WurfWhile

[Yes, I recognize the potential for parody here - if it comes and isn’t brutal, I’ll be good natured about it]

I don’t know when it started and it’s now prevalent enough that I assume it must work, but I’m getting more and more political email solicitations replying (Re:) or forwarding (Fw:) in the subject line - apparently to themselves. Sometimes I think what I’m seeing is the first email and not a true response or forward at all. Occasionally I do end up double-checking it (’did I reply to this email?’) but most of the time I’m either interested or (more often due in part to sheer volume) not.

It would be an interesting study (if not done already) to see how many more positive responses campaigns of various descriptions get from this tactic - and how many people get angry about it. My guess is that it does overall increase responses, or forces dialogue if you will. It also probably produces a net positive response, in the sense of getting more people to do what you want them to do (sign petition, donate, etc.), but I wonder at what cost to reputation?