15th September 2003, 11:11 PM
That's for sure, and as a matter of fact this petition itself won't actually be what gets it done, but it does seem that by some amazing miracle it's at least got the company to CONSIDER it. I will say this in defense of corporations ignoring petitions though. It's very hard to really confirm that each sig is actually from a unique individual. Even if IPs were logged, those can be generated easily enough and there's no way to proove they didn't make them up. It's very likely that some crazed fans could just sit around making up sigs for a few hours. More than that, a sig isn't a guerenteed sale. The company may well be aware that just because they signed something showing they want it doesn't mean they will actually get it (for various reasons, like not having the money, being a kid who's just hoping a parent will get it, or whatever). ACTUAL signatures however, those are provable simply because they all look different. Real world petitions are more effective because it's actual effort and more provable.
All that having been said, again, in this case the company is actually looking into it. This means that basically the petition made them think that they should at least check into it. They will not use the petition as evidence people want it it seems, but rather now will go about their own means of seeing if Americans want it, whatever those may be. If it does come out, even if they weren't directly influenced by the petition to release it, it can at least be said that the petition got the wheels rolling, and it's hard to say if they would have started rolling without this petition.
However, for the same reasons I don't bother gambling, I won't be bothering signing every single petition I see just because it MIGHT work.
All that having been said, again, in this case the company is actually looking into it. This means that basically the petition made them think that they should at least check into it. They will not use the petition as evidence people want it it seems, but rather now will go about their own means of seeing if Americans want it, whatever those may be. If it does come out, even if they weren't directly influenced by the petition to release it, it can at least be said that the petition got the wheels rolling, and it's hard to say if they would have started rolling without this petition.
However, for the same reasons I don't bother gambling, I won't be bothering signing every single petition I see just because it MIGHT work.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)