Validity of Web-Forms-Based Advocacy Questioned

RobotRunAmok writes "We've all heard that, to better gain a legislator's attention, one should write a letter or send a fax, rather than click off an e-mail. Made sense, no? Well, PC World is reporting that the US Forestry Service is considering taking that truism to it's logical, or perhaps extreme, extension. The Tree People seek a regulation that would allow them to "ignore any public comments on the rule-making process sent to it through Web-based forms." The knickers of the EFF are in the predictable twist. The Issue: Sure, we all know Web-based petitions and advocacy campaigns are bogus, but they made us feel good, almost like we were participating in The Process, so is it really polite to rub our noses in our own ineffectuality this way?"

Comments

Politeness

[IdiotBoy]

so is it really polite to rub our noses in our own ineffectuality this way?

Would you really rather be politely ignored than impolitely engaged?

Why bother?

[metamatic]

Why would you bother to participate in some ineffectual ritual if you know that's all it is?

I don't know, why do Americans bother to vote?

Oh, wait, most of them don't.