More question answers for officers.

1 files changed, 30 insertions, 11 deletions

diff --git a/app/views/help/about.rhtml b/app/views/help/about.rhtml
index aaf5e1f31..e929c0850 100644
--- a/app/views/help/about.rhtml
+++ b/app/views/help/about.rhtml
@@ -197,7 +197,36 @@ of benefits - everything from preventing duplicate requests, to getting the publ
 more involved and interested in the work of government.
 </dd>
 
-<dt id="names">What about the names of civil servants and the text of emails?</dt>
+<dt id="realpeople">Are the people making requests real people?</dt>
+
+<dd>Yes. This website is a service to help ordinary members of the public
+make FOI requests, and easily track the responses. The people are real
+people, for whom we have a verified email address unique to each person.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="vexatious">Aren't you making lots of vexatious requests?</dt>
+
+<dd>WhatDoTheyKnow is not making any requests. We are sending requests on
+behalf of our users, who are real people making the requests. Look at it like
+this - if lots of different people made requests from different Hotmail email
+addresses, then you would not think that Microsoft were making vexatious
+requests. It is exactly the same if lots of requests are made via
+WhatDoTheyKnow. Moreover, since all requests are public it is much easier for
+you to see if one of our users is making vexatious requests, and for us to
+block them when that happens.</dd>
+
+<dt id="copyright">Won't I be breaking copyright law by sending a response that you then publish?</dt>
+
+<dd>No, you will simply be replying to an FOI request by email (the "expressed
+preference" of the requester, under
+<a href="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2000/plain/ukpga_20000036_en#pt1-pb1-l1g11">section
+11(1)</a> of the Freedom of Information Act). That we are later republishing your
+response is a separate matter of copyright law, and not something which FOIA lists
+as a reason for rejecting a request.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="names">Isn't it a problem that you publish the names of civil servants
+and the text of emails?</dt>
 
 <dd>Officers or servants responding to requests are doing so on behalf of the
 public as part of their job, and we publish their response on that
@@ -219,16 +248,6 @@ such as Word documents.
 hide, then please <a href="/help/contact">let us know</a>. We'll then
 remove it, provided it is genuinely private information.
 
-<dt id="copyright">Won't I be breaking copyright law by sending a response that you then publish?</dt>
-
-<dd>No, you will simply be replying to an FOI request by email (the "expressed
-preference" of the requester, under
-<a href="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2000/plain/ukpga_20000036_en#pt1-pb1-l1g11">section
-11(1)</a> of the Freedom of Information Act). That we are later republishing your
-response is a separate matter of copyright law, and not something which FOIA lists
-as a reason for rejecting a request.
-</dd>
-
 </dl>