Statement of Purpose
I. Statement of Purpose
A. The purpose of our website, named "The Official Website of
the Louisiana Area Assembly, Inc.," is to assist Alcoholics Anonymous groups of
Louisiana in carrying the message of Alcoholics Anonymous, primarily by
publishing the meeting schedule of Alcoholics Anonymous groups in Louisiana on
the World Wide Web of the Internet. Our goal is to help the still-suffering
alcoholic establish direct, face-to-face contact with Alcoholics Anonymous.
Towards that end, we may also publish certain other information, such as
listings of Central Offices and flyers announcing conventions and AA events in
our region, as well as other information deemed useful by the Louisiana Area
Assembly, Inc.
B. We shall be vigilant to protect the spirit of AA Traditions
and shall not affiliate with any non-AA-entity Furthermore, since this site is
provided solely for public information, posting of emails or other forms of
public discourse will not be used on this site. Space shall be made available
for groups and service bodies of Alcoholics Anonymous in Louisiana to post
simple homepages within the constraints of the site, these guidelines, and the
Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous.
C.) The website committee may provide non-AA entity links on our
site for the sole purpose of providing utilities for the purpose of using this
site.
II. Organization
A. The Louisiana Area Assembly, Inc. website shall be registered
in the Assembly's name with Internic, which controls domain registration on the
internet, as http://www.aa-louisiana.org. The Area Assembly Chairperson shall be
the named owner of the domain registration. Technical contact with Internic must
necessarily be through our Internet Service Provider. The domain account is held
in the name of the Area Assembly Chairperson who controls technical access to
the site. It is the responsibility of the Area Assembly Chairperson,
individually or through a duly appointed committee, to shop for the best price
for services provided to enable the Website to continue to exist and to insure
that it is financially supported by the Area Assembly. The billing contact is
the treasurer of the Louisiana Area Assembly, Inc.
B. The Website Committee derives its
authority and responsibility from the Louisiana Area Assembly, Inc., as follows:
1) The Assembly has a Website
Committee, which has direct oversight of the website.
2) The Website Committee Chairperson is
appointed by the Area Assembly Chairperson and approved by the voting members of
the Louisiana Area Assembly, Inc. as provided in its articles of incorporation
and by-laws. The Website Committee Chairperson holds primary authority and
responsibility for the oversight of the website. .
3) The chairperson of this committee is
responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of the Area
Assembly's policies which include adherence to the to the Twelve Traditions,
Twelve Concepts and guidance provided in the AA Service Manual and current
approved revisions thereof.
4) The committee chairperson is the principal contact for the
committee and shall maintain frequent contact with the chairpersons of the
Public Information and Cooperation with the Professional Community Committees,
Area Assembly officers, the General Service Office, and any other affected AA
service entities.
5) The chairperson shall hold committee
meetings at Area Assembly and Area Committee Meetings and report quarterly on
the committee's activities. He or she promulgates policy and provides oversight
on operational and budgetary matters. Any interested AA member may participate
in the Website Committee's discussions. Voting privileges are limited to those
authorized to vote at the assembly.
6) The committee chairperson shall
designate members of Alcoholics Anonymous to serve as Webmaster and Assistant
Webmasters to assist in the maintenance of the website. Maintenance of the site
requires updating changing information on groups and events, and implementing
changes in the presentation of information posted on the website. This
arrangement provides security for the integrity of the information on the
Website by allowing access to at least three persons who are each equally
capable of correcting mistakes, posting information, or correcting any
unauthorized changes in the presentation of website information. This also
allows the delegation of responsibilities for administration and technical
support for the site. This arrangement is designed to insure that no one person
can irrevocably alter the
presentation of the message that the
website is intended to carry. These three persons, plus any others selected by
the chairperson, shall act as the steering committee of the Website Committee.
7) The website steering committee
handles day-to-day website business primarily through email. All changes to the
website structure must have prior approval of the steering committee or be
approved by the Assembly. Changes to the content, specifically the calendar of
events, list of flyers, and listing of meetings may be changed by the Webmaster
or Assistant Webmasters without steering committee action
8) Submissions for inclusion on the
site may be sent to the Webmaster or given to any steering committee member
through email (webmaster@aa-louisiana.org), mail or at assembly meetings.
Suggestions for use and presentation of the site likewise may be sent to the
Webmaster or to any member of the steering committee for discussion and
disposition. Interested AA members can subscribe to the email list by signing up
to do so at a quarterly assembly meeting or by having one of their
representatives [GSR, DCM, Area Officer, etc.] sign them up at such a meeting.
Open signup access will not be allowed from the site {i.e., through the
webmaster link] to protect the anonymity of officers and others who may be
listed in minutes and other reports to be emailed from the site. No email
communications/postings shall be posted on the website. All emails pertaining to
website business must be sent to webmaster@aa-louisiana.org
9.) All links to non-AA entity will
have prior approval by the website committee. Any such link will contain a
mandatory exit and a prominent notice that linking does not imply endorsement or
approval.
III. Financial considerations
A. It is the responsibility of the
Chairperson of the Website Committee to monitor and record all expenses incurred
in the maintenance and provision of the website including out-of-pocket expenses
incurred by the steering committee members directly related to their service. An
annual budget request shall be submitted to the Area Assembly for approval.
Expenditures shall be limited to approved, budgeted expenses of the committee.
IV. Committee Displays/Demonstrations
A. A display of the website at the
regular business meetings of the Area Assembly and the State Convention is
desirable and recommended to enable members of the Area Assembly to be familiar
with this service vehicle and
informed of its current presentation.
If a computer display of the website cannot be provided as recommended by these
guidelines, a printed version of the information displayed on the website shall
be maintained by the Chairperson of the Website Committee for review and
inspection by members of the Assembly and other interested persons who do not
have access to online services.
V. Revisions
A. These guidelines may be revised upon
approval of the voting membership of the Louisiana Area Assembly, Inc. at a
regularly scheduled business meeting.