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Subject: White House-User Friendly?
It seems that Dubya doesn't want to hear what people have to say. I did try this but only got "Page Cannot be Displayed." I have no idea what that is about.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=68&ncid=68&e=1&u=/nyt/20030718/ts_nyt/whitehouseemailsystembecomeslessuserfriendly
Cat
Subject: Re: White House-User Friendly?
White House E-Mail System Becomes Less User-Friendly
Do you want to send an e-mail message to the White House?
Good luck.
In the past, to tell President Bush (news - web sites) or at least those assigned to read his mail what was on your mind it was necessary only to sit down at a personal computer connected to the Internet and dash off a note to president@whitehouse.gov.
But this week, Tom Matzzie, an online organizer with the A.F.L.-C.I.O., discovered that communicating with the White House had become a bit more daunting. When Mr. Matzzie sent an e-mail protest against a Bush administration policy, the message was bounced back with an automated reply, saying he had to send it again in a new way.
Under a system deployed on the White House Web site for the first time last week, those who want to send a message to President Bush must now navigate as many as nine Web pages and fill out a detailed form that starts by asking whether the message sender supports White House policy or differs with it.
The White House says the new e-mail system, at www.whitehouse .gov/webmail, is an effort to be more responsive to the public and offer the administration "real time" access to citizen comments.
Completing a message to the president also requires choosing a subject from the provided list, then entering a full name, organization, address and e-mail address. Once the message is sent, the writer must wait for an automated response to the e-mail address listed, asking whether the addressee intended to send the message. The message is delivered to the White House only after the person using that e-mail address confirms it.
Jimmy Orr, a White House spokesman, described the system as an "enhancement" intended to improve communications. He called it a "work in progress," and advised members of the public who had sensitive or personal matters to bring up with President Bush to use traditional methods of communications, like a letter on paper, a fax or a phone call.
He said the White House, which gets about 15,000 electronic messages each day, had designed the new system during the last nine months in partnership with a private firm that he would not identify.
"It provides an additional means for individuals to inquire about policy issues at the White House and get a personalized response in 24 to 48 hours," said Mr. Orr, the Internet news director at the White House.
It is still possible to send a traditional e-mail message, he said, but the sender will receive the automated reply and there is no guarantee it will be read or responded to.
Some experts in Internet usability think the new method for sending messages is not doing much to enhance communications between the White House and the public.
"Over all, it's a very cumbersome process," said Jakob Nielsen, an authority on Web design who helps run a consulting group, Nielsen Norman Group, in Fremont, Calif. "It's probably designed deliberately to cut down on their e-mail."
The White House said it was taking its Web usability critics in stride.
"When it comes to a Web site, it's a bit like a movie," Mr. Orr said. "Some will say it's a tour de force; some will say it fell flat."
He said the new procedure provided a straightforward way for a citizen to let an opinion be known and at the same time receive a quick, tailored response from the White House.
Acknowledging that there had been glitches in the first few days, Mr. Orr said the new system was being improved. "Having tried it myself," he said, "I would say it's pretty user-friendly."
But Dr. Nielsen said he found a variety of shortcomings in the White House system, including what he called a deeply buried privacy policy and a lack of indicators marking one's progress in traversing each of the multiple Web page steps. He complained as well about a poorly designed approach to confirming that a message had actually been sent.
The various categories for describing a message's subject are also a big muddle, Dr. Nielsen said.
"One of the categories is `National ID Card,' " he said. "Does it mean you're in favor of national ID or in favor of the president's position, which it doesn't describe?"
Mr. Matzzie, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. organizer, discovered the new White House e-mail system when he started a campaign to protest the administration's proposals to change the way overtime pay is to be calculated.
He said he particularly disliked being forced to specify whether he was offering a "supporting comment" or a "differing opinion" to President Bush.
"Can't I just say something or ask a question?" he said.
Mr. Matzzie said he was also upset that none of the many categories listed included either "unemployment" or "jobs."
"This is the most ridiculous Web form for contacting someone I have ever seen," said Mr. Matzzie, who is a professional Web site designer.
Having sent his e-mail message on Tuesday, Mr. Matzzie said he was still waiting for a response.
Subject: Re: White House-User Friendly?
This seemed appropriate here for some reason ;D
http://images.ucomics.com/comics/bo/2003/bo030718.gif
Subject: Re: White House-User Friendly?
Cat, I just tried it, and it worked fine.
RE the new email system: Will Pres Bush read every email himself? Get real. Then again, tell me one president in history that has been able to sit down each day and read every message, answer every phone call, return every piece of mail, etc from their citizens on a daily basis.
Its just not humanly possible.
PS- The guy in the article(Mr Matzzie) was complaining he sent his message on Tuesday, but hasnt received a response yet? Is that really surpriseing considering it clearly states on the website "due to the large volume of e-mail submissions, we cannot assure that each message will be personally reviewed...", and considering, according to the article, the WH get over 15,000 emails/day, that shouldn't be such a shock. Since this is Friday and he sent his email on Tuesday, his is among roughly 60,000 emails since Tuesday.
Side Note: I sent several emails to the WH in the mid-late 90s. And if I ever received a response(which was rare)it was always a canned one such as "We at the White House thank you for your concern...blah blah blah...", and that was on the old email system. Then again, I wasn't about to assume the Pres himself was going to sit down at his computer and check his hotmail account and respond to 1000s upon 1000s of emails each day. It doesnt work that way. :)
If you want to send a more personal message to Pres Bush, theres still the old-fashioned methods, snail mail, telephone, fax, pigeon( :))
Subject: Re: White House-User Friendly?
Is everyone looking forward to four more years of the Dubya presidency?
I am. Aaa, sorta, kinda.
The Dems may pull a hat trick with Howard Dean and get him elected.
Or not...I'd say not.
Subject: Re: White House-User Friendly?
Quoting:
Cat, I just tried it, and it worked fine.
RE the new email system: Will Pres Bush read every email himself? Get real. Then again, tell me one president in history that has been able to sit down each day and read every message, answer every phone call, return every piece of mail, etc from their citizens on a daily basis.
Its just not humanly possible.
PS- The guy in the article(Mr Matzzie) was complaining he sent his message on Tuesday, but hasnt received a response yet? Is that really surpriseing considering it clearly states on the website "due to the large volume of e-mail submissions, we cannot assure that each message will be personally reviewed...", and considering, according to the article, the WH get over 15,000 emails/day, that shouldn't be such a shock. Since this is Friday and he sent his email on Tuesday, his is among roughly 60,000 emails since Tuesday.
Side Note: I sent several emails to the WH in the mid-late 90s. And if I ever received a response(which was rare)it was always a canned one such as "We at the White House thank you for your concern...blah blah blah...", and that was on the old email system. Then again, I wasn't about to assume the Pres himself was going to sit down at his computer and check his hotmail account and respond to 1000s upon 1000s of emails each day. It doesnt work that way. :)
If you want to send a more personal message to Pres Bush, theres still the old-fashioned methods, snail mail, telephone, fax, pigeon( :))
End Quote
80's, in this case it's you who needs to "get real". No one expects little Georgie to read that e-mail, or snail mail either. The point is that this new system makes it much harder to send messages. This seems to be a trend to distance "le infante terible" from public scrutiny, to make it harder for people to get in touch with him. I think your guy is hiding.
Subject: Re: White House-User Friendly?
Quoting:
80's, in this case it's you who needs to "get real". No one expects little Georgie to read that e-mail, or snail mail either. The point is that this new system makes it much harder to send messages. This seems to be a trend to distance "le infante terible" from public scrutiny, to make it harder for people to get in touch with him. I think your guy is hiding.
End Quote
Much ado about nothing. ::)
"The point is that this new system makes it much harder to send messages."?
Harder? I'm no genious and I didn't have a hard time clicking through the form. Its not rocket science.
Why is this such a big issue? Have you ever tried caling or emailing a large comapny lately? They all have forms like this, and if its via phone its the same format. You can't just call up Microsoft, for example, and speak to Bill Gates can you? And considering the WH gets over 105,000 emails/week, it only makes sense to have an official format. Doesn't it?
I mean, if this new fangled email system is so difficult to understand, then send a paper letter through mail, or fax, or even call on the phone. The phone number is still the same, and as far as I know, the White House hasn't moved. ::)
Gee when you see little petty stuff like this on the top of the complaint list, you would think an election year is coming up.
Oh wait... ::)
Subject: Re: White House-User Friendly?
Quoting:
Harder? I'm no genious and I didn't have a hard time clicking through the form. Its not rocket science.
End Quote
No, it's not rocket science. It's called "public accss", just what Georgie doesn't want. Just why he has held fewer press conferences than any pres in recent memory. His handlers know that he is both a lier and an coke-fried idiot and want to limit his exposure, in both directions.
Look, I could stand an intelligent and rational Republican as pres. Eisenhower, even tricky dicky,Nelson Rockefeller (I know, not elected) and Ford come to mind (good God, did I type that?) but little Georgie is just bad, BAD BAD. The guy is scary. Anti-labor, anti-environment, anti-affirmative action, anti-feminist, anti-medicare/medicaid, pro big busisness, PRO BIG BUSINESS and PRO BIG BUSINESS. So how much stock do you own? An impertinant question to be sure. Part of my retirement fund is in stocks - and they got stung by Enron and Worldcom - but the fact is that you are defending a dying cause. It's time people stared voting their interests, recognizing the class nature of our society. as I said in the "che fasion statement thread, LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN.
Subject: Re: White House-User Friendly?
What really disturbs me about this is that you have to click if you are writing something in agreement or disagreement of his policies. Somehow, I have the feeling if you click that you disagree with the policies, it will probably be deleted even before it was even opened. And, they only give you choices of what you can write about. What if you had another subject that you wanted to comment on. I noticed that Iraq is not one of the catagories.
And no, I don't think that Dubya reads all of those-if any. There is a staff of people who do that. But, somehow, I have the feeling that with this "upgrade" most of the dissenting e-mails will be deleted before they are read by ANYONE.
Cat
Subject: Re: White House-User Friendly?
Of course you could click the 'agree' option and then make it heavily sarcastic or whatever, but then again this is the American goverment we're talking about ;)
Subject: Re: White House-User Friendly?
Quoting:
What really disturbs me about this is that you have to click if you are writing something in agreement or disagreement of his policies. Somehow, I have the feeling if you click that you disagree with the policies, it will probably be deleted even before it was even opened.End Quote
Or get sent to your FBI file. :o
Subject: Re: White House-User Friendly?
Quoting:
Or get sent to your FBI file. :o
End Quote
I thought of that too.
Cat
Subject: Re: White House-User Friendly?
Quoting:
Or get sent to your FBI file. :o
End Quote
If that's all these people have time to do, then a few extra pages in mine seems worth while. If they are to busy to do more damage, the thicker my file, the better. I should write for it again, just to see what more sillyness they have added. And, by the way, I'm NOT intimidated!