[Businessmtg] Archiving of Shares

[Linda F]

I am in favor of ASP not archiving any shares based on my understanding of
these traditions:

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal progress for the greatest
number depends upon unity.

5. Each Al-Anon Family Group has but one purpose: to help families of
alcoholics. We do this by practicing the Twelve Steps of AA *ourselves*, by
encouraging and understanding our alcoholic relatives, and by welcoming and
giving comfort to families of alcoholics.

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever
reminding us to place principles above personalities.

>From our suggested welcome: "Anonymity is an important principle of the
Al-Anon program. Everything that is said here, in the group meeting and
member-to-member, must be held in confidence. Only in this way can we feel
free to say what is in our minds and hearts, for this is how we help one
another in Al-Anon."

To me, if we are to respect the importance of anonymity as the spiritual
foundation of all our traditions, put our common welfare first, and be a
safe place that welcomes newcomers, we have an obligation to take every
possible step to safeguard ASP as a safe place where people can feel free
to say what is in our minds and hearts.

It can be argued that nothing on the internet is guaranteed safe, that the
archives are password-protected, etc.  But at the end of the day as long as
we archive shares we are not doing everything we possibly can to safeguard
ASP as a safe place for people to share.  Meetings aren't recorded, and I
don't see a reason why we should record shares on ASP just because we have
the technical ability to do so.

Some of the reasons I've heard argued for the benefits of archiving to me
feel personality-driven as opposed to principle-driven.   The ones that are
coming to mind are:
--some people have benefited from being able to look back on previous
shares (I don't want to see us putting these individuals' benefits above
our common welfare)
--people can't expect that what they say on the internet can't be accessed
(to me that sounds like arguing that ASP shouldn't expect to be held to
different standards from Facebook)
--archiving shares is no more difficult than not, and doesn't overtax the
server
(I don't see how this would connect to Al-Anon principles, so I put it in
the personalities category)

These are my thoughts on this issue.  I have never been famous for my open
mind; however, I will do my best to keep an open mind and listen to what
others have to say on this issue.  This is a good chance to practice my own
program and be a part of the solution.

HUGS, Linda