PePol
Effective, Collective, Action
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FAQ

About us

About using the tools and who they're for

About sustainability and climate change

  • About us:
    • How does your business work?

      The creators of PePol feel that the most promising way of making PePol a success in terms of it being used by and useful to the largest number of people, is for PePol to be a non-profit business. That is, all income above what is required to cover running costs is invested back into enhancing the service or otherwise furthering the cause at the heart of PePol, sustainable societies. (Don't get us wrong, we'd quite like to be rich too, we just feel making PePol a success is far more important.) There are no share holders, fat bonuses or dividends. 

      We anticipate a large share of our expenses, at least initially, being funded by individual donations and charitable institutions. Principally we believe that PePol will provide enough real value to users who share our vision that a user culture of wanting to support the running and development of PePol will evolve.

    • Is PePol another social network?

      No, it's not. One way of looking at PePol is as a network of networks. While you can make use of it by joining directly, PePol comes into its own when you join other networks you're interested in that are PePol participants. PePol allows you to get the most out of all your networks, with the minimum of effort, to help you find what you're looking for and turn ideas into actions.

    • When will PePol be ready to use?

      It's a question of resources. The more support we attract the sooner the tools will be ready. Providing we can get a few more software developers on board and some funding to support them, we could have most of what we plan to implement in place within 6 months.

    • Can I work for you?

      Possibly. Currently we're looking for funding so we can offer some wages to our team. If you're interested in helping in the mean time see how you can help.

  • About using the tools and who they're for:
    • Will I have to remember a new username and password?

      No, as networks you're already a member of became PePol participants you will automatically gain the benefits that PePol offer. You will however have the choice of creating a separate account if you wish.

    • What does it cost?

      It's completely free, for both users and participant networks. (We gratefully accept donations to help us continue providing and improving the PePol service.)

    • Isn't what you're doing more general purpose than a tool for people who want to live more sustainably?

      The tools we're developing could certainly find applications outside of helping to create a sustainable society (indeed you can see elements of what we're building already emerging in other areas), however the driving force behind our work is that goal. As such the PePol tools will be geared for achieving it.

    • Will there be adverts?

      We will not be selling ad space to the highest bidders. We may choose to incorporate some advertising of products that strongly reflect sustainable values, where it could give users the buying choices they would like to have. We look at this possibility as an empowering feature for the user, more than a primary revenue stream to be milked.

    • I don't want to share everything that I'm doing with all my networks. Why would I want to join them up?

      We understand people have different networks for different purposes. That's why the PePol tools let you easily select what you share and who you share it with. Sometimes you'll have some news (or perhaps an event or request) you want to share with a lot of people. Sometimes you just want to tell people in a select group something. You can think of PePol as being a personal network news manager, that saves you valuable time and effort. Not only can you carefully select what information you share from one place, you can also configure what kind of information you recieve from different networks in your 'PePol channel'.

    • When I search for something across my linked networks, will I be overwhelmed with 10 times the results I'd normally get from a single network?

      You will be able to choose how many results you see. Supposing you want to see the 10 best matches for your search criteria, e.g. "garden food growing experts, within 10 miles of me". Would you rather get the best 10 results from 1000 potential matches, or the best 10 from 100,000? PePol gives you the benefit of a larger pool of information, people and resources - all from the comfort of your favourite networks.

    • Do I have to be 'green' to use PePol?

      No. PePol is for everyone, whether you're just curious about the issues, or the things you could do to help, or whether you're already actively helping your community towards becoming carbon neutral. PePol isn't just about climate change either, it's about helping people to come together to enrich each other's lives by sharing knowledge, taking action and inspiring. We promise we wont try to convert you into a hut dwelling, tree hugging radical.

    • Are there wider scale benefits to using the PePol tools beyond making it easier for individuals to live more sustainably through finding resources and other people, and making personal life-style choices?

      Indeed, as the number of users grow, there also grows the potential for consumer, social and political advocacy. PePol will provide ways of gauging popular opinion on various matters relating to sustainability, which both business and government sectors will be encouraged to take heed of.

  • About sustainability and climate change:
    • What do you mean by 'sustainable society'?

      Good question. It's certainly not just about combating climate change. See about.

    • Is PePol all about climate change?

      We have a deep concern for the global effects of climate change at a fundamental level, however, our take on sustainability includes (but is not limited to) human rights, fair trade and conflict resolution. An unhappy, unjust world is not sustainable.

      For more info see our about page.

    • How can I help lower my carbon footprint and learn about living more sustainably?
       For some quick ideas have a look at: http://www.whatsmycarbonfootprint.com/reduce.htm and http://www.carbonfootprint.com/minimisecfp.html
    • What's the point in people being more active, if despite all the public support and activism our Governments came to such a weak agreement at Copenhagen?

      If the Copenhagen negotiations in December 2009 were a test, surely the result would have to be: FAIL. It's true an opportunity was missed, but a great thing was also achieved: the unprecedented cooperation of countless people and groups who care about protecting our world and our future. Such aligned opinion cannot be ignored indefinitely, especially as the numbers grow. Part of the aim of PePol is to make such public-lead advocacy require less time and energy to organise, and help it to be an on-going thing.

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