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Meeting Guidelines

These guidelines were developed for our AA area, but all our recovery/support group meetings follow the same procedure.

Meeting format.
Meetings are not chats but, instead, are structured much the same as face-to-face (f2f) meetings. The host (chairperson) calls the meeting to order and introduces the speaker; the speaker "speaks," uninterrupted; people "raise hands" to share by typing an exclamation mark (!), and are called on by the host.

When sharing, please use short phrases and type an ellipsis (...) to indicate that you have more to say; when you are finished sharing, please notify the group by typing "done," or "pass." Please limit your sharing to no more than three minutes of typing time (except speakers; speakers share for about 10 minutes). Here's an example of how a share might go:

I'd like to share what happened to me today... (Enter)
I'm agoraphobic. Last night, I tried leaving the house for the first time in 8 months...(Enter)
It was a very scary experience... (Enter)
I was lucky my wife was with me. She encouraged me to take a few steps out the door. (Enter)
Pass. (Enter)

The reason for this format is that without it, people tend to go on long typing "binges" while the rest of the group waits...and waits...and waits, and no one knows when the person sharing is done (or whether he's fallen asleep). It may seem awkward, at first, but experience has shown this to be the smoothest way of running an online meeting, so please cooperate.

Greetings and closings.
Unlike a chat, people are not greeted by everyone in the room when they enter, or when they raise their hands to share. Instead, the host greets/acknowledges someone for the whole group. If someone comes in while the speaker or group member is sharing, the host generally whispers a greeting like this: "Welcome, (Name). Someone is sharing right now; please make yourself comfortable and you'll have a chance to share later." To close a meeting, the host may ask for a moment of silence, during which everyone says the prayer of his/her choice; or, the host may already have typed out a short prayer, which he/she may send to the screen.

Order.
12-step programs have no rules ... but our depression community does. You can find the depression rules & guidelines by clicking on this link. Essentially, they are no more than common courtesy and good manners. (No hard-core profanity, no personal attacks, etc.)

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Since we cannot limit participation in this community to just program members, we do occasionally get invaded by cretins; also, sometimes members are in a relapse and come into the rooms drunk or high. Every effort is made to offer the hand of recovery to someone in need, but if any participant disrupts a meeting, the host will remind them of the rules and issue a polite "warning." Should the person continue to be disruptive, the host will kick him/her out of the meeting room.

It is a non-negotiable rule of this community that a safe space be provided for everyone; personal attacks, hard-core profanity and other forms of inappropriate acting out are not allowed, period.

your feedback and suggestions
We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please send email to Sue Moran - Depression Community Manager.

credits
Images by staff and members unless otherwise noted. Copyright for these images remain with originator.

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