There was some confusion including my own, about what exactly the icons on the Grapevine page were intended to do. They had been removed by the time I heard about the issue and therefore none of us reviewing the sites could see for ourselves what they did. Was/is there an actual Grapevine Facebook (FB) page? Was Grapevine Tweeting? I searched both Twitter and FB and found an unofficial Alcoholics Anonymous site, but nothing related to the Grapevine. Were these icons simply methods of logging into the on-line magazine? If so, it seems like there would be a much less controversial way of allowing members to log in.

The comments I’ve included assume there was/is an actual Grapevine FB page and Twitter feed which, from reading the comments of Kathy G., seem to be the case. The consensus of the members who responded was that that the FB and Twitter icons violate A.A. traditions and that the icons should remain removed.

The first issue is anonymity. While each individual A.A. is the guardian of his or her anonymity, our literature asks us to think carefully before sharing our membership in A.A. I fear that some members do not realize they are breaking their anonymity if they post something about their membership in A.A. on Facebook or Twitter. I’ve heard many people say, incorrectly, that FB and Twitter are anonymous because they require a password. Also, since you can limit your conversations to the people you have chosen as your FB friends, some believe it to be anonymous. I do not believe it to be anonymous. This is especially true of Twitter which is intended to reach a much broader audience than FB. On FB we may be able to limit your friends and share only certain information with certain friends, but FB and Twitter posts still exist on the internet, and, as I understand it, can be searched and found if you know how to do that. I am not an internet security expert, but, after nearly fifteen years of using the internet, this is what I have been led to believe.

One member responding said, “If your FB posts can be found on the internet, you are operating at the level of ‘press.’” As an example, he sent screen shots of the unofficial “Alcoholics Anonymous” Facebook page. Even if you are not a member of that group, you can see all the posts from that group. You can’t post to it unless you “like” that page, but you can read everything on it including the identity of each person posting. I do not know if the FB privacy settings allow you to create a closed group that no one can see. One comment from a committee member leads me to believe that you cannot: “FB by design is not anonymous. Its application programming interface (API) does not permit developers to anonymous the social networking experience.”

Another member looked through the FB help site and found some interesting statements which also lead me to believe that you cannot make any FB page completely anonymous:

“When you click “Like” on a Page, in an advertisement, or on content off of Facebook, you are making a connection. The connection will be displayed in your profile and on your Wall and your friends may receive a News Feed story about the connection. You may be displayed on the Page you connected to, in advertisements about that Page, or in social plugins next to the content you like. The Page may also post content into your News Feed or send you messages. You may also share this connection with applications on the Facebook Platform.” (Emphasis added.)

The help site also explains: “Facebook Platform enables you to make your website more social. You can use our Social Plugins, such as the Like Button to drive user engagement with a single line of HTML. Our Login Button and Registration Plugin let you simplify or eliminate your own user registration and sign-in. Lastly, the Graph API lets you access the full social graph of a given user, allowing you to create a truly deep personal experience.” (Emphasis added.)

A member said, “Putting a FB and/or Twitter icon/link on any official related page (Grapevine) is an invitation to violate tradition 11.” I would go further and say that the icon/link on any official related page actually encourages folks to break their anonymity.

Some members were concerned about this being a form of promotion. Typical FB fan pages and many of the posts on Twitter are businesses seeking to gain new followers in order to promote their business. This type of promotion directly violates our traditions.

There was also the question of affiliation. With these icons on one of our official websites, do we not look like we are affiliating with Twitter and FB? I could argue the opposite conclusion if the icons were used only as log-ins. In this way they would be no different from the MasterCard or Visa technology used to pay for subscriptions, but I believe the icons were for much more than that. And, as I said above, there are much less controversial ways to create logins.

Several individuals expressed concern that the Grapevine was simply trying to stay current by providing the FB icons/links on the page. I agree that both A.A. and the Grapevine need to stay in touch with A.A. members, but we need to do so in ways that do not violate our traditions. As one member put it, “I don’t think the Grapevine needs the publicity that badly.”

~ Nita S., Area 53 CPC/PI Chair

As always, we wish to avoid any controversy, but that does not mean we’re successful.

In my opinion, this brings up a couple of issues.
1st. What is the purpose of putting links to a couple of the many social media sites onto any AA website. I’m having a difficult time with how that will help us carry our message.

2nd, It seems to me to be a clear endorsement of the social sites we would be allowing not to mention the inference of ‘affiliation’. The other consideration would be that, in the intrest of being ‘open’ we would have to have any and all such sites. What a mess that would be.

Thanks for the forum.

Yours in Love and Service,

Rick B.
Past Delegate
Area 53, Panel 49

When you click “Like” on a Page, in an advertisement, or on content off of Facebook, you are making a connection. The connection will be displayed in your profile and on your Wall and your friends may receive a News Feed story about the connection. You may be displayed on the Page you connected to, in advertisements about that Page, or in social plugins next to the content you like. The Page may also post content into your News Feed or send you messages. You may also share this connection with applications on the Facebook Platform.

Facebook Platform enables you to make your website more social. You can use our Social Plugins, such as the Like Button to drive user engagement with a single line of HTML. Our Login Button and Registration Plugin let you simplify or eliminate your own user registration and sign-in. Lastly, the Graph API lets you access the full social graph of a given user, allowing you to create a truly deep personal experience.

I think a member of AA could inadvertantly end up notifying evryone on their friends list that they are in AA. Sometimes a friends list includes employers, future employers, insutance agency contacts etc. I think it might be risking ananonymity a bit too much.

I don’t think AA Grapevile needs the publicity that badly.

Jim L.
GSR Sat Aft Live Group

Online communications generally have become an important resource for many AA’s, in particular those who are isolated or hearing impaired. For folks younger than I, Facebook and Twitter have become as much a part of their communication patterns as using the phone and email is to me. For all I know, someone stumbling across AA information via Facebook or Twitter could be a defining moment like stumbling across an AA pamphlet left in some waiting room.

I understand that there are concerns about the Traditions. But it would be shortsighted for AA to simply denounce use of these new communication tools. People, including AA members, are going to use them either way. The goal should be responsible use consistent with AA traditions. It is an important component of service work to help us develop an informed group conscience on these issues.

That said, I would like to see a discussion of what specifically about these linkages on the Grapevine site makes their use problematic.

Cathy H.
Special Needs Chair
Area 53

I write to all as a member of Alcoholic’s Anonymous and an active member of service is this beautiful program.

I am appalled. This is not “keeping it simple”. I enjoy friendships with people in and outside these rooms. I would never solicit the program. Attraction is not the same as this promotion.

I would highly suggest the Grapevine and it’s trusted servants remember who they serve. Oh yeah, and read the traditions. I have heard that Bob told Bill on Bob’s deathbed to “keep it simple, we could fall apart from the inside out.”

Love and service,

Jason L.
DCM
District 32, Area 53

This is yet again, in my opinion, the seemingly blatent disregard of the simplest things the Grapevine continues to do. I believe the Grapevine Board should listen to Bill W’s last speech, and his urgency and insistence that “Anonymity” be protected and the importance thereof.

Also they should look @ tradition 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 and 12 et al. It is almost like there is very little spirituality left within the Executive Arm of the Grapevine. It becomes ever clear that it is becoming more about the bottom line than spirituality and the sick and suffering alcoholic.

I do not want to sound negative, but it is just what a lot of the Grapevine is projecting as I see it. There are times when I read the magazine and think it should have been printed by Hazelden or another treatment center.

I thank God for the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. There is nothing I would not do for it. However if this continual, blatant disregard of the traditions continue within the grapevine, I will no longer support it. I will also share with others my views and thoughts on this issue.

I would encourage the Delegates to encourage the Grapevine Board Members to attend one of the many “Anonymity in the Digital Age” workshops that many districts and home groups are having in regards to this very delicate issue.

As my sponsor say’s “when in doubt read the book”….in this book you will find the 12 traditions…… need I say more.

Yours in Service,

Ryan C.
Alt. DCM
District 17