Comments on: A Quick Question http://blog.scwleung.ca/2009/02/21/a-quick-question/ Wed, 07 Apr 2010 17:37:06 -0400 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Graeme http://blog.scwleung.ca/2009/02/21/a-quick-question/comment-page-1/#comment-400 Graeme Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:05:56 +0000 http://blog.scwleung.ca/?p=233#comment-400 Sadly, my first thought was that "won't somebody please think of the children" seems to be an excellent way to start a petition. Probably an indicator of the country in which I currently reside. Sadly, my first thought was that “won’t somebody please think of the children” seems to be an excellent way to start a petition.

Probably an indicator of the country in which I currently reside.

]]> By: Matthew Skala http://blog.scwleung.ca/2009/02/21/a-quick-question/comment-page-1/#comment-399 Matthew Skala Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:15:22 +0000 http://blog.scwleung.ca/?p=233#comment-399 As Darcy says, what kind of petition? If it's a petition to Parliament there's a definite procedure and I think you can find it on the Parliamentary Web site at http://www.parl.gc.ca/ . Among other things, there's a standardized wording you have to follow, you need translations in English and French, and everyone who signs has to include their address - which can be EITHER just the city or town and province they live in, OR their complete mailing address, but nothing in between. Once the petition has a bunch of signatures you submit it to your MP to present in the House. If it's a petition to someone else, then there are a lot fewer formal rules. Corporations and politicians have been paying a lot of attention recently to Facebook groups, where "joining" the group counts as signing the petition, but you'll need a few thousand signatures before that impresses anybody. I think plain-paper petitions still have more impact per signature even if it's more work to get signatures. It's only recently that Facebook groups have become a semi-respectable option - until the last year or so, online petitions weren't taken seriously at all, and I think even today no other form of online petition is taken seriously. One reason Facebook is different is that there's a fairly well-enforced policy of one real person per account and one account per real person, as well as geographic identification of people. With other systems there may be 10,000 signatures but 9,999 of them are from a script kiddie in Uzbekhistan. As Darcy says, what kind of petition? If it’s a petition to Parliament there’s a definite procedure and I think you can find it on the Parliamentary Web site at http://www.parl.gc.ca/ . Among other things, there’s a standardized wording you have to follow, you need translations in English and French, and everyone who signs has to include their address – which can be EITHER just the city or town and province they live in, OR their complete mailing address, but nothing in between. Once the petition has a bunch of signatures you submit it to your MP to present in the House.

If it’s a petition to someone else, then there are a lot fewer formal rules. Corporations and politicians have been paying a lot of attention recently to Facebook groups, where “joining” the group counts as signing the petition, but you’ll need a few thousand signatures before that impresses anybody. I think plain-paper petitions still have more impact per signature even if it’s more work to get signatures.

It’s only recently that Facebook groups have become a semi-respectable option – until the last year or so, online petitions weren’t taken seriously at all, and I think even today no other form of online petition is taken seriously. One reason Facebook is different is that there’s a fairly well-enforced policy of one real person per account and one account per real person, as well as geographic identification of people. With other systems there may be 10,000 signatures but 9,999 of them are from a script kiddie in Uzbekhistan.

]]> By: Darcy Casselman http://blog.scwleung.ca/2009/02/21/a-quick-question/comment-page-1/#comment-397 Darcy Casselman Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:10:27 +0000 http://blog.scwleung.ca/?p=233#comment-397 A <a href="http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/process/house/Petitions/petitionsPG2008__Pg02-e.htm" rel="nofollow">government petition</a> or some other kind? A government petition or some other kind?

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