Project:Stop SOPA and PIPA/Contact tips - Revision history

Conor Kenny: /* How to log your call on the contact log and whip count page */

2012-01-12T19:46:03Z

How to log your call on the contact log and whip count page

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:46, January 12, 2012
Line 44:		Line 44:
	:* '''Double bonus points:''' If the position is different than what's recorded on the [[Protect IP Act Senate whip count]]. If there's nothing new to report, please still log your call on the [[Protect IP Act Senate contact log]] so everyone can see how many calls a senator has gotten.		:* '''Double bonus points:''' If the position is different than what's recorded on the [[Protect IP Act Senate whip count]]. If there's nothing new to report, please still log your call on the [[Protect IP Act Senate contact log]] so everyone can see how many calls a senator has gotten.

−	==How to log your call on the contact log and whip count page==	+	==How to log your call or email on the contact log and whip count page==

	'''Adding to the contact log:'''		'''Adding to the contact log:'''

Conor Kenny: /* Tips for emailing senators */

2012-01-12T19:45:42Z

Tips for emailing senators

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:45, January 12, 2012
Line 65:		Line 65:
	Follow [http://www.opencongress.org/contact_congress_letters/new?bill=112-s968&position=oppose this link] to get started.		Follow [http://www.opencongress.org/contact_congress_letters/new?bill=112-s968&position=oppose this link] to get started.

		+	Once there, you can compose your letter and use our handy features of including more information (like campaign contributors from pro-PIPA companies). Congressional offices also take letters more seriously if they're unique, so take a minute to add your own message, such as how you value net freedom, oppose China-style DNS blocking or don’t want one single government official to be able to ban a URL without review and accountability.

−	~~Enter~~ your ~~email and full street address at~~ the ~~top of~~ the ~~message builder~~ to ~~auto-find~~ your ~~senators and representative~~.	+	Once your letter is sent, you can share the link on Twitter (use the #PIPA or #SOPA hashtags!), Facebook or other social media to encourage your friends to also write-in to oppose PIPA. If you get a reply, you can post that link, too. Then the senator is on the record! No journalist or other gatekeeper need be involved!

−	Compose your letter, clicking on information (especially campaign contribution data) on the right-hand side to bring it over to the left-hand side. Constituent communications can be enhanced by personal testimonials about how you value net freedom, as an Internet user, or how perhaps as a technologist you oppose the bill’s attempt to enforce China-style DNS blocking, or how you support free political speech online and don’t want one single government official to be able to ban a URL without review & accountability.	+	'''Need help?''' [mailto:conor@opencongress.org email us].
−		+
−	Complete the process to send your email through OC, and you’ll be taken to a permalink page to your letter. There, you can share it over social media and email with your community. Any auto-generated or form-letter response from the offices of your elected officials will automatically appear there, and you can comment on their response and share the results with your social network. It’s unlikely that the auto-response to your email will contain a new position on #SOPA or #PIPA, but if it does, please use that as documentation to add to the wiki community project and add your notes in the added-context page for that senator. (Next, we’ll offer a similar community-driven, volunteer-powered whip-count for SOPA specifically.)	+
−		+
−	Visit this campaign by the American Censorship coalition, composed of non-profit open Web advocates & technologists & public-mission organizations :: http://my.americancensorship.org/ . Simply find your state and join the discussion about how you can request an in-person meeting with your two U.S. senators and their offices during the January 2012 recess (in advance of PIPA’s first vote, fast-tracked by Sen. Majority Leader Reid for Jan. 24th) and register your opposition. In-person visits are a crucial & compelling component of the grassroots effort to combat net censorship. Your fellow constituents and American Censorship organizers will help provide you with talking points & factual materials for your vital face-to-face meetings with your senators -- even if you’re there to reinforce what others are saying, don’t miss a chance to add your presence to this netroots community effort.	+
−		+
−	Please compete all the above steps to fight censorship online: call your senators’ offices, email all three of your members of Congress, share your anti-PIPA letter over social media, and sign-up for an in-person meeting.	+
−		+
−		+
−		+
−		+
−		+
−	5. Email your members of Congress - next, send your members an email using Contact-Congress on OC and our unique message builder interface, then share a link to your letter with your community and social networks. Follow [~~http~~:~~//www.~~opencongress.org~~/contact_congress_letters/new?bill=112-s968&position=oppose this link~~] ~~or the link on the whip count itself to get started. ~~	+
−		+
−	*Enter your email and full street address at the top of the message builder to auto-find your senators and representative.	+
−	*Compose your letter, clicking on information (especially campaign contribution data) on the right-hand side to bring it over to the left-hand side. Constituent communications can be enhanced by personal testimonials about how you value net freedom, as an Internet user, or how perhaps as a technologist you oppose the bill’s attempt to enforce China-style DNS blocking, or how you support free political speech online and don’t want one single government official to be able to ban a URL without review & accountability.	+
−	*Complete the process to send your email through OC, and you’ll be taken to a permalink page to your letter. There, you can share it over social media and email with your community. Any auto-generated or form-letter response from the offices of your elected officials will automatically appear there, and you can comment on their response and share the results with your social network. It’s unlikely that the auto-response to your email will contain a new position on #SOPA or #PIPA, but if it does, please use that as documentation to add to the wiki community project and add your notes in the added-context page for that senator. (Next, we’ll offer a similar community-driven, volunteer-powered whip-count for SOPA specifically.)	+

Conor Kenny: /* Tips for emailing senators */

2012-01-12T19:42:05Z

Tips for emailing senators

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:42, January 12, 2012
Line 61:		Line 61:
	==Tips for emailing senators==		==Tips for emailing senators==

−	Next, send your members an email using Contact-Congress on ~~OC and~~ our ~~unique message builder interface~~, ~~then share~~ a link to ~~your letter with your community and social networks~~.	+	Next, send your members an email using the Contact Congress tool on Open Congress. Contact Congress uses our system to send an email to Senate offices, but the beauty of it is that your senator's response is sent back through the system and you can post the link (totally optional) for everyone to see what they say. (Here's a great [http://www.opencongress.org/contact_congress_letters/14267-H-R-3261-Stop-Online-Piracy-Act example of a reply from Sen. Maria Cantwell] on PIPA.) This way, we can use that link as a definitive, reliable source on the whip count to note a senator's position. Not only are they now on the record, but there's no question of whether a person altered the email since it's all done through Contact Congress.
		+
		+	Follow [http://www.opencongress.org/contact_congress_letters/new?bill=112-s968&position=oppose this link] to get started.

−	~~Follow this link to get started ::~~

−	~~http://www.opencongress.org/contact_congress_letters/new?bill=112-s968&position=oppose~~
	Enter your email and full street address at the top of the message builder to auto-find your senators and representative.		Enter your email and full street address at the top of the message builder to auto-find your senators and representative.

Line 75:		Line 75:

	Please compete all the above steps to fight censorship online: call your senators’ offices, email all three of your members of Congress, share your anti-PIPA letter over social media, and sign-up for an in-person meeting.		Please compete all the above steps to fight censorship online: call your senators’ offices, email all three of your members of Congress, share your anti-PIPA letter over social media, and sign-up for an in-person meeting.
		+
		+
		+
		+
		+
		+	5. Email your members of Congress - next, send your members an email using Contact-Congress on OC and our unique message builder interface, then share a link to your letter with your community and social networks. Follow [http://www.opencongress.org/contact_congress_letters/new?bill=112-s968&position=oppose this link] or the link on the whip count itself to get started.
		+
		+	*Enter your email and full street address at the top of the message builder to auto-find your senators and representative.
		+	*Compose your letter, clicking on information (especially campaign contribution data) on the right-hand side to bring it over to the left-hand side. Constituent communications can be enhanced by personal testimonials about how you value net freedom, as an Internet user, or how perhaps as a technologist you oppose the bill’s attempt to enforce China-style DNS blocking, or how you support free political speech online and don’t want one single government official to be able to ban a URL without review & accountability.
		+	*Complete the process to send your email through OC, and you’ll be taken to a permalink page to your letter. There, you can share it over social media and email with your community. Any auto-generated or form-letter response from the offices of your elected officials will automatically appear there, and you can comment on their response and share the results with your social network. It’s unlikely that the auto-response to your email will contain a new position on #SOPA or #PIPA, but if it does, please use that as documentation to add to the wiki community project and add your notes in the added-context page for that senator. (Next, we’ll offer a similar community-driven, volunteer-powered whip-count for SOPA specifically.)

Conor Kenny: /* How to log your call on the contact log and whip count page */

2012-01-12T19:36:11Z

How to log your call on the contact log and whip count page

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:36, January 12, 2012
Line 44:		Line 44:
	:* '''Double bonus points:''' If the position is different than what's recorded on the [[Protect IP Act Senate whip count]]. If there's nothing new to report, please still log your call on the [[Protect IP Act Senate contact log]] so everyone can see how many calls a senator has gotten.		:* '''Double bonus points:''' If the position is different than what's recorded on the [[Protect IP Act Senate whip count]]. If there's nothing new to report, please still log your call on the [[Protect IP Act Senate contact log]] so everyone can see how many calls a senator has gotten.

−	===How to log your call on the contact log and whip count page===	+	==How to log your call on the contact log and whip count page==

	'''Adding to the contact log:'''		'''Adding to the contact log:'''

Conor Kenny: /* How to log your call on the contact log and whip count page */

2012-01-12T19:35:55Z

How to log your call on the contact log and whip count page

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:35, January 12, 2012
Line 46:		Line 46:
	===How to log your call on the contact log and whip count page===		===How to log your call on the contact log and whip count page===

−	After your call, login to your free MyOC account (required to edit the wiki), ~~then click through~~ to the ~~next page~~, and simply make a note of the date & time that you called and your OC username (or real name if you prefer). Feel free to add any additional notes or context -- e.g., if you were able to speak to a legislative assistant as opposed to a junior staffer, or if they promised you a phone call before the vote and not just a letter in the mail later this month. So please do leave a note saying something simple like, “Just called - davidmoore, Jan. 3, 3:54pm ET, staffer answered the phone, said she didn’t know senator’s position on PIPA but she’d mail me a response and noted my opposition”.	+	'''Adding to the contact log:'''
		+	After your call, login to your free MyOC account (required to edit the wiki), and go to the [[Protect IP Act Senate contact log]], find your senators, click the "edit" next to their name and simply make a note of the date & time that you called and your OC username (or real name if you prefer). Feel free to add any additional notes or context -- e.g., if you were able to speak to a legislative assistant as opposed to a junior staffer, or if they promised you a phone call before the vote and not just a letter in the mail later this month. So please do leave a note saying something simple like, “Just called - davidmoore, Jan. 3, 3:54pm ET, staffer answered the phone, said she didn’t know senator’s position on PIPA but she’d mail me a response and noted my opposition”.

	Even if your call’s outcome was the same as a previous constituent, it’s good for the stop-SOPA campaign to know how many constituents have called each senator with their opposition.		Even if your call’s outcome was the same as a previous constituent, it’s good for the stop-SOPA campaign to know how many constituents have called each senator with their opposition.
Line 52:		Line 53:
	After all, we hope that most senators’ offices will receive more than one call from constituents opposing SOPA / PIPA and requesting a response before the vote. Bigger-population states especially, such as CA & NY, should be able to generate hundreds of calls against these bills.		After all, we hope that most senators’ offices will receive more than one call from constituents opposing SOPA / PIPA and requesting a response before the vote. Bigger-population states especially, such as CA & NY, should be able to generate hundreds of calls against these bills.

−	~~If a previous OpenCongress user~~ has already ~~recorded a position for a senator~~ on the ~~bill that’s not “undeclared”~~, ~~please~~ consult the ~~wiki notes from that user before changing a senator’s~~ position ~~using~~ the drop-down menu in the ~~main form. After all~~, ~~many different staffers will be fielding the initial request~~ for ~~info~~, ~~and it’s better~~ to ~~be cautious when recording~~ a ~~stance for a senator in our whip count. If,~~ on the ~~other hand, you switch a position from “undeclared” to support or oppose, please make notes~~ on ~~your evidence in~~ the ~~wiki page that comes next, and let us know that you’ve found valuable new info by emailing us: david at opencongress.org. It’s possible there are senators who are on-record~~ in ~~support or opposition to SOPA of which we are currently unaware, so if you find a reliable news~~ article ~~or blog post or Tweet, please provide~~ the ~~specific URL in the wiki notes~~.	+	'''Editing the whip count:'''
		+
		+	Go to the [[Protect IP Act Senate whip count]], scroll down to your senator and see if your call/email is different than what someone else has already entered. If so, your note on the [[Protect IP Act Senate contact log\|contact log]] is good enough (see above). If you have new information, consult the key at the top of the whip count page to classify the senator's position, hit the "edit" next to their name, and use the drop-down menu to change their position. '''Make sure to leave a note or link in the notes field explaining how you got that information, for example, "Talked to a staffer on the phone on 1/20/12. Told me he supported the bill" or "She's quoted in this press release/tweet/article (link) as opposing the bill."'''
		+
		+	Hit "save". You're done!

	==Tips for emailing senators==		==Tips for emailing senators==

Conor Kenny: /* Tips for calling a senator about PIPA */

2012-01-11T13:41:27Z

Tips for calling a senator about PIPA

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:41, January 11, 2012
Line 35:		Line 35:
	<big>'''3. An actual response.'''</big>		<big>'''3. An actual response.'''</big>

−	~~The~~ best-case scenario.	+	This is the best-case scenario.

	Staffer: The senator supports/opposes S.968 (or is leaning one way or the other).		Staffer: The senator supports/opposes S.968 (or is leaning one way or the other).
Line 52:		Line 52:
	After all, we hope that most senators’ offices will receive more than one call from constituents opposing SOPA / PIPA and requesting a response before the vote. Bigger-population states especially, such as CA & NY, should be able to generate hundreds of calls against these bills.		After all, we hope that most senators’ offices will receive more than one call from constituents opposing SOPA / PIPA and requesting a response before the vote. Bigger-population states especially, such as CA & NY, should be able to generate hundreds of calls against these bills.

−	If a previous OpenCongress user has already recorded a position for a senator on the bill that’s not “undeclared”, please consult the wiki notes from that user before changing a senator’s position using the drop-down menu in the main form. After all, many different staffers will be fielding the initial request for info, and it’s better to be cautious when recording a stance for a senator in our whip count. If, on the other hand, you switch a position from “undeclared” to support or oppose, please make notes on your evidence in the wiki page that comes next, and let us know that you’ve found valuable new info by emailing us: david at opencongress.org. It’s possible there are senators who are on-record in support or opposition to SOPA of which we are currently unaware, so if you find a reliable news article or blog post or Tweet, please provide the specific URL in the wiki notes.	+	If a previous OpenCongress user has already recorded a position for a senator on the bill that’s not “undeclared”, please consult the wiki notes from that user before changing a senator’s position using the drop-down menu in the main form. After all, many different staffers will be fielding the initial request for info, and it’s better to be cautious when recording a stance for a senator in our whip count. If, on the other hand, you switch a position from “undeclared” to support or oppose, please make notes on your evidence in the wiki page that comes next, and let us know that you’ve found valuable new info by emailing us: david at opencongress.org. It’s possible there are senators who are on-record in support or opposition to SOPA of which we are currently unaware, so if you find a reliable news article or blog post or Tweet, please provide the specific URL in the wiki notes.

	==Tips for emailing senators==		==Tips for emailing senators==

Conor Kenny: New page: {{Stop SOPA and PIPA}} Below are tips on how to effectively contact a senator about the Protect IP Act. Remember that you'll probably speak to an intern or junior staffer who won't be abl...

2012-01-11T13:40:50Z

New page: {{Stop SOPA and PIPA}} Below are tips on how to effectively contact a senator about the Protect IP Act. Remember that you'll probably speak to an intern or junior staffer who won't be abl...

New page

{{Stop SOPA and PIPA}}

Below are tips on how to effectively contact a senator about the Protect IP Act. Remember that you'll probably speak to an intern or junior staffer who won't be able to discuss the merits of the bill, but they can take your opinion and/or give you the Senator's position.

==Tips for calling a senator about PIPA==

# If you're a constituent, they'll pay a lot more attention, so identify yourself as one if you can. (They may ask for your address to verify that.)
# Tell them you're calling because you strongly oppose the Protect IP Act / S.968, which is scheduled for a vote on January 24th.
# Ask if the senator has a position on the bill.

The staffer will likely respond one of three ways:

<big>'''1. "I don't know"'''</big>

Staffer: I don't have that information on-hand but that I'll register your opinion / get back to you.

You:
:* Specifically request a formal response on the senator's position, either by email or phone (it's quicker).
:* Reiterate that you strongly oppose the Internet censorship bill and that you'll be sharing the senator's position with your community and online social networks.
:* Ask them to get back to you ASAP before January 24th.
:* '''Bonus points:''' Add a short personal statement as to why you oppose the bill. For example: “I oppose PIPA because it would create the first-ever China-style internet censorship in the U.S. and would blacklist the websites I use every day to follow the news and share content with my friends”.
:* '''Double bonus points:''' Log your call on the [[Protect IP Act Senate contact log]] so everyone can see how many calls a senator has gotten.

<big>'''2. The non-committal response.'''</big>

Staffer: "The senator does not have a position at this time."

You:
:* Reiterate that you oppose the Internet censorship bill.
:* Ask the senator to stand with the bipartisan group of senators who oppose the bill (Maria Cantwell, D-WA; Jerry Moran, R-KS; Rand Paul, R-KY; and Ron Wyden, D-OR) on January 24th.
:* Ask them to contact you if the senator does take a position before January 24th, because you'll be sharing that with your community and online social networks.
:* '''Bonus points:''' Add a short personal statement as to why you oppose the bill. For example: “I oppose PIPA because it would create the first-ever China-style internet censorship in the U.S. and would blacklist the websites I use every day to follow the news and share content with my friends”.
:* '''Double bonus points:''' Mark the senator as "undeclared" on the [[Protect IP Act Senate whip count]]. If there's nothing new to report, please still log your call on the [[Protect IP Act Senate contact log]] so everyone can see how many calls a senator has gotten.

<big>'''3. An actual response.'''</big>

The best-case scenario.

Staffer: The senator supports/opposes S.968 (or is leaning one way or the other).

You:
:* (If anything less than opposition) Reiterate that you oppose the Internet censorship bill.
:* (If opposition) Thank the senator and tell the staffer that you'll be sharing his/her position with your community and online social networks.
:* '''Double bonus points:''' If the position is different than what's recorded on the [[Protect IP Act Senate whip count]]. If there's nothing new to report, please still log your call on the [[Protect IP Act Senate contact log]] so everyone can see how many calls a senator has gotten.

===How to log your call on the contact log and whip count page===

After your call, login to your free MyOC account (required to edit the wiki), then click through to the next page, and simply make a note of the date & time that you called and your OC username (or real name if you prefer). Feel free to add any additional notes or context -- e.g., if you were able to speak to a legislative assistant as opposed to a junior staffer, or if they promised you a phone call before the vote and not just a letter in the mail later this month. So please do leave a note saying something simple like, “Just called - davidmoore, Jan. 3, 3:54pm ET, staffer answered the phone, said she didn’t know senator’s position on PIPA but she’d mail me a response and noted my opposition”.

Even if your call’s outcome was the same as a previous constituent, it’s good for the stop-SOPA campaign to know how many constituents have called each senator with their opposition.

After all, we hope that most senators’ offices will receive more than one call from constituents opposing SOPA / PIPA and requesting a response before the vote. Bigger-population states especially, such as CA & NY, should be able to generate hundreds of calls against these bills.

If a previous OpenCongress user has already recorded a position for a senator on the bill that’s not “undeclared”, please consult the wiki notes from that user before changing a senator’s position using the drop-down menu in the main form. After all, many different staffers will be fielding the initial request for info, and it’s better to be cautious when recording a stance for a senator in our whip count. If, on the other hand, you switch a position from “undeclared” to support or oppose, please make notes on your evidence in the wiki page that comes next, and let us know that you’ve found valuable new info by emailing us: david at opencongress.org. It’s possible there are senators who are on-record in support or opposition to SOPA of which we are currently unaware, so if you find a reliable news article or blog post or Tweet, please provide the specific URL in the wiki notes.

==Tips for emailing senators==

Next, send your members an email using Contact-Congress on OC and our unique message builder interface, then share a link to your letter with your community and social networks.

Follow this link to get started ::

http://www.opencongress.org/contact_congress_letters/new?bill=112-s968&position=oppose
Enter your email and full street address at the top of the message builder to auto-find your senators and representative.

Compose your letter, clicking on information (especially campaign contribution data) on the right-hand side to bring it over to the left-hand side. Constituent communications can be enhanced by personal testimonials about how you value net freedom, as an Internet user, or how perhaps as a technologist you oppose the bill’s attempt to enforce China-style DNS blocking, or how you support free political speech online and don’t want one single government official to be able to ban a URL without review & accountability.

Complete the process to send your email through OC, and you’ll be taken to a permalink page to your letter. There, you can share it over social media and email with your community. Any auto-generated or form-letter response from the offices of your elected officials will automatically appear there, and you can comment on their response and share the results with your social network. It’s unlikely that the auto-response to your email will contain a new position on #SOPA or #PIPA, but if it does, please use that as documentation to add to the wiki community project and add your notes in the added-context page for that senator. (Next, we’ll offer a similar community-driven, volunteer-powered whip-count for SOPA specifically.)

Visit this campaign by the American Censorship coalition, composed of non-profit open Web advocates & technologists & public-mission organizations :: http://my.americancensorship.org/ . Simply find your state and join the discussion about how you can request an in-person meeting with your two U.S. senators and their offices during the January 2012 recess (in advance of PIPA’s first vote, fast-tracked by Sen. Majority Leader Reid for Jan. 24th) and register your opposition. In-person visits are a crucial & compelling component of the grassroots effort to combat net censorship. Your fellow constituents and American Censorship organizers will help provide you with talking points & factual materials for your vital face-to-face meetings with your senators -- even if you’re there to reinforce what others are saying, don’t miss a chance to add your presence to this netroots community effort.

Please compete all the above steps to fight censorship online: call your senators’ offices, email all three of your members of Congress, share your anti-PIPA letter over social media, and sign-up for an in-person meeting.