Online Meetings-More Help

HOW TO CONNECT TO A REMOTE ONLINE MEETING

There are a variety of apps available for online meetings, but most of them are similar in how to connect and how they function.  Each has its own special features to meet different needs.  Cost also varies, many have free trials or free basic versions that are sufficient for smaller groups.

GENERAL STEPS – not specific to any particular app:  Each app has its own helpful resources with details on how to install and setup use.  Most are very simple to setup for joining – and only slightly more complicated if you wish to host a meeting.

  1. Find the meeting you wish to join.
  2. Get the app used by the meeting and install it on your computer, smart phone, or tablet. Most services do not actually require the app to join if you are ok with audio only.  But to get the most out of the experience including “face to face” video, you’ll want to get the app and have a device with camera.
  3. Join the meeting BEFORE the starting time so the meeting can start on time uninterrupted by either clicking on the meeting link (URL) or manually entering the ID into the app or calling the phone number to join – all depending on your preference and device’s capabilities.
  4. Once in the meeting enable video sharing and audio sharing as desired.  Obviously, you’ll need to enable audio to listen and share, but video is less critical.  It is however one of the benefits of this technology in helping us get somewhat of a face-to-face contact that we are missing by not going to meetings in person.
  5. Mute/Unmute the microphone, as needed. Common practice is to mute when entering the room and keeping muted unless its your turn to speak.  This avoids background noise and chatter so you do not disrupt the person who’s turn it is to speak.
  6. Most of the apps have a chat option.  If enabled you can send messages to the group or individuals without interrupting the person talking.  There are also hand raising and thumbs up/down or clapping emoji in some apps, like Zoom.
  7. Follow the instructions of the Chairperson in the meeting, just like you would in person.  Although this technology has been around for a long while, its new to many in AA, so proper protocol is ever-evolving, and we are all learning as we go.

    FINDING A MEETING: This Online Meeting page above has a list of known online meetings in order by day of the week and time of day.  You will also find meetings on our “regular” meeting schedule which now has “Online Meeting” designation as well as “Temporary Closure” for easy reference.  Plus there are countless other AA meetings hosting all across the world. You’ll find them on some of the pages mentioned below. You can also setup your own meeting and invite others to join.

    We are doing are best to keep both this page and the original Meeting Guide Schedule as up to date as new information comes in.  The meetings above may or may not be affiliated with an existing in person meeting, so you might see some here that are not yet in the searchable meeting guide.  Both the Online Meeting page and the “regular” Meeting Schedule page will be kept up to date as new info comes.

    WHAT APP TO USE? There are numerous apps for participating in remote online meetings, ZOOM happens to be one that gained popularity in our district, if you need help connecting to a ZOOM meeting please find useful step-by-step instructions on the ZOOM Help Center website. Besides Zoom, some other common apps are GotoMeeting, Microsoft Teams, and others.

    NOTE TO ZOOM USERS APRIL 5, 2020 –     Zoom announced changes to take effect April 5, 2020 (New default settings include enabled WAITING ROOM and PASSWORD TO ENTER).
    Here is youtube video clip of the announcement and more about the announcement and how-to instructions for new defaults.
    If password is needed and not listed below please check back later as we update as new info comes in from the GSR/Meeting Contact person.

    How to Deal with intruders also known as “Zoom Bombers”
    You’ll find helpful info from Zoom on their blog topic on Keeping Zoom meetings safe and keeping out unwanted “party crashers.”and also this page to prevent unwanted guests known as “Zoom Bombers” and additional general help for Zoom.

MORE HELP AND TUTORIALS:  You will find step-by-step instructions for Zoom and other popular apps on their respective websites, but there is also very helpful guides on some of the AA websites.  Visit Chicago AA Online Meeting Help page and find more info on the General Service Office Website AA.org

Scroll down past the list of meetings to see additional helpful links for hosting meetings, suggestions on managing the meetings, protecting anonymity, etc.

Like “in-person” meetings, each online meeting is autonomous and self-supporting through our own contributions.  Suggestions on how to maintain anonymity and observe other AA traditions can be found on the Chicago AA and GSO websites mentioned.  Please remember this includes the 7th Tradition, that all meetings are self-supporting through their own contributions.  Besides contributing to AA, the meeting hosts may need to pay for the hosting service, so please consider donating like you would in a meeting – each meeting will establish their own methods to carry on the 7th tradition.
TIMES ARE CENTRAL TIME unless otherwise noted.

PASSING THE DIGITAL BASKET

Some have asked how each meeting can collect funds for the 7th tradition.  Some meetings have digital and other options in place and many are still baffled.  Just like an in-person meeting, online AA meetings are self-supporting through their own contributions.  For more information on passing the digital basket please read the article Winter 2017 Box 459 p. 3 “Passing the Digital Basket found on AA.org and the helpful tips of AA San Francisco-Martin mentioned in that article. As technology evolves and electronic payments continue to become part of our everyday lives, online donations may become the norm.

Online Meeting Information from GSO and CASO

AA related COVID-19 Coronavirus updates are found on aa.org

AA.org has suggestions and more information about conducting online meetings

A variety of meetings are available online using many different apps including Phone Conference Calls, Chat, Text, Video and Audio virtual meeting apps and more one list of known Online Meetings in US and across the globe is available On the Online AA Intergroup Website

Another list of online/remote meetings is available on the Chicago AA Online/Remote meetings page
The Chicago AA site also shares some examples of setup and hosting online meetings

Deaf and Hard Of Hearing

We do not yet have any locally listed meetings for Deaf & Hard of Hearing, there are online meetings catering to that need – visit the Online Intergroup AA meeting directory for some existing meetings online https://aa-intergroup.org/directory_dhoh.php also on the main directory you will find links to meetings conducted by Chat, text, and phone only and more!

FROM AA NEW YORK CITY CENTRAL OFFICE

“ZOOM MEETINGS PROTECTING ANONYMITY & DEFAULT SETTINGS
Instructions to keep our traditions alive during this style of communication! Thanks for your hard work and love for the fellowship!!
For Zoom users: With the rush to shift to online meetings, many of us did not take time to investigate what this meant to the spiritual foundation of our recovery – namely, anonymity. Now that online meetings are accessible, we want to pass on best practices for protecting anonymity.
These have been curated from the membership and online resources.
The default Zoom settings run counter to AA’s spiritual foundation of anonymity. The meetings are publicly accessible and full names and faces are often displayed. Additionally, by default all Zoom meetings are recorded to the cloud. Turning that feature off is simple, fortunately.
There are other settings in the Meeting subtab that can also be adjusted, such as disallowing remote control of devices, file transfer, data sharing with Zoom, and screen sharing.

Here are some suggested settings for your meeting to use. Please note that most, if not all, of the settings below are not the Zoom default:

Go to: Settings > Recording and click off the Local and Cloud recording features.
In the Zoom Settings section, under the Meeting subtab:
• Require Encryption for Third Party Endpoints
• Disable Auto saving chats
• Disable File transfer
• Disable Feedback to Zoom
• Disable Screen sharing
• Disable desktop/screen share for users
• Disable Remote control
• Allow Virtual background (this is the Zoom default and allows the user to use a virtual background instead of the inside of their apartment, for example)
• In the Zoom Settings section, under the Recording subtab:
• Disable Local recording
• Disable Cloud recording
• Disable Automatic recording

We will update this page with additional information as we learn it and encourage you to share tips and tricks with us that we can include. And stay tuned for information on Seventh Tradition contributions.”

We Are Here To Help-Grapevine and La Viña issues.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many AA meetings across the U.S. are finding it safer to close or to create virtual meetings. To help AA members during this time, AA Grapevine and La Viña issues are available for purchase online. (The audio to Grapevine’s stories will be available as well, so people can listen to the stories if they like.)  You will also see a link to the Grapevine’s YouTube channel with some original audio stories as well as other important information.
To enter, visit: https://www.aagrapevine.org/we-are-here-to-help