FAQ | ASP Members Only Web Site

Frequently Asked Questions

This is the Frequently Asked Question page for A Serenity Place. Often we have questions that don’t appear to be answered by general guidelines. Also, there are terminology questions which can be addressed more easily using this format.

NOTE: You may find the PDF version of this file easier to follow.

Frequently Asked Questions, v2018

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ stands for “Frequently Asked Questions.” It it hoped that by posting this FAQ that the membership of A Serenity Place will have an opportunity to be better informed about how this online meeting works. Like regular meetings in the ‘real world’ this meeting does not occur in a vacuum. There are ‘real world’ factors which affect the decisions made by both the membership and the leadership.
Question or Term	Meaning or Description at A Serenity Place	Face-to-Face Meeting Equivalent (the real world version)
How do I unsubscribe, or leave the meeting?	Go to https://asp-afg.org/mailman/listinfo/asp Please do NOT send a message to the meeting asking to be unsubscribed. Please let us know if it is because of something we did while you were here.	People generally leave meetings for one of two basic reasons: (1) something like geography or work will prevent them from coming back to that meeting, or (2) the meeting doesn’t work for them anymore. In the first instance, saying goodbye to the meeting is common in the fellowship. However, in the second instance, it is difficult if not impossible to tell a meeting that it doesn’t work for you (anymore) without being disruptive.
Is it OK for members to scream HELP when they feel the need to?	Yes! This is especially common for new members of Al-Anon. Hint: Type “ASP HELP” in your subject line. You are bound to get several responses soon.	Very often newcomers need help desparately. So they come to a meeting and share their misery and ask for help. This seems to be a normal part of recovery. Sometimes, old-timers get challenged by life too, and need to do the same.
I’m having difficulties with my subscription. Should I ask the meeting for help?	No. Send a note to the List Administrator describing your problems. Then be a little patient for his response, please. If you don’t hear back in a few days, then send a note to the Greeter Chair.	N/A
Can I post a message from someone who is not a member of ASP?	No. The list is for the exclusive use of individuals currently subscribed to the list for the sharing of their own personal experience, strength and hope. Posting a message or share belonging to a person who is not a member of ASP circumvents this process and is considered a violation of both list and server security.	No. In a face-to-face meeting, we do not bring some else’s share to the meeting.
How do I bring up a business issue at this meeting.	Send a message to any member of the Steering Committee describing your issue or question. If the issue has been handled before, you may	Take the issue to the business meeting by attending the business meeting and raising the issue.
How long does it take to resolve a business issue at a meeting.	The decision making process in this online environment generally takes even longer that it does in a regular face-to-face environment.	Group decisions take time. In Al-Anon, group decision take even more time. In Al-Anon we learn to take an informed group conscience. The key word here is informed. An informed group conscience is not merely a tally of the opinions of those voting, but the collective conscience of the members after sufficient discussion of the issues and the Al-Anon principles involved has taken place so that the members are all reasonably informed not only on the issue, but on the related Al-Anon principles.
Are their limitations to who can become a Greeter?	Yes. The Greeters are granted command access to the list server by the Greeter Chair. Therefore, Greeters are limited to those persons who are personally trusted by the Greeter Chair.	This issue may not appear to come up in regular meetings, yet it does. There are some people who are not trusted to be Treasurers at regular meetings. And there are some who are not trusted with the keys to the facility.
Can a person be involuntarily unsubscribed from the list?	Yes. A person may be unsubscribed from the list for a variety of reasons: any attempt to violate the security of the server, the web site, or the meeting; engaging in behavior inappropriate to an Al-Anon meeting.	Tradition One says “Our common welfare should come first; personal progress for the greatest number depends upon unity.” While the Service Manual states that “no member can be expelled from the fellowship . . ” this does not imply that no member can be expelled from an individual meeting.
What is the process for involuntarily subscribing someone from the list?	It depends on the circumstances. In security-related cases, the process is administrative and without recourse. The List Administrator will immediately unsubscribe anyone who attempts to violate ASP security. In other cases, the Steering Committee will discuss the situation and attempt to reach an informed group conscience.
Can someone be unsubscribed for flaming other members?	Yes. Flaming is expressly prohibited at A Serenity Place. This includes flame-bait.
Can I let someone else use my password to access the Business pages at ASP?	No. The Business pages are for the exclusive use of the membership of ASP. Personal information on members is maintained in these pages. This is considered a security violation. The server may maintain a log of attempted access from unauthorized parties.	This is the equivalent to giving the key to an Al-Anon office (or any office) to someone who is not authorized a key.
What should I do if I have mail problems?	First, try to determine if the problem is at your end? Is your e-mail address EXACTLY the same as when you subscribed? It must be exactly the same. If you continue to have problems, contact the List Administrator. If you do not here from the List Administrator in a few days, contact the Greeter Chair. Please, do NOT post a message to the list.
Is it OK to send my shares to the server as a file attachment.	No. Please use your e-mail client to post your share without a file attachment. If you draft your share with some other application (program) this may require that you cut & paste into the e-mail application.	N/A
Why isn’t it OK to send my shares to the server as an attached file?	It is possible to transmit computer viruses via attached files. It is not possible to transmit computer viruses via a regular e-mail message without an attached file.	N/A
How many warnings will a member receive before being unsubscribed involuntarily (because of behavior problems)?	Warnings are not a part of what we are about. The Steering Committee will attempt to educate members who have difficulty adhering to ASP policies. In cases of security violation(s), the person committing the violation will be unsubscribed ASAP without and warning.
Has the A Serenity Place web site received any awards?	Yes. But in keeping with our Traditions, no reference to such awards are posted on the meeting’s web pages. Web site awards reflect an outsider’s opinion on the web site itself and are not an evaluation of the meeting.	An architectural award for a facilities where face-to-face meetings are held. Has nothing to do with the Al-Anon meeting, and as a group, the meeting has no opinion on such outside issues. Meetings are not evaluated or awarded.
How often does the web site get updated?	Not often enough. The website is normally updated with new group consciences and new trusted servant information. Other updates, such as conforming historical web pages with newer group consciences, policy and practices is more challenging.	N/A
I wrote the List Administrator, but I haven’t received a response yet.	Believe it or not, the List Administrator does have a life. In most cases, the List Administrator will respond within a day or two.	N/A
How often does the meeting list on the list server get updated?	The meeting list is updated under three circumstances: 1st whenever a new person is added to the list; 2nd whenever someone decides to leave the meeting and requests their name be removed from the list; 3rd periodically the meeting list is purged of addresses that have not participated in several months.	Many meetings publish a phone list of their members. At each week’s meeting, those attending put their names and phone numbers on the list. Periodically, a trusted servant of the meeting produces an updated list, adding the names and numbers of those who have been attending recently, and deleted the names and numbers of those who have not.
Are business issues discussed in the recovery meeting?	No. Routine administrative business issues are discussed and handled by the Steering Committee. Business issues such as election of trusted servants and group consciences involving ASP policy are handled in the bi-monthly Business Meeting.	No. Business issues are discussed in a business meeting which is usually held before or after the recovery meeting.
Is it OK for members to post business messages to the recovery meeting?	No. Members with concerned business issues should bring those issues to the attention of the Steering Committee.	Members of a face-to-face meeting are discouraged from discussing business issues during the recovery meeting.
What are Al-Anon related announcements?	Announcements which are directly related to the Al-Anon program.
I have a quotation (from a book, letter, poem, etc.) that I would like to share with the meeting. Is that OK?	No
Is the AA Big Book CAL?	No. The Big Book belongs to Alcoholics Anonymous.
Does the List Administrator position rotate at ASP?	Yes. The List Administrator is an elected service position at ASP and rotates every 3 years.	This is the equivalent of the facility management where an Al-Anon group meets. The Al-Anon group does not expect the facility management or landlord to ‘rotate.’
How long should I be a member of A Serenity Place before taking a service position?	We suggest a minimum of six months of active participation before members of A Serenity Place make themselves available for one of the meeting’s service positions.
Why is there a suggested six-month membership period before taking a service position at A Serentiy Place?	Our experience has shown that it takes time for members to understand the way a particular meeting works. We believe that a trusted servant’s focus should be on serving the meeting the way the meeting is accustomed to being served, rather than trying to make any changes to the meeting.
I am interested in one of the service positions listed on the Trusted Servants page. What should I do?	Send a message to any member of the Steering Committee describing describing your interest in the position. Please include a copy of the ASP Resume, which may be found here.
As a Daily Meeting Chairperson, can I change the readings that are sent out?	No. The weekly pattern of specific daily readings was established by a group conscience.	Most meetings decide what readings will be read at each meeting by a group conscience. The meetings trusted servants are expected to follow the group conscience with the readings decided on by the group.
As a new Daily Chairperson, can I change that day’s topic?	When the Daily Chairpersons rotate, the new chairs have some flexibility in their choice of topics. Several days of the week are designated by special topics (i.e. CAL, Slogans, etc.). A new daily chair for one of the special topic days should discuss their wished to change the special topic for that day with the Secretary. However, changing a special topic day into an Open Topic day is strongly discouraged.	Many meetings decide on preset topics for the meetings by a group conscience. For instance, the first meeting of the month might be a Step Meeting, and the third a Tradition Meeting. The meeting’s trusted servants are expected to carry out the group conscience by holding a Step Meeting on the first meeting of the month and a Tradition Meeting on the third.
As a Daily Meeting Chairperson, can I change the topic for a single day?	Some days of the week have designated topics. On those days, the chairperson should open the discussion on the designated topic.	The meeting’s trusted servants are expected to carry out the group conscience by holding a meeting in accordance with the group conscience.
Does the List Administrator give server passwords to any member elected as a trusted servant?	Yes. The List Administrator provides the user names and passwords to other trusted servants on a need to know basis. Access for most trusted servants is limited to what they need to perform their job.	Frequently, one of a group’s trusted servants is given a key to the facility which allows the group limited access to the facility. Access is limited to that which is necessary to open the meeting. Some facilities do not let out any keys, instead they open and close the facility with their own staff. In any case, the right to control access to the facility belongs to the owner of the facility.
Attending a meeting.	Posting a share of ES&H during a meeting. Merely reading shares does not constitute participation.	Physically arriving at and being present during a meeting.
Are the “Promises” CAL?	No. The Promises are part of the AA Big Book and belong to Alcoholics Anonymous.	No. The Promises are part of the AA Big Book and belong to Alcoholics Anonymous.
When a member thanks another for their share, is that considered ‘cross talk’ at A Serenity Place?	No. At A Serenity Place, we believe that a healthy family encourages and responds in loving ways to other family members. Small displays of appreciation for other’s shares is considered a reflection of the type of healthy family we practice at A Serenity Place.	Tradition 4 says that “Each group should be autonomous, except in matters affecting another group or Al-Anon or AA as a whole. Other groups may have their own definitions of cross talk, and whether or not it is acceptable in their meeting.
Glossary
13th Stepping	Repetitive, unsolicited personal e-mail messages sent to any member of A Serenity Place by any other member. Illicit intentions are not a necessary factor to be considered 13th Stepping in this media.	Hustling another member of a meeting for romantic or sexual favors. Stereotypically, a male member who takes advantage of a newer female member’s insecurities.
AIS	see Al-Anon Information Services
Al-Anon Information Services (AIS)	OLA-IS served as the Online Intergoup during the early years of online Al-Anon until WSO decreed that there was no online Intergroup. So, technically there is no current Al-Anon Information Service established for online meetings. However, OLA-IS continues to function as an effective but static AIS.	An Al-Anon/Alateen information service (intergroup) is a local service center established by one or more districts or by groups located close enough to one another for easy access and communication. Geographical boundaries such as state or county lines need not be observed unless one information service confilcts with another nearby, in which case geographical division should be set by mutal agreement.
Al-Anon member	Our Third Tradition says that any person whose life has been seriously affected by another person’s drinking is qualified to be a member of Al-Anon. Any person who qualifies for Al-Anon by this Tradition may consider themselves a member of Al-Anon.
Application	A program or group of programs designed for end users. Software can be divided into two general classes: systems software and applications software . Systems software consists of low-level programs that interact with the computer at a very basic level. This includes operating systems, compilers, and utilities for managing computer resources. In contrast, applications software (also called end-user programs ) includes database programs, word processors, and spreadsheets. Figuratively speaking, applications software sits on top of systems software because it is unable to run without the operating system and system utilities.
ASP	A Serenity Place, an online Al-Anon meeting.	N/A
Assembly	N/A	The assembly, composed of all the GRs in the area, convenes at least every three years to elect assembly officers, a delegate to the World Service Conference and an alternate delegate.
Avatar	A graphical icon that represents a real person in a cyberspace system. When you enter the system, you can choose from a number of fanciful avatars. Sophisticated 3D avatars even change shape depending on what they are doing (e.g., walking, sitting, etc.).
Browser	Short for Web browser, a software application used to locate and display Web pages.
Browsing	To view formatted documents. For example, you look at Web pages with a Web browser
Business Meetings	The Business Meeting of A Serenity Place is bi-monthly and open to all members of ASP. The Business Meeting is the group conscience of ASP and where we elect trusted servants and discuss matters of policy. The routine daily administration of the technical affairs of ASP is handled by the Steering Committee by the members of the Steering Committee.	A meeting where the business needs of the recovery meeting are discussed and decided upon. Generally performed outside of the recivery meeting, either before or after. While attendance at business meetings is generally open, the vote is generally limited to members of the meeting/group/District/Area/Conference.
CAL	Conference Approved Literature. Literature which has been approved by the World Service Conference and subsequently published by the World Service Office.
Channel	In communications, the term channel refers to a communications path between two computers or devices. It can refer to the physical medium (the wires) or to a set of properties that distinguishes one channel from another. For example, TV channels refer to particular frequencies at which radio waves are transmitted. IRC channels refer to specific discussions.
Chat	Real-time communication between two users via computer. Once a chat has been initiated, either user can enter text by typing on the keyboard and the entered text will appear on the other user’s monitor. Most networks and online services offer a chat feature, but it is not widely used because it is easier to communicate by telephone, and messages that aren’t urgent can be sent by e-mail.
Chat Room	A virtual room where a chat session takes place. Technically, a chat room is really a channel, but the term room is used to promote the chat metaphor. A Serenity Place is not a chat room.
Closed Meeting	A Serenity Place is a closed meeting, limited to those who qualify for membership in Al-Anon according to a strict interpretation of the Third Tradition.	Closed meetings are limited to members and prospective members. These are persons who feel their lives have been or are being deeply affected by alcoholism in a family member or friend.
Conference	Same as forum, an area in a bulletin board or online service in which participants can meet discuss a topic of common interest.
Cross-talk	An exchange or diaglogue between individual members, or an share directed to another member, posted to the entire list.	A dialogue between members during a meeting.
Cyberspace	A metaphor for describing the non-physical terrain created by computer systems. Online systems, for example, create a cyberspace within which people can communicate with one another (via e-mail), do research, or simply window shop. Like physical space, cyberspace contains objects (files, mail messages, graphics, etc.) and different modes of transportation and delivery. Unlike real space, though, exploring cyberspace does not require any physical movement other than pressing keys on a keyboard or moving a mouse.
Digest	An email digest is an email that is automatically generated by an electronic mailing list and which combines all exchanged emails during a time period. A Serenity Place does not allow digest subscriptions because our experience is that digest format conflicts with participation. Participation being the key to harmony.	Digests are larger messages containing all the postings made by list subscribers over a certain period of time. Unlike real-world digests, LISTSERV digests are not edited; what you see is exactly what was posted to the list. The only difference is that you get all the messages for a given day, week or month in a single batch.
Domain	The domain “serenitysys.com” is the domain used by A Serenity Place.	A group of computers and devices on a network that are administered as a unit with common rules and procedures. Within the Internet, domains are defined by the IP address. All devices sharing a common part of the IP address are said to be in the same domain.
E-mail	Short for electronic mail , the transmission of messages over communications networks. The messages can be notes entered from the keyboard or electronic files stored on disk
E-mail client	An application (program) that runs on a personal computer or workstation and enables you to send, receive and organize e-mail. It’s called a client because e-mail systems are based on a client-server architecture. Mail is sent from many clients to a central server, which re-routes the mail to its intended destination.
Emoticons	Smileys are tiny pictures made from ordinary ASCII characters that are meant to be looked at with the head tilted to the left. Smileys came about when e-mail correspondents felt the need to convey emotional content such as sarcasm, laughter and other feelings as part of their messages. Without smileys, simple text statements could easily be misinterpreted.
End user	The final or ultimate user of a computer system. The end user is the individual who uses the product after it has been fully developed and marketed. The term is useful because it distinguishes two classes of users, users who require a bug -free and finished product (end users ), and users who may use the same product for development purposes. The term end user usually implies an individual with a relatively low level of computer expertise. Unless you are a programmer or engineer, you are almost certainly an end user.
ES&H	Experience, Strength & Hope. A personal sharing of an individual’s experience, strength and hope regarding a topic.
Finger	A UNIX program that takes an e-mail address as input and returns information about the user who owns that e-mail address. On some systems, finger only reports whether the user is currently logged on. Other systems return additional information, such as the user’s full name, address, and telephone number. Of course, the user must first enter this information into the system. Many e-mail programs now have a finger utility built into them.	Looking up a person’s telephone number in a ‘reverse directory’ to obtain their full name and street address.
Flame	A searing e-mail message in which the writer attacks another e-mail participant in overly harsh, and personal, terms. Flames are an unfortunate, but inevitable, element of unmoderated conferences. Flame messages are unacceptable at ASP. Heated messages focused on a topic, not a person, are common in business meetings and are not flame or flame bait.	Any form of verbal attack or negative comentary directed at another member during the meeting.
Flame-bait	A comment or commentary which provokes an emotional (flame) response whether such a response is elicited or not. Flame bait messages are unacceptable at ASP.	A message which incites a retaliatory response.
Forum	An online discussion group. Online services and bulletin board services ( BBS ‘s) provide a variety of forums, in which participants with common interests can exchange open messages. Forums are sometimes called newsgroups (in the Internet world) or conferences.
Greeter	A member who is the first contact with persons inquiring about A Serenity Place. Greeters use standardized letters to describe ASP to prospective members, process prospective members via an affirmation of the Third Tradition, and provide the new member with some basic instruction on use of the list server and meeting policies.	Someone designated by the group to greet newcomers to the meeting and help make them feel welcome.
Greeter Chair	The Chairperson of the Greeter Committee.	The Chairperson of the Greeter Committee.
Group Representative	Does not yet apply to online meetings. See Meeting Contact.	“Each group in an area should have a group representative (GR) to act as a liaison between the group and the district and between the group and the assembly. Al-Anon members who are also members of AA may not serve as GR.” [Srvice Manual, p. 36]
Home Page	The home page of A Serenity Place is located at: https://asp-afg.org. This is the basic home page of the meeting. However there is also a ‘private’ home page for members only located at: https://asp-afg.org/members.	The main page of a web site. Typically, the home page serves as an index or table of contents to other documents stored at the site.
Icon	A small picture that represents an object or program.
Information Highway	A popular buzzword to describe the system of bulletin board services, online services, and other services that enable people to obtain information from telecommunications networks
Intergroup	see Al-Anon Information Services
Internet	A global web connecting more than a million computers. Currently, the Internet has more than 30 million users worldwide, and that number is growing rapidly. More than 100 countries are linked into exchanges of data, news and opinions. Unlike online services, which are centrally controlled, the Internet is decentralized by design. Each Internet computer, called a host, is independent. Its operators can choose which Internet services to provide to its local users and which local services to make available to the global Internet community. Remarkably, this anarchy by design works exceedingly well.
IRC	Short for Internet Relay Chat, a chat system developed by Jarkko Oikarinen in Finland in the late 1980s. IRC has become very popular as more people get connected to the Internet because it enables people connected anywhere on the Internet to join in live discussions. Unlike older chat systems, IRC is not limited to just two participants. To join an IRC discussion, you need an IRC client and Internet access. The IRC client is a program that runs on your computer and sends and receives messages to and from an IRC server. The IRC server, in turn, is responsible for making sure that all messages are broadcast to everyone participating in a discussion. There can be many discussions going on at once; each one is assigned a unique channel. A Serenity Place does not offer IRC or CHAT.
Link		In hypertext systems such as the World Wide Web, a link is a reference to another document. Such links are sometimes called hot links because they take you to other document when you click on them.
List	The list of e-mail addresses which the list server uses to distribute messages.	The list of the names and phone numbers of the people who have attended the meeting and placed their names and phone numbers on the list.
List Administrator	The person who has the most unlimited access to the list server. The list server responds to commands sent by the List Administrator. The range of commands varies with different list servers/software but typically includes: changing various list characteristics, assigning and changing passwords, permitting various levels of command access to others, subscribing & unsubscribing individuals to the list.	The Secretary who has the key to the meeting place and sets up the chairs, starts the coffee, etc.
List Owner	The individual or organization which actually owns the list by way of owning the account on which the list operates. The List Administrator and the List Owner were the same person at A Serenity Place for the first 10 years. Steve R., the original List Owner of ASP gave ASP to the members on May 1, 2006.	The owner of the facility where the meeting takes place. Typically a church or civic building, but occasionally the private home of a member.
List Security	The security of the list of subscribers maintained by the list server and duplicated in the Member Roster on the web site. This list is exclusively Al-Anon for the use of members of A Serenity Place to assist them in contacting other members for for Al-Anon sharing. Any other use, duplication, or distribution of this list is considered a violation of the security of the list.
List Server	A computer which receives e-mail messages from individuals and redistributes them to every e-mail address on the list. Uses a server system called Mailman.	A server that manages mailing lists for groups of users. Two of the most popular mailing list server systems for the Internet are Listserv and Majordomo.
List Subscriber	An individual whose e-mail address is contained in the list server’s distribution list.	A person whose name and phone number are listed in the meeting’s signup sheets. This includes all old signup sheets which are still contained in the binder/folder/book/box of signup sheets for that meeting.
Listserv	An automatic mailing list server developed by Eric Thomas for BITNET in 1986. When e-mail is addressed to a LISTSERV mailing list, it is automatically broadcast to everyone on the list. The result is similar to a newsgroup or forum, except that the messages are transmitted as e-mail and are therefore available only to individuals on the list
Lurk	As new members of a group, many of us withhold our thoughts and experiences, either out of consideration for others or from fear that we might be embarrassed, thus depriving our group of our wisdom. Through the unity and leadership of the group members, we learn that by speaking we share the responsibility for keeping our meetings healthy. Longtime members often withhold sharing in larger meetings, believing it is essential for the newer members to talk first. They forget that, by sharing, they may be providing wisdom and encouragement to a newcomer or another longtime member with a new problem in his or her life. It is essential that we nod in understanding to the pain of the newcomer, to the parent living with a child who slips in and out of recovery or to the longtime member discovering yet another relative is suffering from the insidious disease of alcoholism. Sharing our common experiences and the Al-Anon solutions at meetings is what makes a meeting alive and unified in purpose. [Paths to Recovery]	To eavesdrop on a chat room or conference. In most online areas, lurking is perfectly acceptable behavior and is, in fact, encouraged so that you get the feel of the area before posting your own comments. However, some online areas, particularly ones where participants are discussing personal issues, frown on lurking
Mailing list	The list of e-mail addresses which the list server uses to distribute messages.	A list of e-mail addresses identified by a single name, such as mail-list@sandybay.com. When an e-mail message is sent to the mailing list name, it is automatically forwarded to all the addresses in the list.
Majordomo	A free mailing list server that runs under UNIX. When e-mail is addressed to a Majordomo mailing list, it is automatically broadcast to everyone on the list. The result is similar to a newsgroup or forum, except that the messages are transmitted as e-mail and are therefore available only to individuals on the list.
MC	Meeting Contact
Meeting Contact	The person, elected by an Al-Anon meeting, who serves as the contact person between the meeting and the World Service Office, other Al-Anon meetings, etc. The Meeting Contact is the contact person for the meeting until it has been registered with WSO, at which time it may elect a Group Representative.
Meeting member	A member of Al-Anon who attends and participates in the meetings of A Serenity Place may consider themselves a member of this meeting.	Al-Anon members who attend groups regularly and participate fully may consider themselves members of those groups. [Service Manual]
Member Roster	A list of individual’s names and e-mail addresses who are currently on the server’s mailing list. The Member Roster is for the use of current membership only. It is not permissible to download or otherwise copy this page. The server may maintain a log of attempted downloads of this page.	A list of individual’s names and phone numbers who have recently attended the meeting. The group’s phone list is for the use of current membership only.
Member of Al-Anon	See “Al-Anon member”
Member of meeting	See Meeting member
Moderated Newsgroup		A newsgroup monitored by an individual (the moderator) who has the authority to block messages deemed inappropriate. Moderated newsgroups have fewer flames and less spam than unmoderated forums.
Moderator	Generally the List Administrator at ASP. The server often uses the term “Moderator” interchangeably with List Administrator.	The editors on moderated lists who will receive postings for approval
MUCK	Short for Multi-User Chat Kingdom, a text-based MUD system. MUCK is similar to MUSH, though it uses different software.
MUD	Short for Multi-User Dungeon (or Multi-User Dimension) a cyberspace where users can take on an identity in the form of an avatar and interact with one another. Originally, MUDs tended to be adventure games played within enormous old castles with hidden rooms, trap-doors, exotic beasts, and magical items. Nowadays, the term is used more generically to refer to any cyberspace. MUDs are also known as 3-D worlds and chat worlds.
Multi-User Dimension	see MUD
Multi-user Dungeon	see MUD
MUSH	Short for Multi-User Shared Hallucination, a text-based MUD system. There are many MUSH worlds that have been evolving for years.
Newsgroup	Same as forum, an on-line discussion group. On the Internet, there are literally thousands of newsgroups covering every conceivable interest. To view and post messages to a newsgroup, you need a news reader, a program that runs on your computer and connects you to a news server on the Internet.
Online Service	A Serenity Place is not part of an online service, however it is accessible by those who use an online service for their Internet access.	A business that provides its subscribers with a wide variety of data transmitted over telecommunications lines. Online services provide an infrastructure in which subscribers can communicate with one another, either by exchanging e-mail messages or by participating in online conferences (forums).
Operating System	The most important program that runs on a computer. Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system to run other programs. Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers.
Private	The Member’s Only section of the A Serenity Place web site is private.	Only users subscribed to the list have access to the information.
Punishment	Al-Anon does not engage in punishment. However, that does not preclude consequences for one’s behavior. For example, we do not punish members who behave in ways that are problematic or unacceptable. However, we may unsubscribe members that repeatedly engage in behavior that is problematic for our trusted servants, other members or the meeting as a whole. We do not accept unacceptable behavior at ASP.	The dictionary defines punish as: “To subject to pain, confinement or other penalty for a crime or fault.” In other words a consequence in addition to the natural consequence of an act, designed to provide further discouragement of the act through these additional punitive measures.
Rotation of Leadership	All of our elected and appointed trusted servants at ASP rotate according to the position.	The act of rotating out of a service position, opening the opportunity for someone else to take their turn at receiving the benefits of service.
Server passwords	Passwords used to access server commands.	The keys to the facility used by the meeting.
Service	Refers to doing ‘service’ for the meeting; performing some small service to help our meeting function. Typically, that means serving as a Daily Chair, Greeter or as an Officer on the Steering Committee.	“Carrying the message, as suggested in the Twelfth Step, is Service, Ala-Anon’s third legacy.” [Service Manual, p. 13]
Service Manual	A CAL book which describes the various aspects of service in Al-Anon. A valuable resource for members active in service. Updated every two years.
Smileys	Smileys are tiny pictures made from ordinary ASCII characters that are meant to be looked at with the head tilted to the left. Smileys came about when e-mail correspondents felt the need to convey emotional content such as sarcasm, laughter and other feelings as part of their messages. Without smileys, simple statements could easily be misinterpreted.
Software	Computer instructions or data. Anything that can be stored electronically is software.
Spam	Spam is unacceptable at A Serenity Place.	Electronic junk mail. Some people define spam even more generally as any unsolicited e-mail.
Steering Committee	The committee where the daily administrative business of ASP is done; composed of the current elected officers as well as the founders of A Serenity Place.	“Many groups have a committee composed of its officers and several experienced members (often the previous slate of officers) to deal with questions of policy, local public information, and any internal problems that arise between the group’s regualr business meetings.” [Service Manual, p. 37]
Subscribe	To add the e-mail address of an individual to the server’s list of recipients.	To begin a subscription to a periodical, such as a magazine or newspaper
Subscription	To be subscribed to an automated e-mail list. Differentiated from a member.	To be subscribed to a hardcopy periodical, such as a magazine or newspaper.
Surf	To move from place to place on the Internet searching for topics of interest. Web surfing has become a favorite pastime for many Internet users. The links on each page enable you to start virtually anywhere on the Web and eventually find interesting pages. The term surfing is generally used to describe a rather undirected type of Web browsing in which the user jumps from page to page rather whimsically, as opposed to specifically searching for specific information.
Treasurer	A member of the meeting who receives the donations contributed during the meeting’s practice of the 7th Tradition, pays the meeting’s expenses, maintains a prudent reserve, and distributes any remaining funds according to the group conscience.	“The Treasurer: Acts as collector, custodian and disburser of funds, passes the collection backet at group meetings, asks another member to help count and record the collection . . . , keeps a records of all receipts and expenditures, submits a financial statement to the group at regular intervals, pays the group’s expenses . . .” [Service Manual, pp. 35-36]
Unsubscribe	To remove the e-mail address of an individual from the server’s list of recipients.	To cancel a subscription to a periodical, such as a magazine or newspaper
Unsubscribe request	Sending a message to the List Administrator or	Mail or call the periodical to cancel a subscription.
URL	Abbreviation of Uniform Resource Locator, the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web.
User	An individual who uses a computer. This includes expert programmers as well as novices. An end user is any individual who runs an application program.
Virtual	Not real. The term virtual is popular among computer scientists and is used in a wide variety of situations. In general, it distinguishes something that is merely conceptual from something that has physical reality. For example, virtual memory refers to an imaginary set of locations, or addresses, where you can store data. It is imaginary in the sense that the memory area is not the same as the real physical memory composed of transistors. The difference is a bit like the difference between an architect’s plans for a house and the actual house. A computer scientist might call the plans a virtual house.
Virtual Reality	An artificial environment created with computer hardware and software and presented to the user in such a way that it appears and feels like a real environment.
Web page	A document on the World Wide Web. Every web page is identified by a unique URL ( Uniform Resource Locator )
Web Server	A computer which distributes information to computers accessing it via the Internet.	A computer which receives and distributes information from a group of clients.
Web Server	The computer that delivers the A Serenity Place Web pages.	A computer that delivers (serves up) Web pages. Every Web server has an IP address and possibly a domain name. For example, if you enter the URL http://www.sandybay.com/index.html in your browser, this sends a request to the server whose domain name is sandybay.com. The server then fetches the page named index.html and sends it to your browser.
Web Site	The site on the World Wide Web where the home page and related files for A Serenity Place are located. This site is owned by the members of A Serenity Place and maintained by the List Administrator and other members of the Steering Committee.	A site (location) on the World Wide Web. Each web site contains a home page, which is the first document users see when they enter the site. The site might also contain additional documents and files. Each site is owned and managed by an individual, company or organization.
Webmaster	The individual who maintains the ASP Website. The Webmaster is responsible for any of the following: •Making sure that the Web server hardware and software is running properly •Updating Web pages •Updating server software •Monitoring traffic through the site.
World Service Conference		An annual meeting of Area Delegatesof the United States and Canada, with the trustess, the Executive Committee, and the Al-Anon staff. Representatives from other national general service offices are welcome to attend the World Service Conference with voice but no vote. [Service Manual, p. 30]
World Wide Web	A system of Internet servers that support specially formatted documents. The documents are formatted in a language called HTML (HyperText Markup Language) that supports links to other documents, as well as graphics, audio, and video files. This means you can jump from one document to another simply by clicking on hot spots. Not all Internet servers are part of the World Wide Web.
WSC	See World Service Conference
WSO	World Service Office; Al-Anon administrtive headquarters located in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Updated on Saturday, April 7, 2018 at 6:40 AM UTC