What government engagement looks like

So I signed a petition at We the People about making government archives available digitally. I like the work that Carl Malamud and Yes We Scan are doing, so why not, right? I thought we’d get some kind of perfunctory “Thanks for writing, we’re glad for the feedback, etc.” response and that’d be the end of it.

I was surprised, then, when I saw a thoughtful and substantial response from the Archivist. I even tweeted about it:

https://twitter.com/#!/ghelleks/status/160508679471378432

And I promptly forgot about it, again.

But yesterday, I get this email:

Here’s an agency that knows there’s a community of interest around a particular topic and instead of dismissing it, or filing their petition away somewhere, they’re engaging with it — and in the most time-consuming way possible: with a real-life, interactive conference call. I am totally impressed.