Confirm a signature with a code, not just a link
A signature given with an email address counts only after the signatory confirms it. Usually one press of a link in the confirmation email does that. When the link does not work, the same email carries a short code, and the signature can be confirmed by typing the code on one page. No signature is lost because a mail program broke a link.
How a signatory uses it
- Open the confirmation email. The code is shown in large characters under the button, together with the address of the page.
- Go to that page, www.petitiononline.ie/code.
- Enter the email address used to sign the petition and the code from the email.
- Press Confirm my signature.
The code is six characters long, for example K7M2QX, and uses only characters that are hard to mistake for one another. No account and no login is needed.
Why a link sometimes fails
- Corporate mail filters rewrite or strip links, and the rewritten address stops working.
- A link that wraps onto two lines in a plain text email gets cut when it is copied.
- The email is read on a device where the link opens in the wrong app, or in none.
- Some people simply will not press a link in an email, which is sound advice they have been given many times.
The email says so plainly: "Prefer not to click links?" followed by the page address and the code.
Why it matters for your petition
An unconfirmed signature is a person who decided to support you and then hit a technical wall. They rarely try twice. A second route to the same confirmation turns part of that loss back into signatures, and the signatures it saves are real ones: the code only works for the address the email was sent to.
Good to know
- The page gives the same answer for a wrong code and for an address that never signed, so it cannot be used to find out who signed a petition.
- Five failed attempts in an hour and the page asks the visitor to try again later.
- If the email never arrived, the page points to the spam folder, to a new confirmation link from the page Manage your signatures, and to signing again if the address was mistyped.
- The confirmation email also contains a link for removing the signature straight away, for someone whose address was typed by mistake.
Questions and answers
Where is the code?
In the same confirmation email as the link, shown in large characters. It is six characters long, for example K7M2QX.
Where is the code entered?
On the page www.petitiononline.ie/code, which is named in the email. The signatory enters the email address used to sign and the code.
Does the code expire?
It stays valid as long as the signature is waiting for confirmation. If the email was lost, a new one can be requested from the page "Manage your signatures".
What if the code does not work?
The page says that the address or the code does not match, without revealing whether that address has signed anything. After five failed attempts in an hour it asks the visitor to come back later.
Does this need any setup from me?
No. The code is in the confirmation emails of every petition.