[Businessmtg] CMA - 4 - Creep - What Happens in the Real World?

[Steve Rankin]

Hi folks,

 

So, we know that the Current Mailing Address (CMA) has evolved from a simple acronym for the mailing address of an Al-Anon group into a minor service position – the individual member who receives the group’s mail at their HOME and shares it with their group.  Yes, the Service Manual has deleted the historical options of PO boxes, even though many groups continue to use them.  In fact, my face-to-face home group continues to use a PO Box as its CMA.  

 

That is still simple enough, but administrative creep has changed that significantly.

 

On January 31, 2019, Sue Perez, Associate Director - Group Services, welcomed the CMAs to the new forum that WSO “created this community on AFG Connects for the Electronic Meeting CMAs to post topics of concern and discussions that are of interest to your electronic meeting.”

 

The welcome post to the CMA’s AFG Connects! Forum follows:

 


 


1.  Welcome to AFG Connects! 


Posted 01-31-2019 16:29 

Dear Electronic Meeting CMA participant members,

As discussed in our conference call this past November, we have created this community on AFG Connects for the Electronic Meeting CMAs to post topics of concern and discussions that are of interest to your electronic meeting. All platforms will have access to this community.

Once you have reviewed the training video as suggested in your welcome email, please view the attached service tool, "Lets' Talk About Safety in Al-Anon Meetings!" This document was mailed to registered face to face meetings and will be incorporated into the Welcome Packets for all new registered groups and Electronic Meetings moving forward. We have additional hard copies on order which will be mailed to all registered Electronic Meetings. This document is a service tool; it is not Conference Approved Literature. It was created as a result of a Board of Trustees Motion from July 2018. You can read more about the background of this piece by accessing this link:  <https://al-anon.org/pdf/July18_letter.pdf> https://al-anon.org/pdf/July18_letter.pdf.   

In addition, we have posted in the library the updated Electronic Meeting Registration Form as well as the accompanying instructions in .pdf format. These forms are also available on the al-anon.org website:  <https://al-anon.org/for-members/group-resources/new-electronic-meeting-registration/> New Electronic Meeting Registration.  Most importantly, the Electronic Meeting Registration Form is also posted as a web form on al-anon.org with the instructions embedded in the form!!

We welcome your experience, strength and hope as we incorporate the voice of the electronic meeting participants in discussions related to Al-Anon Family Groups. Thank you for stepping into service. Please share this exciting news with your meeting members.

With love in Al-Anon Fellowship,

------------------------------
Sue
Sue Perez
Associate Director - Group Services
------------------------------

 

OK, back to my discussion. . . 

 

But first, a quick note about the PDF referenced in Sue’s post – this is NOT a topic for discussion in this Business Meeting.  However, it could be a topic in a future Business Meeting.  

 

 

As a direct result of the creation of the [electronic meeting] CMA’s AFG Connects! Forum, the electronic meeting CMA has further been changed/upgraded into a service position.  Suddenly, the CMAs of electronic groups have a dedicated forum for communicating with the CMAs of other electronic groups.  Face-to-face groups are not affected as their CMAs are not a part of the CMA Forum.  

Aside from the issue of the CMA Forum’s intrusion into the territory of Group Rep’s, WSO has imposed several policies in the Usage Policy that are questionable at best as Al-Anon principles:

 

Among other things, the Usage Policy states:

    “It needs to be noted that as a condition of accessing the AFG Connects! Forum that the CMA accept WSO’s “Usage Policy”

By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that he or she owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants AFG, Inc. the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.”

In other words, WSO has a permanent right to use anything any member of Al-Anon shares on the CMA Forum as they wish, including their commercial purposes.  Anonymous?  Not at all.

    “AFG, Inc. does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings and does not on its own undertake editorial control of postings.”  

For example, one of the women on the CMA Forum asked a question, and apparently WSO did not like the question or the thread, and closed the thread.  When that member asked why the thread was closed, WSO did not respond.

    “AFG, Inc. reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.”

 

 

OK, so getting past those annoyances with WSO’s control of the CMA Forum, I’ll get to the meat of how this changed the CMA into a genuine service position far beyond what is described in the Service Manual.

 

First, we have the new CMA Forum where CMAs from any electronic meeting can communicate with the other CMAs on the Forum.  

 

Second, the CMA Forum has become a vehicle for new CMAs to ask questions that really should be directed at WSO.  This is probably the primary use of the Forum.

 

Third, the CMA Forum has become a vehicle for CMAs to post announcements of local Al-Anon events and speaker meetings, District meetings (even though they are limited to members of that District).  Again, the CMAs should stay in their lane and leave these exchanges to their GRs and DRs, not to speak of making announcements of local events to the entire Global Area.  For example, the CMA posted an announcement of their District 5 district meeting for tomorrow, including the complete agenda of the district meeting, the Zoom links and passcode, and WSO’s G-37 Guideline for District Representatives.  Having said that, I do feel compelled to note that District 5’s agenda is clearly superior to the GEA’s agenda, and far more in keeping with Al-Anon principles.  

 

Fourth, the GEA officers have been given access to the CMA Forum and are using it to post notices of GEA events and to respond to questions regarding the GEA.  

 

Fifth, and a biggie.  The WSO used the CMA Connects! Forum as the exclusive line of communication between the electronic meetings and the creating and structuring of the GEA.  WSO did NOT communicate with the electronic meetings regarding the WSC group conscience regarding the recognition of electronic meetings as “groups” nor anything about the creation of the GEA via the electronic meeting’s postal Current Mailing Address.  The first notice of any of this that I received via “normal” snail mail CMA channels was in a monthly blurb from WSO after we had elected a Delegate in our first Assembly.  

 

Sixth, and the issue we are dealing with today.  The GEA is including CMAs as eligible to attend certain Area functions, while not including regular members.  

 

In the next issue, I’ll discuss how this impacts ASP and why this is a problem.

 

Love and SERENITY,

Steve