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A Quick Background:
       Many people may not be familiar with the name 'EarthBound' or 'Mother'. EarthBound, known in Japan as 'Mother', is a series of Nintendo RPG games which has a cult following both in Japan and America. Currently, there are two games in the series: Mother and Mother 2. Mother was never released in America (which is why it is often referred to as 'EarthBound Zero'), and EarthBound is the English equivalent of Mother 2. The RPGs are like none other; they have been described over and over as the quirkiest, the weirdest, and the most fun ever made. In Japan, the Mother series has reached popularity levels that can be compared to those of the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series.

       Mother 3, the third game in the series, was reported to have been in production for roughly 4 years. Fans all over the world were waiting anxiously, excited for the release of the next game in the series. Things began to look bad, however. Not long after showing off a demo of the game on the N64 at a Spaceworld show in Japan, Nintendo cancelled the game, citing production difficulties.

The Petition:
       We here at Starmen.Net intend to make the hopes of the EarthBound/Mother fans known. Regulars of Starmen.Net know that we have done petitions in the past, and that we take them very seriously. Our first petition, the Mother on Game Boy Color Petition, got 1,850 signatures. Our most recent petition, the EarthBound 64 Petition, got 10,013 signatures. We're hoping to break all the barriers once again, as we plan on collecting 30,000 signatures for this petition. Many say we can't do it. We think we can.

       So why are we doing this petition? What is it for? What do we hope to accomplish? Recently, there have been rumblings of the Mother 3 project being brought back to life. Obviously, this news is very exciting to us, and we plan on capitalizing on this possibility. You can read about the recent Mother 3 news bits in our Mother 3 section. Unlike our previous petitions, in which we specifically demanded games for certain platforms, we just want to let Nintendo know how much support there is behind this gaming series. We're not making demands, we're not shaking our fists; we just want to let them know that we're here and we're desperate for another Mother game. As for our petition goals, 30,000 signatures is more of a cursory goal than anything; we're (obviously) not going to cut the petition off there if things are still going strong at 30,000 signatures.

       The staff of Starmen.Net will be collecting signatures and checking each one by hand in order to assure the validity and decency of this petition. Duplicate signatures and any which contain swearing or vulgarity will be deleted. Once we finish collecting signatures for the petition (hopefully at or beyond the 30,000 mark), we will format it into a word processor and take it to a printing press to be printed and bound. Copies will then be sent to Nintendo Co., HAL Laboratories (the company responsible for the video games), and Shigesato Itoi, the creator of the Mother series. The work done and the cost involved with the petition is completely handled by the staff and regulars of Starmen.Net, with special thanks to Giovanni, our crazy-rich-man financier.

How You Can Help:

1 - Sign the petition!
The first and most obvious way for you to help and participate in this massive effort is to sign the petition. The form is below, and all you have to do is provide your name, email address, and a comment. Providing a comment is optional, but you must provide either an e-mail address or a name. If you choose to include your name, please use your real name. We will accept internet nicknames, but having real names on this petition gives it a much stronger sense of determination and seriousness. If you choose to provide a comment, we have set a limit at 150 characters. We did this to keep down the costs when it comes time to print out the copies of the petition.

2 - Spread the word!
The ONLY way this petition will reach its goal is if everyone spreads the word. This means simple things like telling friends on IM or in chatrooms, giving it a quick mention at your favorite internet forum/message board, etc. If you go to other websites/forums/chatrooms, PLEASE keep in mind that you're representing Starmen.Net when you point people to the petition. Keep it short; 'There is a petition to get Mother 3 released at http://www.starmen.net/petition' or some similar statement will do fine. Please don't say things like 'STARMEN.NET is having a petition. GO TO STARMEN.NET RIGHT NOW' because that is going to be viewed as blatant advertising. The goal of this petition is NOT to make Starmen.Net more popular; we've got enough problems with traffic and bandwidth already. We just want signatures, so keep it simple, and don't make it look like advertising.

3 - Put up a banner!
Here are a few banners you can choose from to put up on your website:

Banner by Mikey V.

Banner by Plo

Banner by Jeb2

And here's an IM buddy icon for those of you who might want to use it:

4 - Gather signatures by hand!
The handwritten signature form is finally ready for download!

Download the Petition Flyer  english :: flyer.pdf :: 184 kb
Descargue el Aviador de la Petición  español :: flyer-s.pdf :: 158 kb
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader  (free download)

Here's what you do:

• Print out the form and collect signatures - one great idea is to go to gaming stores and ask if they'll let you put them on the wall or desk or something.
• Once you have collected signatures, type up the ones that are legible and email them to [email protected] so we can enter them into the petition database.
• Mail the forms back to reidman for proof of signatures and so that they can be photocopied and included when the petition is mailed:

  Reid Young
  1320 David Ross Rd
  West Lafayette, IN 47906

There are rewards for those who help with gathering signatures! There will be special forum badges created and awarded to those who join in this effort. Also, anyone who helps out will have their name included in the thank-you section when the petition is printed, and also on the post-petition report page once everything is wrapped up. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to post them on the M3 Petition Flyers/Badges Topic on the forum.

5- Don't sign multiple times!
We understand that EarthBound fans are devoted to their game and would do about anything to see it released, but signing this petition more than once is NOT going to help anyone. Duplicate signatures only result in a lower quality, less refined document. Anyone who signs more than twice will be banned from the site until the petition is over (perhaps longer if they're being real jerks). We take the quality of this petition very seriously, so please respect that and make things easier on our staff, who have to check and remove all the duplicate signatures.