Is it a good idea for me to adjust the letter, or should I stick to the template?
The AIM charity UK Voters for Animals appears to think (based on when I attended a work party they ran) that letters/emails count for more when they are not obviously copied and pasted, to the extent it’s worth customising letters. I don’t know their epistemic basis for this, but I trust them to have one (I suspect they know people who have worked for MPs). But it might still make sense to give less-motivated friends a template to copy if that’s all you think they’ll be willing to do, since a templated letter is better than none at all. Though NB writetothem.com does block copy-and-pasted messages.
Maybe this is weird but I prefer sending more customised emails from the point of view of authenticity or self-expression or something. Like it feels weird to send people things that are not my words. But then again, this squeamishness is in fact a big barrier to political action, as I don’t usually have time and energy to form nuanced, informed takes on issues, so I just don’t write even when I have a strong opinion about the issue.
Sorry I didn’t see this sooner. Yes, I do believe that an email will be more likely to be effective if it looks like it’s not copied and pasted. My basis for this is that when I supported a group of people to campaign on ODA about 4 years ago, I asked several people, including veteran campaigners and people who have worked for an MP replying to emails for them. Those people explained that if the email looks like a copy-and-paste/boilerplate email, they will assume that it was driven by a campaign group, which carries less weight than if you do it yourself.
I’d also bear in mind that this email is unlikely to be a particularly impactful action. (but also not a zero-impact action either). So I’d be sympathetic to people putting in less effort on this email (and saving their efforts for other effective ways of making the world a better place :-))
The AIM charity UK Voters for Animals appears to think (based on when I attended a work party they ran) that letters/emails count for more when they are not obviously copied and pasted, to the extent it’s worth customising letters. I don’t know their epistemic basis for this, but I trust them to have one (I suspect they know people who have worked for MPs). But it might still make sense to give less-motivated friends a template to copy if that’s all you think they’ll be willing to do, since a templated letter is better than none at all. Though NB writetothem.com does block copy-and-pasted messages.
Maybe this is weird but I prefer sending more customised emails from the point of view of authenticity or self-expression or something. Like it feels weird to send people things that are not my words. But then again, this squeamishness is in fact a big barrier to political action, as I don’t usually have time and energy to form nuanced, informed takes on issues, so I just don’t write even when I have a strong opinion about the issue.
Sorry I didn’t see this sooner. Yes, I do believe that an email will be more likely to be effective if it looks like it’s not copied and pasted. My basis for this is that when I supported a group of people to campaign on ODA about 4 years ago, I asked several people, including veteran campaigners and people who have worked for an MP replying to emails for them. Those people explained that if the email looks like a copy-and-paste/boilerplate email, they will assume that it was driven by a campaign group, which carries less weight than if you do it yourself.
I’d also bear in mind that this email is unlikely to be a particularly impactful action. (but also not a zero-impact action either). So I’d be sympathetic to people putting in less effort on this email (and saving their efforts for other effective ways of making the world a better place :-))
I’ve written to my MP, James Asser, with something very similar to Sanjay’s linked template.