CONTENTS
Section I: PURPOSE OF THE WEBSITE
Section II: ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Ownership of Website
B. Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting Services
C. Billing Contact
D. Technical Contact
E. District 15 Website Committee
F. Technical Access
G. Method for Approval of Website Content Changes
Section III: ALLOWABLE CONTENT
A. Standing Content
B. Other Content
Section IV: PROHIBITED CONTENT
A. Direct Communication
B. Non-AA Content
C. Personal Information
Section V: CHANGES TO WEBSITE GUIDELINES
Section I: PURPOSE OF THE WEBSITE
A. This website was created to provide information and suggest resources for the alcoholic and those who think they may have a drinking problem in our District. General Service District 15 of California Northern Coastal Area 06 of Alcoholics Anonymous serves the California Counties of Humboldt and Del Norte.
B. The site provides resources such as a Meetings Directory to facilitate the face-to-face and/or virtual meeting of still-suffering alcoholic who may be ready for help, with others who have solved their drinking problem. The site may provide additional information as the District may direct.
C. The site also provides information to the general public about AA in our District, Area, and about AA in general.
D. This website is neither approved nor endorsed by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. It is provided solely as a public information tool of CNCA06 District 15 to display information about Alcoholics Anonymous in Humboldt and Del Norte County, CA. Links to other websites neither imply endorsement of, nor affiliation with, those entities. Flyers and event information are hosted as a courtesy for District groups, meetings, or service entities; District 15 neither endorses nor opposes the content contained therein.
Section II: ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Ownership of Website
The Owner of this website is General Service District 15,California Northern Coastal Area 06 (CNCA06). For administrative purposes, its mailing address is CNCA District 15 Committee Member Chair (DCMC), PO Box 3504, Eureka, CA 95502.
B. Domain Name Registration ;and Web Hosting Services
1) The domain name shall be aahumboldtdelnorte.org and is registered in the name of the Owner.
a. The Website Committee shall choose a domain name registrar/domain name reseller and web hosting provider at its discretion, based upon a goal of using a “best-cost” service provider (explained in section E-3-b).
1) Invoices from the domain name registrar/domain name reseller and web hosting provider should be directed to the District 15 Treasurer, with his/her mailing address at CNCA District 15 Treasurer, PO Box 3504, Eureka, CA 95502. The Treasurer will pay annual fees for registration of the domain name and for web hosting services.
1) The District 15 Website Committee is the contact point for technical issues relating to the website. Inquiries may be directed via email or sent via regular postal mail to District 15 Website Committee Chair, PO Box 3504, Eureka CA 95502. The Website Committee may contract for these services as needed, outside AA if necessary.
E. District 15 Website Committee
1) Purpose
a. An Ad-Hoc Committee was formed to create a website that meets the needs of the District and to develop Website Guidelines which govern its operations and functions. This committee was replaced by a Standing Committee the year the website was published.
b. After publication to the Internet, the Website Committee provides on-going website operations and maintenance, and reports to the District.
2) Composition / Terms of Service
a. The Website Committee will consist of the Committee Chair, and Members At-Large, and will meet quarterly and/or as needed.
1. Website Committee Chair
i. Elected by the District, the Website Chair presides over Website Committee meetings, prepares the agenda for its meetings, and attends District 15 business meetings. The Website Chair also prepares and gives the Website Committee Report to the District, communicates with members of the Website committee, asks for assistance on Committee agenda topics, and assists members of the Committee.
2. Website Committee Members At-Large
i. Website Committee members at-large attend Website Committee meetings, communicate with the Chair and respond to agenda topics and requests for assistance from the Chair, and assist the Chair and other members at-large of the Website Committee.
b. Committee members are expected to serve a term, concurrent with the District Panel. Rotation is strongly encouraged; however, members may serve more than one term as
circumstances warrant.
c. The Webmaster, who runs the back-end of the website and edits the pages, is a service position filled from within the Committee or the fellowship at large. If such a person is not available, the Committee may hire the work done, with the approval of the District. The contract for hire shall be the responsibility of the District.
3) Duties and Responsibilities
a. The Committee will regularly report to the District at its business meetings, and will be the point of contact for technical/site issues with the web hosting provider.
b. The Committee is responsible for ensuring that a “best-cost” web hosting provider is used for the site. “Best-cost” may not be the least expensive, when you consider security, disaster recovery, up-time, customer service and technical support. The Committee will retain a digital backup of the site files, and provide on-going operations monitoring, maintenance, and oversight, including the removal/replacement of outdated/updated information on the website in a timely manner.
c. The Committee will ensure that the District Treasurer has sufficient information to make timely payments for the site’s web hosting services and domain name registration.
1) The webmaster will have password-protected access to the site’s server “back end” as required for site maintenance. For security purposes, the webmaster may provide
an “Emergency Access” packet to the DCMC or other trusted party (Sponsor, Service Sponsor) to be used in the case of death or disqualification of the webmaster. The District Officers shall be immediately notified of such an event. Wrongful use of the site and this
access privilege can result in removal of access to the site.
G. Method for Approval of Website Content Changes
1) The Committee will accept suggestions for major changes to the website’s standing content and present these as Housekeeping Motions at District 15 business meetings. The District, Intergroups, other service entities and Groups are encouraged to submit content change proposals to the Website Committee for review.
2) Minor changes in standing content may be made by the Website Committee without prior District approval for the following purposes: to enhance site visibility, accessibility and ease of use; to maintain accurate and up-to-date information; and to maintain compliance with applicable laws, rules, and web standards.
Section III: ALLOWABLE CONTENT
1) Home page: Introduces the visitor to Alcoholics Anonymous in our District by displaying contact information, anonymous email and phone numbers when available, for
resources such as District 15, Humboldt and Del Norte County Intergroups, Hospitals and Institutions, and Bridging the Gap. Gives telephone numbers for local AA Answering Services in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties; provides contact information. Contact
information for local Al-Anon Family Groups is provided with a disclaimer regarding cooperation but not affiliation.
a. The Home Page contains links to all other pages. The site’s primary purpose is expressed by the “Responsibility Declaration” and by an excerpt from the AA Preamble©.
b. The District 15 homepage will provide several offsite links (these will open a new browser window when clicked) to the following:
i. AA General Service Office
a) G.S.O. (homepage);
b) More Information About AA (“AA Fact File” page);
c) Twelve Steps (“The Recovery Program” page);
d) Twelve Traditions (“AA Traditions” page).
ii. California Northern Coastal Area 06
a) CNCA06 (homepage)
iii. AA Grapevine
a) AA Grapevine (homepage).
2) Meetings Directory page: Contains a directory of regular AA meetings and special AA meetings (i.e., various monthly business meetings; District 15, committees, intergroups, etc.) in our area, and contains an email link to District 15 Directories Chair for updating
directory information.
3) Disclaimers page: Contains statements about the lack of affiliation, approval, or endorsement, trademark and copyright permissions, plus information about the Meetings Directory page, and other disclaimers and privacy information.
4) Website Guidelines page: Contains the contents embodied within the Website Guidelines document, and is current with the current printed document.
5) Calendar page: Contains a duplicate of the contents embodied within the paper Humboldt/Del Norte AA Service Event Calendar document, issued and updated by the DCMC.
6) Events page: Contains the names, dates, locations, and brief descriptions of upcoming fellowship events, and may contain links to event websites as appropriate and/or event flyers.
a. All District 15 General Service, Area 6, Humboldt and Del Norte County Intergroups, Hospitals & Institutions Committee, Bridging the Gap, PI/CPC, and other official service entity events are pre-approved and may be posted when the event information is available
without District approval.
b. If groups/individuals desire to post an event to this page, they are to follow an approved procedure:
i. An Event Representative/GSR must attend and bring their event information (and flyer if available) to a District business meeting to make the request.
ii. A Monthly or annual event hosted by a registered group may be posted with only web committee review after the first event has been approved by the District, (such as but not limited to: roundups, brunches, socials, workshops, etc.).
iii. A Housekeeping Motion may be made to approve the requested event for posting to the Events page of the website.
iv. Any approved event posting will be added to the page by the end of the month in which it is submitted to the District.
B. Other Content
1) The site may publish additional content, as approved by the District. This content may include (but is not limited to) the following:
a. Regional/national AA fellowship information.
b. Offsite Links page (may contain links to other AA websites, websites of groups registered with AA, or AA-related websites as appropriate, provided their website conforms to District 15 Guidelines ).
Section IV: PROHIBITED CONTENT
1) The website will not permit interactive communication such as chat rooms, message boards, forums, or any other form of direct communication, including regular (two-way) email accounts.
1) In keeping with Tradition 6, there will be no non-AA content or links to non-AA-related sites.
2) No promotion of or links to commercial websites, nor commercial/professional services is available through this site.
1) In keeping with Tradition 11, no individual is to be identified by first or last name, nor an individual’s photograph published on the website. In spite of our Responsibility Statement, we weigh in favor of personal privacy, security, and anonymity, and individual
telephone numbers will not be published. Event flyers will be edited to remove personal information prior to being published on the website.
Section V: CHANGES TO WEBSITE GUIDELINES
A. The Website Guidelines will be updated by the Website Committee as conditions warrant and to reflect current conditions or practice. These updates may reflect changes to the site itself or changes to District and/or committee activities or procedures. Changes are subject to Housekeeping Motions at District 15 business meetings.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DISTRICT 15 WEBSITE GUIDELINES
The concept for a District 15 web site began with a suggestion that a web site would be helpful to those needing to know where to find a meeting in our District. The web site could also give information about activities in the District, such as Unity Day, General Service meetings, Assemblies, and the like. An ad-hoc committee was formed, and this committee spanned more than one general service panel.
It is important to note that in Humboldt County, it is the District, not the Intergroup, which prints the meeting directories. In Del Norte County, there is a printed schedule of meetings in and about Crescent City. This is printed by the Del Norte County Intergroup. The District 15 meeting directory also lists these meetings, since the geographic area of District 15 is Humboldt and Del Norte Counties.
During Panel 55, in the spring of 2005, the District decided to move forward with the web site, so the Ad-Hoc Committee was converted into a Standing Committee, which was charged with and which did do the following: The Web Site Guidelines were approved, web pages were created, a web host was selected, a domain name was registered, fees
were paid, and the web site was made live on the internet. By far the most time-consuming task to this point, was development of the Web Site Guidelines.