Do petitions, online or otherwise, do any good?

I don’t think they do any good. I’ll sign the odd one, but I think they all rubbish really.

Your best bet is to write your congressperson and tell them that you will work to make sure they are not elected. And that you have lots of friends that have lots of friends. Oklahoma has some fucked up congresspeople… Good luck.

But online petitions are mostly shit.

@johnpowell Yeaaaaah we do!

Probably not…. but some are still fun. I like to sign the ones on the 10 Downing Street website http://www.number10.gov.uk/ I particularly enjoyed signing the one asking Gordon Brown to resign.

Alot of the online petetions, especially for the ASPCA, go to my local representatives/congressmen so that’s a plus.

I think they do when a large number of people sign one from a legitimate source because politicians want votes & companies want customers.

Yes, when a large number of people sign them, I think they make a difference. I sign with avaaz.org & there has been results at certain points.
@kikibirdjones they’re the ones that matter

I have been told that the online ones will not count because it has to be an actual signature and address(not 100% about that one) to count. The online ones may just be an email tracker type program.

Most ad hoc petitions go nowhere. In some legal jurisdictions, petitions can be binding on the local government; for example, it’s possible to get political initiatives onto a ballot by getting enough signatures. California works this way, and so do many county and municipal governments.

As a rule, I don’t sign them. Even if I understand every word, and it seems reasonable to me, I don’t always know the motives of the people circulating the petition.

I really don’t think they work – when faced with a petition, most people probably see it as simply a collective group of whiners.

A great way to accumulate E-mail address.

I don’t sign any that come to me via email. But those through the previous mentioned website are legit. I just wonder if lawmakers, etc, that receive them give them any attention.

meh, petitions. if you care – find the contact info for someone in charge and speak your mind. personal contact > anonymous noise.

The most effective way to get your request or complaint taken seriously is with an individual personal letter.

Most companies and organizations tend to ignore online stuff as it’s just too easy to create large numbers of robotic responses. Even if you send an email yourself instead of signing a petition, it’s effectiveness pales in comparison to a physical letter.

There’s nothing like the personal touch which cannot be replicated. This is what they take seriously.