What will I learn to do?
Petitions allow any of us to be heard and to take a stand against (or in favour of) causes that matter to us.
We may rise against an unfair legislation for instance; this is a way to let everyone, and in particular the powers-at-be, know that we are not going to take the situation lying down.
In SPIP, it is possible to turn your articles into petitions.
In this lesson, you will learn what an on-line petition is, and how to turn one of your articles into an on-line petition.
You will also see the various options for configuring the collection of signatures and the various benefits that each of these options presents.
Finally, you will learn how to manage the signatures.
Remember that, in many cases the more signatures are collected, the higher the impact of your petition will be.
What is the advantage of a web petition versus a traditional one?
On-line petitions can be very powerful tools — far more powerful than a regular paper petition!
An on-line petition uses the power of the Internet to encourage people to take action on a particular issue:
An on-line petition can easily reach a large number of people; thousands of signatures from around the world can be collected in a short time
Anyone can sign it at any time
The collection and counting of signatures can be automated
How do I turn an article into an on-line petition?
To activate an on-line petition on an article:
Click on the article you wish to activate the petition for
Use the black arrow to view the “Forum & petition” drop down menu in the left hand-side column
Select «Activating the petition»
Click on «Modify»
You are offered a range of options.
Choose “Only one signature per e-mail address”
Add a short description
Click on «Modify» again
Your petition is now active!
To see it on-line, click on «View online».
Activate an on-line petition on an article
Visitors of your web site can now support your cause by adding their signature to the petition:
Add a signature
The signature validity is checked by asking the signatories to click on a confirmation link sent to their email address.
This is to ensure that the email address is legitimate, and to prevent individuals from signing on behalf of others...
In your private area, you can spot articles for which a petition was activated: the word PETITION is displayed in red against the article.
How do I make my online petition a success ?
The decision to start a petition must not be taken lightly!
Firstly you must make sure that starting a petition is the best way to serve your goal, and that your team supports the cause.
Secondly, in order to raise awareness your petition must be noticed so as to get as many signatures as possible, and help you voice your position and get things changed!
Things you should do to ensure your petition gets the attention it deserves:
Most important, make sure your petition is put together properly: it has to be clear and self-explanatory so that people know at a glance what you are trying to achieve. State a purpose or specific goal that makes it clear what the issue is and what you think should be done about it.
Proofread and spell check your petition and any supporting documents describing the issue.
Be sure your petition states who you are sending it to, and the role they will have in helping your cause.
Be specific about what you want the petitioner to do, and by when. Set a deadline by which all the signatures must be collected.
Be careful that the same people/entities do not sign it several times.
For maximum exposure, it is often a good idea to make the information available from the home page or on an advertising banner present on all the pages of your site.
You can also:
Email your friends and family and send them the link to your petition.
Use Search Engines to find other people who are interested in your cause. Ask them to sign your petition and ask if they would consider including your link on their websites.
Join User Groups or Chat Boards concerning your topic. Spread the word on those forums.
Submit your link to search engines manually or use one of the free submission services you can find in any search engine.
Don’t be afraid to be creative!
