Laziness and Democracy Don't Mix
Many thanks to Allison Kozak at EarthJustice for bringing this to me and the N-TEN discuss list. It seems that Congress is up to no good again. This time it's the House, instead of the senate, that's trying to tinker with their email system and block any email sent from a third party. Essentially, under the new system, users will have to verify their humanity by answering a question or typing in a series of letters before their email will be delivered to it recipient.
It's insulting for several reasons:
1. It reeks of laziness, and democracy deserves better. If you're an elected official, it's your job to figure out what to do with consitutent communications. Sweeping them under the rug doesn't count.
2. It equates nonprofits with spammers. Just becuase the sending of the message is facilitated by an organization doesn't mean it's not from a constituent. And when did messages about public policy end up on the level of viagra schills?
Below is the text of the email House members received alerting them of the news service:
Write Your Representative Service Enhancement Now Available
New Logic Puzzle Feature Reduces Unwanted Mass E-mail
Dear Members, Committee Chairs, Resident Commissioner, Delegates, House Officers, Support Offices, and Staff:
The CAO is pleased to announce the availability of the Logic Puzzle feature as an optional enhancement to the Write Your Representative (WYR) service. This feature has been designed to minimize the amount of mass e-mail generated by automated programs, and received through the WYR service. A demonstration of the Logic Puzzle feature is available at http://www.house.gov/writerep/lp_demo.shtml
With the extensive reach of electronic communications, an increasing number of organizations are using automated programs to send messages to Members through the WYR service. The volume of mass e-mails generated by these groups often causes an administrative burden for House offices, and may make it more difficult to receive, and respond to, individual constituent mail. Some House offices have indicated that they would prefer not to receive messages from such automated mass e-mail programs.
The Logic Puzzle verification feature now available for use with the WYR reduces unwanted mass e-mail by requiring that users complete a simple puzzle before using the service. However, just as antivirus software cannot protect against all computer viruses, the Logic Puzzle may not prevent messages from being submitted by all automated programs, and may lose its effectiveness over time as new technologies are developed to circumvent the feature. In the event that the Logic Puzzle feature is rendered ineffective, the CAO's House Information Resources (HIR) team will continue to monitor emerging technology for solutions to address these issues.
The Logic Puzzle Verification feature is currently only available using the WYR service. Offices that wish to maintain their own custom Web form can request an alternative solution from CAO Web Assistance which can redirect electronic messages to a separate e-mail box based on the sender's Internet Protocol (IP) address.
To take advantage of the Logic Puzzle feature, offices should complete the Write Your Representative Change Request Form and select the option for the Logic Puzzle. The form is available on HouseNet at http://housenet.house.gov in the "Forms Library."
Hi Rick - Thanks for the comment. First, I want to clarify that this is
NOT a bill. It's a feature that is being offered by the organization
that supplies the House with optional website and email solutions. Many
House memebrs use these tools, and the CAPCHA puzzle is one of the
options that can turn on.
I hear everyone's concerns that email is simply too much to handle now
and has become useless as a communications tool. But I heard the same
thing about postcards when I worked for the State PIRG's and
painstakingly gathered thousands of signatures and addresses from
people who cared about an issue. My response is this: why does there
have to be some sort of threshold people have to cross in order to show
that they "really" care about something? If the take even 15 seconds
out of their busy lives to express an opinion, that ought to vount for
something.
Your opposed to this bill under the idea that "Lazyness and Democracy
Don't Mix"? If a constitutent is really concerned to be heard, he/she
can certainly type a few letters to verify they are human not a third
party advocate group. Because of the blitz of Email from third parties,
Congressional staffers don't even both reading the Email. Thus, we who
are concerned turn to faxing and calling. But if this new system is put
into practice, once again our voice can be heard by Email (as it was in
the very early days of the Email, before spamming) and we can go back
to using that technology. I find it hard to believe that you oppose
this bill, which restores the value of Email.