[Businessmtg] Funding Int. Conv. Representation

[Dawn Werezak]

Hello All,

Thanks Steve for succintly stating the differences between an online meeting 
and a face to face meeting and the service structure.  There are many 
differences that I was completely unaware of when I joined ASP and remained 
unaware of until I started to get involved in service work at ASP outside of 
chairing the daily meeting.

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On Friday of this week, I finally received our copy of the "Request for 
permission to use conference approved literature on line" signed by Ric B 
and dated March 8, 2008.  Included with this form was S-60, "Fact Sheet for 
Al-Anon On-line Meetings", not as a pamphlet, but on 8.5 x 11 regular photo 
copy paper.  Most of this pamphlet is already on our website.  I will update 
it with the new information that I have an have it posted on the website for 
you all to read.  The only thing is I have no date that it was amended, but 
I will see what I can find out and put that on there as well.

In answer to Steve's questioning about mention of OLA-IS in this document, I 
have read it three times from front to back and have found no mention of 
OLA-IS in it.  I may have overlooked it so if anyone else has a copy of this 
and found mention of OLA-IS please let me know.

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I have found this form of a business meeting very interesting and a great 
growing opportunity.  When I take time to stop, think, and ponder a reply 
rather than reacting to something someone has said and believe me, I have 
wanted to react.  I don't take lightly to inferences about my integrity or 
my motives.  However, I have learned that if I give it a moment or two and 
apply Tradition 12 - the principles above personalities part - then I do not 
have to react to someone else's statements.  I do however get to address 
them.  Now if it comes across to someone else as "distrust, griping, 
accusation, etc." so be it.

I have openly shared my experiences with WSO with the members of this 
meeting.  These are MY experiences.  Now yours might have been different and 
that's great and I am willing to hear your experiences in the context of the 
discussion or feel free to email me privately and share them.

Since there have been several mentions, outright and innuendo, that there is 
flaming going on here is the definition we use of flaming at ASP (also on 
the website):  A searing e-mail message in which the writer attacks another 
e-mail participant in overly harsh, and often personal, terms. Flames are an 
unfortunate, but inevitable, element of un-moderated conferences.  Here is 
the definition we use of flame-bait at ASP (also on the website):  A comment 
or commentary which provokes an emotional (flame) response whether such a 
response is elicited or not.

Each and every person here has the right to state their opinions, their ESH, 
share a principle (and provide back up to it by sharing where they are 
getting their information).  Each of us has the right to be offended by 
someone else, we even have the right to have a temper tantrum and take our 
toys and go home.  I know that I have used the line from our closing "Talk 
to each other, reason things out with someone else, but let there be no 
gossip or criticism of one another. Instead let the understanding and peace 
of the program grow in you one day at a time."  This is a principle I work 
on in this meeting.  It keeps me from pulling out a character defect that 
used to work well for me back in the day!

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I don't know about anyone else, but I have been in face to face meetings 
business meetings that in my opinion were really ugly for a while and when I 
was new it made me cringe and I really wanted to run away in fear...where 
was all the love that I felt in a regular meeting.  It blew my mind when at 
the end of the meeting these same  people (who I thought were particularly 
nasty to each other with their words) hugged and laughed and joked and we 
all went out for lunch and everyone seemed to be okay.  What a lesson for me 
to learn.  I learned you can fight with someone without having a temper 
tantrum, picking up your toys and going home; I learned that you can 
passionately disagree with someone and they don't hate you afterwards; I 
learned how to have a difference of opinion and still talk to one another 
afterwards and not have to amputate you from my life.  I also learned that I 
don't have to wear my "nice" mask that is so painful to put on these days. 
Does that still happen in face to face business meetings, you bet!  Does 
anyone get hurt...perhaps, I don't know though unless I ask.  I know I am 
often shocked by it, even today.

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With regards to Beth's email, I too would like her to share more information 
along the lines of what Steve included in his email.  In particular I would 
like to know about being a GR for another online group.  I have gone through 
my service manual 2006-2009 and this is what I found regarding the group 
representative position, which is also in line with my information from WSO.

>From Page 80-81 in the 2006 - 2009 Service Manual:

Electronic Meetings:

The internet and other electronic telecommunication media are tools for 
carrying and sharing the Al-Anon program of hope and recovery around the 
world.  These electronic meetings occur globally as we al locally without 
geographic restrictions.  Consequently, electronic meetings do not have a 
Group Representative and are not part of any structure.  They do, however, 
have a meeting contact.

When electronic meetings form, they register with the World Service Office 
(WSO) in order to use the Al-Anon name.  Upon registration, they receive 
support from and have their voices heard and represented through the WSO. 
Registered meeting may request a license from the WSO to use in text format 
the Steps, Traditions, Concepts of Service, Suggested Welcome, Suggested 
Closing, and excerpts from Conference Approved Literature (CAL).

Looking forward to further discussion.

Love and Serenity,
Dawn