Email Petitions and Why They are Ineffective

29 January 2003 (updated 03 February 2003)

I received an email petition from a well-meaning friend and colleague recently. I decided to post my rant against such petitions here since I get a lot of these things, and I'd like to see an end to them.

The email had no subject line so it was only because the message came from a trusted source that it made it through my spam filters.

I've included the text of the message verbatim at the end of this page, but I've cut the 400-odd names of people who had already added their names to this virtual petition. For those of you who don't want to read through any of the various language versions, the basic intent of the petition is to get the UN to stop the United States from going to war with Iraq. [It turns out that the petition is a hoax. Lower down on this page there are links to sites with information about the hoax.]

<rant>

Petitions like this tend to have the opposite effect of what is intended or more likely no effect at all: the final recipient often has to shut down the email address in question because it is so flooded with incoming traffic and as a result, the message is lost. [It turns out that the UN shut down the email address in question.]

Imagine what would happen if I was the 599th person to sign this message and then forward it to, say, the 90-odd people in my email address book. If even 5 of my friends forward the petition to the UN, the UN will receive 5 lists of 600 people that are identical except for the last signature. It's way more noise than signal.

Additionally, because this message has already made the email rounds hundreds of times, skeptics among us may wonder about the authenticity of the request. Did the UN actually request signatures on a petition? Yes, the message needs to be sent, and email is easy and almost instant. A non-virtual petition organizer would be unlikely to mail out 10 letters asking people to sign, and then asking those 10 people to sign 10 copies and send them out and so on, with the 600 signatory of each letter sending a bound volume to the UN, expecting them to sort through the duplication. [It turns out that purported originators of the petition, the United Nations Information Centre have never started any petitions. You can their notice about the petition here.

</rant>

Alternatives:

I found the following sites (and more) with a simple google search for petition against war in iraq. Click the link to see the current search results.

• http://www.moveon.org/nowar/ has a compiled electronic petition project. The site is geared toward Americans.
• http://www.stopwar.org.uk/ is based in Britain, but has links to international sites.
• http://www.petitiononline.com/iraq/petition.html is another US-based electronic petition.

It's a Hoax (added 03 February 2003)

It turns out that the email message in question is indeed yet another example of an internet-age hoax and chain letter. You can read about it here:

• The United Nations Information Centre (purported originator of this petition) notice about this petition.
• Email Hoax Targets Peace Activists
• Internet hoax tracker on arachnophiliac.com
• or you can read more with this google search for the terms "un hoax petition iraq war"

Here's the original message:

Please read through the bottom.

Por favor leiam todo.

VEJAM QUE O ASSUNTO É SÉRIO. PESSOAS DO MUNDO INTEIRO ESTÃO ASSINANDO A LISTA. POR FAVOR, DÊEM SUA ASSINATURA SE ESTÃO CONTRA A GUERRA.


PETIÇÃO

Os Estados Unidos estão prestes a deflagrar uma guerra. Atualmente, estamos submetidos a um desequilíbrio mundial que poderia (na pior das hipóteses) levar à terceira guerra mundial.
Se Você também é contra esta ameaça, a ONU está - neste momento - recolhendo assinaturas para tentar prevenir esta tragédia.

Por favor, copie esta mensagem e cole-a em um "e-mail" novo, enviando para todos que Você conhece.

Se Você receber esta lista, já com mais de 600 assinaturas, envie também uma cópia para Nações Unidas: inquiries@un.org

PETITION

The US is about to dictate that a war take place. We are currently undergoing a worldwide imbalance that could [at worst] lead to a third world war.
If you are also against this threat, the UN is now collecting signatures to try to prevent this tragedy.

Please copy this e-mail into a new one, add your name to the end, and send it to everyone you know. If you receive the list with more than 600 names please send a copy to: United Nations inquiries@un.org


PETICION
Estados Unidos está a punto de dictar la guerra. Hoy nos encontramos en un punto en desequilibrio mundial por lo que puede dar inicio a una Tercera Guerra Mundial. Si tu estas en contra, la ONU se encuentra recopilando firmas para evitar este trágico acontecimiento mundial.

Por favor copia este e-mail en un mensaje nuevo, firma al final de la lista que veras a continuación, y mándalo a todas las personas que conozcas.

Si recibes esta lista con más de 600 nombres en ella, por favor envía una copia del mensaje a: United Nations. inquiries@un.org

Incluso si decides no firmar, por favor se considerado y no elimines la petición.


PETITION

Die Vereinigten Staaten sind gerade dabei einen Krieg zu diktieren.Wir befinden uns heutzutage in einem weltweiten Ungleichgewicht, was zu einem Dritten Weltkrieg führen kann. Wenn Du Dich ebenfalls dagegen aussprichst: die UNO ist gerade dabei Unterschriften zu sammeln, um diesem tragischen Geschehen entgegenzuwirken.

Bitte kopiere diese e-mail in eine neue mail, unterzeichne sie am Ende der Liste, die unten angehängt ist und schicke sie an alle Personen, die Du kennst.
Wenn Du die Liste mit mehr als 600 Namen erhältst, dann schicke bitte eine Kopie davon an: United Nations. inquiries@un.org

Auch wenn Du Dich entschliessen solltest nicht zu unterzeichnen, dann schicke die Petition bitte trotzdem weiter.

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