# Good rules for a petition?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rules-for-a-petition/51848>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 26, 2001, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rules-for-a-petition/51848 "2001-01-26T12:41:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rules-for-a-petition/51848/1 "2001-01-26T12:41:43Z")

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Someone started a thread in MPSIMs about rules for an effective e-mail petition. Can someone dredge up what those rules are? I got an e-mail petition about funding for PBS, NEA, etc. and I’d like to respond.

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**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rules-for-a-petition/51848/2 "2001-01-26T13:27:38Z")

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Sorry dude… I searched for about 10 minutes (until I got bored), and didn’t come up with anything…

Any more info? When was it started? What was the subject? Etc.?

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**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rules-for-a-petition/51848/3 "2001-01-26T14:06:51Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Chrome Spot \*  
> \*\*Someone started a thread in MPSIMs about rules for an effective e-mail petition. Can someone dredge up what those rules are? I got an e-mail petition about funding for PBS, NEA, etc. and I’d like to respond. \*\*

1. Please don’t respond; the petition is a fake. See [http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/nea.htm](http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/nea.htm) .

2. E-mail petitions, as a legal instrument, are pretty useless. Too easy to include false or unverifiable signatures. They’re fine for venting your rage or something, but the intended recipients really don’t pay the attention they would to an ink-and-paper petition.