to add your name to a list of names if you support the cause discussed in the email, to forward the request to as many as you can after appending your name, and to forward this email back to the organisers if you are at a certain position in the list. This techtip addresses the issue of electronic petitions. For queries regarding this tip, or requests for tips, please write to techtips@wougnet.org The good news and the bad newsMost email users have received their fair share of email petitions -- on topics ranging from the support of Afghan women's rights to ending the dolphin slaughter in Japan. These types of messages are frequently revealed as hoaxes or campaigns, but the question remains: why are email petitions such a bad thing in the first place? The E-Petition website explains why you shouldn't use, or forward, email petitions (ever!), and provides lots of great links that will legitimately support advocacy work online: http://www.e-petition.org[Source: ACTEW-L News on the Net (July 2001) http://www.actew.org] Available at http://www.e-petition.org is the following:
While the good examples listed at http://www.e-petition.org are web-based, you may sometimes need, or be constrained, to use email methods. Here is one way you can organise an email-based petition:
In conclusion, e-petitions can be a quick and easy way to drawing attention to one's cause, however, it is important to understand how to make effective use of this strategy. |