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CNCA 06, General Service District 15
WEBSITE GUIDELINES

Section I:  PURPOSE OF THE WEBSITE
        A.  This website was created in order to provide information to and suggest resources for the alcoholic and those who think they may have a drinking problem in our District. General Service District 15 of California Northern Coastal Area 06 of Alcoholics Anonymous serves the California Counties of Humboldt and Del Norte.
        B.  The site provides resources such as a Meetings Directory to facilitate the face-to-face meeting of still-suffering alcoholics who may be ready for help with others who have solved their drinking problem. The site may provide additional information as the District may direct.
        C.  The site also provides information to the general public about AA in our District, and about AA in general.

Section II:  ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

        A.  Ownership of Website
              1)  The Owner of this website is General Service District 15, California Northern Coastal Area 06 (CNCA06). For administrative purposes, its mailing address is CNCA District 15 Committee Member Chair (DCMC), PO Box 3504, Eureka, CA 95502.

        B.  Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting Services
               1)  The domain name shall be aahumboldtdelnorte.org and is registered in the name of the Owner.
                     a.  The Website Committee shall choose a domain name registrar/ domain name reseller and web hosting provider at its discretion, based upon a goal of using a "best-cost" service provider.

        C.  Billing Contact
               1)  Invoices from the domain name registrar/domain name reseller and web hosting provider should be directed to the District 15 Treasurer, with his/her mailing address at CNCA District 15 Treasurer, PO Box 3504, Eureka, CA 95502. The Treasurer will pay annual fees for registration of the domain name and for web hosting services.

        D.  Technical Contact
               1)  The District 15 Website Committee is the contact point for technical issues relating to the website. Inquiries may be directed via email or sent via regular postal mail to District 15 Website Committee Chair, PO Box 3504, Eureka CA 95502. The Website Committee may contract for these services as needed.

        E.  District 15 Website Committee
               1)  Purpose
                     a.  A Standing Committee has been formed to create a working website that meets the needs of the District and also to develop website guidelines which govern its operations and functions, as approved by the District. These guidelines may be added to or amended as necessary by a Housekeeping Motion from the Website Committee or another District report.
                     b.  After publication to the Internet, the Committee will provide on-going website operations monitoring, maintenance, and oversight, including the removal/ replacement of outdated/updated information as necessary.

               2)  Composition / Terms of Service
                     a.  The Website Committee will consist of a minimum of 3 members, whereby one is elected by the Committee as Chair.
                             1.  Website Committee Chair
                                    i.  The Chair presides over Committee meetings, prepares the agenda for its meetings, and attends District 15 business meetings, including the District 15 Officers’ Meeting. The Chair also prepares and gives the Website Committee Report to the District, communicates with members of the Website Committee and asks for assistance on Committee agenda topics, and assists members of the Committee.
                             2.  Website Committee Members At-Large
                                    i.  A Website Committee member at-large attends Website Committee meetings, communicates with the Chair and responds to agenda topics and requests for assistance from the Chair, and assists the Chair and other members-at-large of the Website Committee.
                     b.  Committee members are expected to serve a two-year term concurrent with the District Panel. Rotation is strongly encouraged; however, the individuals that hold positions on the Website Committee may serve more than one panel as circumstances warrant.
                     c.  The Committee may seek outside/professional assistance when needed or desirable.

               3)  Duties and Responsibilities
                     a.  The Committee will regularly report to the District at its business meetings, and will be the point of contact for technical/site issues with the web hosting provider.
                     b.  The Committee is responsible for ensuring that a “best-cost” web hosting provider is used for the site and that the web host will provide content backup and disaster recovery. Further, the Committee will retain a digital backup(s) of the site files, and provide on-going operations monitoring, maintenance, and oversight of the website, including the removal/replacement of outdated/updated information on the website in a timely manner.
                     c.  The Committee will ensure that the District Treasurer makes timely annual payments for the site’s web hosting services and domain name registration.

        F.  Technical Access
              1)  Each Committee member and the DCMC will have password-protected access to the site. Wrongful use of the site and this access privilege can result in removal of access to the site.

        G.  Method for Approval of Website Content Changes
              1)  The Committee will accept suggestions for major changes to the website’s standing content and present these as Housekeeping Motions at District 15 business meetings. The District, Intergroups, and Groups are encouraged to submit content change proposals to the Website Committee for review.
              2)  Minor changes in standing content may be made by the Website Committee without prior District approval for the purpose of enhancing site visibility and accessibility, to improve the site’s ease of use for its visitors, and to maintain accurate and up-to-date information, such as that contained in the Meetings Directory, and any other time/date sensitive material.

Section III:  ALLOWABLE CONTENT

        A.  Standing Content
               1)  Home page: Introduces the visitor to Alcoholics Anonymous in our District by displaying contact information for resources such as District 15, Humboldt and Del Norte County Intergroups, Hospitals and Institutions, and Bridging the Gap. Gives telephone numbers for local AA Answering Services in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties; provides email links for the DCMC and Website Committee Chair. Contact information for local Al-Anon Family Groups is provided with a disclaimer regarding cooperation but not affiliation.
                     a.  Additionally, the homepage contains links to all other website pages (each has links to all the other site pages). The site’s primary purpose is expressed by the “Responsibility Declaration” and by an excerpt from the AA Preamble©.
                     b.  The District 15 homepage will provide several offsite links (these will open a new browser window when clicked) to the following:
                             i.  AA General Service Office
                                    a)  G.S.O. (homepage);
                                    b)  More Information About AA (“AA Fact File” page);
                                    c)  Twelve Steps (“The Recovery Program” page);
                                    d)  Twelve Traditions (“AA Traditions” page).
                             ii.  California Northern Coastal Area 06
                                    a)  CNCNA06 (homepage)
                             iii.  AA Grapevine
                                    a)  AA Grapevine (homepage).
               2)  Meetings Directory page: Contains a directory of regular AA meetings and AA-related meetings (i.e., various monthly business meetings of Groups, District 15, committees, and Intergroups, etc.) in our area, and contains an email link to District 15 Directories Chair for updating directory information.
               3)  Disclaimers page: Contains statements about the lack of affiliation, approval, or endorsement, trademark and copyright permissions, plus information about the Meetings Directory page, and other disclaimers.
              4)  Website Guidelines page: Contains a duplicate of the contents embodied within the paper Website Guidelines document, including any/all amendments thereto, and is current with the current printed Guidelines.
               5)  Calendar page: Contains a duplicate of the contents embodied within the paper Humboldt/Del Norte AA Service Event Calendar document, issued and updated by the current DCMC.
              6)  Events page: Contains the names, dates, locations, and brief descriptions of upcoming fellowship events, and may contain links to event websites as appropriate or event flyers.
                   a.  All General Service, Area, Humboldt and Del Norte County Intergroups, and Hospitals & Institutions Committee events are pre-approved and may be posted when the event information is available.
                   b.  If groups/individuals desire to post an event to this page, they are to follow an approved procedure:
                                          i.  An Event Representative/GSR must attend and bring their event information (and flyer if available) to a District Committee business meeting to make the request.
                                     ii.  A Housekeeping Motion may be made to approve the requested event for posting to the Events page of the website.
                                           iii.  Any approved event posting will be added to the page by the end of the month in which it is submitted to the District Committee.
                7)  District Committee Contacts page:  Contains address and telephone information, as well as email links.  These links will send email throuogh the website email server and be forwarded to the committee member, as consistent with our "no direct communications" policy.
                   8) News page: Contains a news page written by the DCMC, and another District Committee Member or Officer.  Updated monthly.

        B.  Other Content
               1)  The site may publish additional content, as approved by the District. This content may include (but is not limited to) the following:
                  a.  Regional/National AA fellowship events/calendars page.
                 b.  Offsite Links page (may contain links to other AA websites or AA-related websites as appropriate).

Section IV:  PROHIBITED CONTENT

        A.  Direct Communication
               1)  The website will not permit interactive communication such as chat rooms, message boards, forums, on-line meetings, or any other form of direct communication.

        B.  Non-AA Content
               1)  In keeping with Tradition 6, there will be no non-AA content or links to non-AA-related sites.
               2)  No commercial links or commercial/professional services are available through this site.

        C.  Personal Information
               1)  In keeping with Tradition 11, no individual will be identified by last name nor an individual’s photograph published on the website. The District may choose to restrict the publishing of any telephone numbers as circumstances warrant, except Answering Service numbers. Caution should always be used to protect the anonymity of AA members.

Section V:  DISTRICT EMAILBOXES

        A.  Email addresses for the following District positions are authorized:
               1)  DCMC;
               2)  Website Committee Chair;
               3)  Directories Chair.
        B.  Additional email addresses may be made available as the District so chooses for District Committee Members and Committee Chairs. Caution should be exercised when proposing email links through the website in light of our “no direct communications” policy.

Section VI:  CHANGES TO WEBSITE GUIDELINES

        A.  The Website Guidelines will be updated by the Website Committee as conditions warrant. These updates may reflect changes to the site itself, District and committee activities, website Standing Content or Other Content, and other changes.
        B.  Any change to the Website Guidelines will be the subject of a motion at a District meeting.