[Businessmtg] Biz topic, dominance

[travelynne2]

Thank you Alison - I agree with you completely. 
I’d also like to try and be clear how and why the archives are used by the List Administrator and SC and why that is beneficial for all of us who use the recovery meeting. 
When I was List Administrator, there were several instances of members shares in the recovery meeting being inappropriate. Most often when outside issues, like religion or politics, were brought into the meeting. Or when other offensive or inappropriate things were said. This disrupts the recovery meeting. It can make newcomers and long standing members feel unsafe and goes against our primary aim of helping those who have been affected by alcoholism. 
Most of the time, these types of shares were brought to my attention by a member. I then had to review not only that share, but the member’s share history in the archives to see if this was a one time misstep or a pattern. I would often go back weeks to months. I also asked the SC for their input. So the SC would also go to the archives and review that member’s share history. That allowed an appropriate response. I felt when I was LA and still feel that accessing the archives to review member’s share history was vital to how I dealt with these situations. And I would not have been able to effectively deal with them - and be fair to the member whose share was questioned - without the archives. 
I had to access the archives like this less than 10 times in the 3 years I was LA - which speaks to the health of our recovery meeting. But one reason it stays healthy is because the LA is able to deal with disruptions quickly and appropriately when they do occur. 
I never had cause to go back to archives from 5 years or 20 years ago. But the archives are an all or nothing package in the server system we have. We either delete all of them on a certain date. Or we keep all of them. If we delete them all on a certain date and then restart them, then that means the current LA would not have access to archives in the weeks/months before that date. We never know when a problem will arise. 
Deleting the archives and expecting the LA to figure out how to archive emails when their term starts (which means they would not necessarily have access to shares before their term starts) is asking too much of a volunteer and is not always going to work. That elevates the risk that inappropriate shares will not be dealt with appropriately. Which I think will affect the health of the recovery meeting in the long run. 
Whereas limiting access to the current archives to the LA and founders or to the entire SC would allow the LA to do their job and address the concerns that anyone in ASP could read long ago emails in the archive. 
Someone asked where it is spelled out that the LA will go into the archives and I just wanted to pass on the link to motion 22: https://asp-afg.org/members/motion-22/It says that the LA deals directly with members of ASP regarding ASP policy and practices. What I described above is part of that responsibility. 
Hugs,Lynne
Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 16, 2025, at 4:46 AM, Alison Moore <graceandserenity3 at outlook.com> wrote:



Hi business pals

It's curious how this idea of dominance is up and heated.

Trusted Al-Anon workers, service people are there to take care of the nuts and bolts of Al-Anon,
They don't dominate just because they have jobs!

That's why
we've 'hired' them.

That's why they were selected, are needed:

To do the stuff that needs doing, like removing or storing old files and emails, enforcing the 'unenforceable' and doing the paperwork, so to speak.
Al-Anon maintenance.

I, for one, am grateful there's folks doing the behind-the-scenes tasks.

I don't have the desire or time or interest in dealings with the ASP server!

As service people, I think we, the group ought give a little wiggle room, some carte blanche for those in positions to figure out how best to do their respective jobs.

I definitely don't feel like there's any dominance there,
Just like any job, there's a bit of space to find the groove that fits the employee and he or she gets to make some decisions based upon how they feel the tasks are done most effectively and efficiently.

If a person wants more of a say in the goings on, he or she can step up to a service position.
God knows,
ASP has been begging for more help to fill the positions for years!

No.
I don't see any dominance there.
All I see is people wanting to keep our Al-Anon up and running, maintain the few rules Al-Anon has and keep folks coming back.

Alison



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