Causes - Impact Your World Reviews

by Jake J85602

I will give it to them at least they try and make it look like they’re not a bunch of liberals. They have about 1 out of 10 topics that could almost be construed as right leaning. They do have some counter points to most arguments but some are so ridiculous as to make right thinking people out to be monsters. Like we want to lock up all children and rip them from their mothers arms. About 75% of comments are made by the crying liberals that still haven’t gotten over the 2016 loss that they experienced. They are still heartbroken because of the reports that countable keeps posting making it look like President Trump is through are thwarted time and time again. It’s kind of refreshing seeing all of the comments of the left after they experience another loss.

by RuthieDubb

What do you do if your congressional district has changed since you initiated your account? Apparently nothing so you’re stuck receiving notifications on politicians who do not represent you. When I first downloaded Causes I lived in PA District 2. Then a court ruled (correctly) that my state was unfairly gerrymandered and ordered that it be redistricted. Now I live in District 4 as of January 3, 2019 even though I did not move. But Causes still thinks I live in District 2 and no way to change it seems to exist. Really, it’s a dumb way to design an app. I know not everybody’s district changes but a lot do because of court decisions or just standard redistricting. And what if I had simply moved? How would I change my settings? Maybe I’m missing something but it should not be a complicated adjustment to make. I sent an email to the developers but I got an automated response saying I might not get a response because of the high volume of emails they receive. Great idea for an app hampered by this design flaw.

by Dbcarr26

I love using Causes, it gives good information and keeps you up to date with issues that are important to you. I am forced to give Causes three starts though for the lack of response from the design team to address a very simple issue: horizontal view for an iPad. I mention this as it is incredible hard to write good responses in a timely manner when you have to depend on a digital keyboard on a small phone screen. I know it is possible, but seriously, it is a lot easier when you have a cover with a keyboard for your iPad to write these responses. What amazes me most is that Causes still does not have that feature, as it is a common feature on most apps these days, and this one has been around awhile. Please upgrade your app so that I can use it in earnest. That is the only thing really holding me back from consistent, well written feedback for my legislators using Causes.

by Captainbinkman

I wanted to give Causes a 5 Star but I’m giving it a 3. Why? Because, though I initially enjoyed the easy access of communication to my Representatives and being able to formulate a good sense of the political environment and test my political opinions against others in a non confrontational way, I can’t say in any way, that the content and published articles are portrayed in a subjective or unbiased manner. They don’t even try. If you hate Trump, America, and conservatives, you will find a nice safe space for your outrage. For everyone else it’s been a frustrating experience, not because there are people that disagree with you, but because the platform is stacked totally one-sided and that is not effective measure to bring people together.

by Nacho Mammy

Good: knowing the Bills and Laws as well as other information as to what’s happening on the hill, knowing who represents you, how they’re voting and being able to communicate with them, plus very timely notice when a new bill is submitted and your Reps votes cast. Easy to understand format and love the edit button to clean up your post as necessary. Last but not least is the free speech platform allowed when commenting.

Bad: can’t respond to others comments directly and there is a LOT of disinformation and misinformation by the uninformed and trolls. Additionally many of the topics are clearly biased in their headlines and content. The polls more than reflect it to ridiculous degree. Remove the partisanship, the hate and the bias and thus site will explode with new subscribers.

by Skol74

I have long wished I had the ability to develop apps because I have felt that a social network for political action would be a great idea. Causes is a good start forwards that goal. I like that comments can be endorsed but don’t degenerate into back and forth trolling. I like that Causes gives background in bills before Congress and allows users to notify there reps how the would like them to vote and provide messages.

What I feel it lacks and would greatly like to see added is a report card. I would like to get feedback of how my reps voted on the different bills and alerts when they voted opposite of my wishes. I would also like to see the vote tallies be broken down for my state and district rather then just all users. I am really enjoying using it so far but only gave it three stars because it hasn’t reached its potential yet.

by CarinaDaniel

I like the Countable app. I like that info is in given in laymen's terms, so individuals don't have to slog through legal-ese to try and figure it out. I like that info seems to be straightforward though sometimes there seems to be a bias. Sometimes something may have a liberal slant, but I have learned how to address and work through it. I know what I believe and stand firm and won't be swayed by a liberal agenda. Countable needs to make unbiased info and straightforward facts a goal. I have received a great number of responses from my senators. While the response is appreciated, some seem 'canned.' A few responses seem personal. I understand they get a lot of correspondence, but when the response is canned; it seems to lose effectiveness and meaning for me. How my senators interact with me and how serious they consider what I say does matter when it comes to the next election. I am glad Countable has made it possible that attacks are not possible among those of us who post reviews. Of course, it might be interesting to have a dislike option on responses as well. I'm inclined to think many polls are biased and ineffective, so some calculations of the 'like' and if a 'dislike' option is added might yield interesting results and perspective as well.

by Rrjunkmail

Causes is kind of like Facebook for the political crowd. It lets you see the federal legislature in “action” - unfortunately there’s no links to the bills, only a brief synopsis of the bill with a statement from the sponsor and opposition (usually a tweet from both)

It also allows you to message your representative and senators. It also allows for calling them. Unfortunately many of the users don’t realize (or care) that the messages they are posting go to their reps and just use it as if they are on Facebook trying to shame others into believing their rants.

Finally, it’s somewhat buggy- looking at the “details” of a bill rarely works the way it should, instead it drops you into the comments area and you have scroll back up, it frequently closes the details area for no apparent reason, when posting a message, things like editing are difficult and there’s no way to make a new paragraph.

by SecondActDiva

First, I like Countable because it is an easy way to keep track of the legislation currently being acted upon in our government. Recently, Countable changed my ‘Representative’ based on who knows what information, and it is incorrect. I have double-checked my address and profile information, but Countable apparently wants to put me in a different legislative district (please not it was changed after the new session and was correct, and then changed again and is incorrect). I am guessing this is an algorithmic glitch? I love the summaries of the arguments for yay or nay, but I wish some folk would read them (ie I note people ‘vote’ the wrong way on the website/app based on their commentary). Perhaps a moderator? Finally, I love being able to contact my representatives, and have had both personal and automated replies dependent upon the thoughtfulness of the message and the representative. However, see my first comment for the accuracy of this information.

by Sary The Gnail

I’m so grateful I found Causes. I’ve been using it for years and it makes it incredibly easy to reach out to you’re Congresspeople, while providing bills in bite sized and comprehensible summaries which make it easy for every person to understand.

My only critique would be that it doesn’t include local politics! Maybe it doesn’t have to include Mayors and City Council people, but i don’t think its a stretch to include State Legislatures. Local politics has a huge effect on our everyday lives, and most states have part time legislatures anyway, so it would be THAT much more work.

Still, even without that, this a a great app and is absolutely essential for anyone looking to keep up to date with work being done, not tweets being sent.

by Cameron12345765

Causes is really interesting and quite useful, but it’s defiantly 80 to 85% liberal/leftist users. It’s clear after spending even a few minutes looking at the voting and some of the comments to see Causes is dominated by left wing users. That doesn’t make Causes bad by any means, but just be prepared to see some pretty nasty (and sometimes outright insane) comments.

Also note the voting system on all the issues skew obviously along political lines, making that whole tool basically useless since no one seems to actually analyze the issue before voting. Every outcome is around 15-20 one side, 80-85 the other (which in case people don’t know, doesn’t represent the country).

by ObiWade

The liberal slant in the way headlines are often presented is usually quite obvious. But that’s just normal these day. Big government begets big government.

It is nice though, to see issues presented that are relevant to actual political action, and a really easy way of sending your thoughts to your congressmen. I also like the ability to leave public comments, BUT the ability to not respond to people’s comments directly is the real goldmine. It prevents topics from becoming needlessly as toxic as they do in Twitter, and you don’t get dragged into day long mention shenanigans.

I hope more people use Causes, it might be the political social media we’ve been missing!

by KenoshaDad

The Countable app is a great resource for learning and keeping up with what’s going on in the federal government. Causes updates every time a bill originates, is voted on, or is amended. The purpose, the history, the progress and the arguments for and against each bill and each issue is explained fully, and in straightforward layman’s terms. Countable is possibly the best source of thorough, factual, unbiased information there is.
Users can vote to Agree or Disagree on each issue and comment. Each time you comment with your own opinion, you have the option to send your comment to your elected officials, and to spread your message by other means, such as posting it on social media sites.
I highly recommend Causes for anyone interested in up-to-date, thorough information about what goes on in the federal government.

by Dave Land

Just a few years ago, you could get away with doing a little reading just before the election to prepare yourself to vote. If you did that, you were more informed and involved than probably 90% of voters.

With the 2016 election, that all changed: we need to stay connected to our elected representatives in Washington and locally more than ever before, or who knows what trouble they'll get us into!

Nothing I have ever found even comes close to Countable for keeping me appraised of the issues and votes of our time. It's like having your own congressional staff right in your pocket!

by Rebelcop

It is a very good app that keeps a person very interested and knowledgeable about what is going on in Washington, Congress and the Executive Branch as well as the Court Systems . My biggest concern is those of the Liberal, Communist and many other people who think one thing or the other. My biggest concern is that you can't write or say anything like disagreeing with a person writing statements and opinions. Again what bothers me about the people is that you can't say anything to have a different opinion with them other that to agree with them and join them in their statements or ideas. No negative statements can be said but to one person because you can't disagree, only agree and or join them in their idea. Just a simple stroke of the pen to disagree ( even if you could not say so, a mark or an X would be nice instead of showing agreement) on their opinion. There are WAY TOO MANY DISAGREEABLE PEOPLE ON THE SITE.

by Citizen Maine

If you want things to change and improve in this country, you have to know what is going on politically. Causes really helps.

Countable provides a daily update on the issues coming up in the Congress and elsewhere in the government, put together by ab excellent team of people familiar with the legislative process. It summarizes often complicated legislation in clear, easily understandable terms, gives reasons for and against support that legislation, has a section that gives more details if one wants them, and a part that keeps you updated on the process. You can comment on it, snd your comment can be both posted to the discussion and sent to your Congressional Representatives and Senators (in a formal letter) if you select that. I use it daily, and have introduced many friends to it as well, who find it just as useful as I do.

by Tingieting

BUG: currently doesn’t seem to let you sign in through Facebook account? Add google or something else to make it easier for people to sign up.

REVIEW: Simple interface that provides all the information you need to know about any upcoming legislation. The summaries and "why vote yes/no" section makes all the differences. I also love that you can vote along as well so that you can track if your rep and you are on the same page. Only thing I wish is that you can see how you vote and your rep vote along all issues one one page. Download Causes and you'll find yourself more knowledgeable and involved in the political process.

by Parov Pepper

The “news” feed on my iphone is continuously filled with click bait crap and irrelevant nonsense, and it didn’t matter how much I “customized” my feed. I like that so far everything on Countable seems to be straightforward, making it easy to see both sides of a bill or issue without conveying a particular bias.

MY FAVORITE THING SO FAR THO has to be the comments section. I’ve seen people express their different views in the comments and it just ends there. No name calling. Not a single racial/gender/sexuality slur in sight. It’s almost too good to be true. It’s as if adults were actually acting like adults. If there’s anyway we can keep Causes this way I will be happy FOREVER.

by Tataguy00

Great app that lets you comment on current ideas, voice your opinions to others AND your congressmen/women, AND follow/like others’ comments.

Cuts out so much of the hate and negativity that is evidenced in Twitter and etc when folks have the opportunity to respond to other people’s comments directly. Keeps comments focused on the issues, makes users read the details on the issues and others comments before commenting directly, educates the user.

I believe all voting Americans should be required to stay current through an educational/conversational app like this in order to qualify for voting privileges. We have become to crowded with people who are too stupid to even know what is good/right and what is bad/wrong for themselves. Get on Causes, READ AND LEARN something, and then TALK TO YOUR CONGRESSMAN/CONGRESSWOMAN - make a difference!!!

Also - the people on Causes are great and the address verification helps weed out non-US-users, but there are clearly some Russian trolls sowing disinformation campaigns like Sneaky Pete and others. Watch out for pro-communist propaganda disguised as republican talking points. Watch out for pro-communist propaganda disguised as democratic concession points.

by Laura B. S.

I just love this Causes. I enjoy learning. I’m from N.Y. and grew up in the New York school systems out on Long Island. Being a Dysfunctional Dyslexic who not only fought my way so hard by perseverance and studding very hard. New York (school system) failed me not only as a person but as a 17 year old with a disability. I never got to graduate with my graduating class because of 1 point. My point is due to Causes it makes me think more about what is going on in the world a lot more. If there’s something I don’t know I go to the wisest person I know. My father, believe it or not he has been very right about a lot of things and things, personally, that I didn’t realize he was right. If it’s a topic that I am not at all familiar with I will not answer due to the fact I may embarrass myself. Thank you very much for this awesome app.

by Limsteph

I love Countable. It makes it even easier than ResistBot to contact my reps, and it’s nice to have one place to go to browse issues and speak up about things that concern me. My only suggestion is that it would be nice to see the total number of bills I’ve contacted my reps about.

It’s great to see more Americans getting involved in the legislative process, which is the way it should be, and I think adding overall stats would be a good way to motivate newer voters and those who aren’t used to reaching out to their congressional representatives to continue exercising their rights.

I know I can see the number of issues i follow in settings and my activity feed, but data like the number of bills I’ve voted on and how many times I’ve followed that with a message to my reps — perhaps broken down by category — would be hugely satisfying.

by EBowser

Causes is a must for staying up to date on matters occurring in Congress. However, Causes needs to be fixed. As more and more states are fixing their gerrymandered districts, Causes needs to either update information or allow users to update their own information. Instead messages are being sent to the wrong members of the house. After a reporting the issue the following response was received: “It may not happen immediately, but we will automatically update the reps when the official congressional data is made available. This would apply to states where redistricting has occurred. Stay tuned!” The official congressional maps were available in Oct, since PA was able to hold elections in Nov.