Alano.ONLINE - Your 12-step group's FREE online clubhouse!

Rules

Meeting managers must be responsible

You must be responsible for ensuring that the meeting is a safe space free from illegal activity. If you have an issue with a Zoom bomber, etc., use the facilities in the Zoom program to report them to Zoom and block them from the meeting. You may also appoint cohosts in your meeting to help.

Give the alano.online calendar link to people to get the password. It obsucres the password with a graphics tool so it can't be harvested automatically by Zoom bombers. It also uses the Cloudflare "Turnstile" widget to block Zoom bombers and bots.

Alano.ONLINE will automatically change the Zoom meeting password. By giving the alano.online calendar link to your attendees, your meeting will be much more secure.

DO NOT GIVE THE PASSWORD OR THE HOST KEY TO ANYONE.

MEETING ATTENDEES MUST GO TO THE ALANO.ONLINE PUBLIC MEETING INFO LINK TO GET THE MEETING PASSWORD. IT WILL BE CHANGED FREQUENTLY.

You will receive the public info link after you sign up and verify.

Keep your info up to date

You must tell us when contact info changes for your meeting so we can keep the calendar up to date.

We provide a signup form to get started. Once you sign up, you will be given login information. You can appoint a new manager and transfer control to the new person if your meeting rotates the tech host service position.

Follow the Zoom rules

When you use the Zoom software, you agree to a separate set of rules with that company. Refer to the Zoom website for their terms of use.

Individuals only

The chartered purpose of Alano.ONLINE is to serve individual members of the public who welcome the public to gather in ad-hoc meetings to study and practice literature of various programs based on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

We cannot help a person who organizes a meeting for another legal entity, whether that company is a for-profit entity, 501(c)(3) company, registered association, club, or other entity.

A spiritual connection to your program is great, if your meeting is an ad-hoc, autonomous gathering of individuals who have no other outside affiliation, and are self-supporting through your own contributions. (Traditions 4, 5, 6, and 7... a traditional self-organized 12-step meeting.)

A legal connection to your program's district or world service organization is not okay, if those entities are separate non-profit companies. This is for non-profit tax reasons as well as the 6th tradition.

For example, a meeting started by an individual or group of people is fine. You can be listed in your program's meeting guide. Your meeting has no legal relationship with the service corporations that run the district or world service offices, nor their boards nor trustees. You're just people who study the 12 steps independently.

A workshop, webinar, or conference organized by the district or world service office would not be okay, if that organization is an official legal entity with a board of directors and fiduciary responsibilities. They need to use their own Zoom account.

12-step meetings only

Alano.ONLINE meeting organizers are independent individuals who gather to study the 12 steps of recovery. Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Debtors Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous are some examples of 12-step groups.

We do not help people organizing any other type of meeting. This excludes spontaneously-organized workshops related to recovery programs, like the D.A. Tools Game, PRG's, or individual sponsor checkins. Meetings are not to be used for co-working sessions, meditation classes, any form of regulated counseling, personal communications, outside businesses, etc.

The chartered purpose of Alano.ONLINE is to serve only independent individuals who meet to study, discuss, and practice the 12 steps and official literature of 12-step programs with others who freely attend ad hoc, unorganized meetings. (Traditions 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.)

Standards of Conduct

In general, practice the steps and traditions and you'll be fine.

Organizers must not use the host key to interfere with any other meeting.

Organizers must not harass, stalk, pursue, or otherwise harm any ad hoc attendee of their meeting, or their usage will be revoked and the meeting will be canceled.

Alano Dot Online is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all directors, employees, volunteers, and meeting attendees. We do not tolerate discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic. All meeting organizers and legal directors of Alano Dot Online must adhere to this policy and promote a culture of respect and equality in our business affairs.

Considering the 6th Tradition

Tradition 6 (long form from aa.org):
Problems of money, property, and authority may easily divert us from our primary spiritual aim. We think, therefore, that any considerable property of genuine use to A.A. should be separately incorporated and managed, thus dividing the material from the spiritual. An A.A. group, as such, should never go into business. Secondary aids to A.A., such as clubs or hospitals which require much property or administration, ought to be incorporated and so set apart that, if necessary, they can be freely discarded by the groups. Hence such facilities ought not to use the A.A. name. Their management should be the sole responsibility of those people who financially support them. For clubs, A.A. managers are usually preferred. But hospitals, as well as other places of recuperation, ought to be well outside A.A.- and medically supervised. While an A.A. group may cooperate with anyone, such cooperation ought never go so far as affiliation or endorsement, actual or implied. An A.A. group can bind itself to no one.

Alano.ONLINE is not endorsed by A.A. or other 12-step groups and is not legally or financially affiliated with them. It acts as a "club" mentioned in Tradition 6. Your group, as a group, is not "in business" with Alano.ONLINE. Alano.ONLINE "can be freely discarded by the groups," and has no legal relationship or binding to them. Meetings can go their own way at any time, although they will have to find a different Zoom account or other means to do so.

Alano.ONLINE has no authority or sway over any meeting group's collective decisions, nor do meeting organizers in their capacity as meeting hosts. As a meeting organizer using Alano.ONLINE, you can still vote in your meeting's group conscience decisions. In that capacity you represent only yourself. You do not speak as a representative of Alano.ONLINE.

Alano.ONLINE has no authority over your group's decisions. This keeps Alano.ONLINE "separately incorporated and managed" and distinct from your group and your program.

Best effort - disclaimer of liability

We will give our best effort to provide video conference meetings for the study of your program at the time that you schedule, and we will be transparent to our directors with regard to all financial transactions. By signing up, you agree to indemnify, release, and hold harmless Alano.ONLINE and all of its directors for any and all claims of liability, known or unknown.

Privacy Policy

• Alano.ONLINE will only keep essential personal information required to authenticate you as a valid user, to deliver our services, to comply with our terms of service with vendors like Zoom, or as required by law for non-profits.
• Our payment partners will collect information necessary to process donations, under their own privacy policies. (PayPal and Venmo.)
• We will take every precaution to ensure the protection of your personal information.
• We will not share, sell, or transfer genuine personal information to any other third party, except as required by federal or state court order of the United States.
• Our video conferencing providers (Zoom, etc.) may collect additional information about you, determined separately by the terms of service for use of their connection software.
• We use internal cookies on this website only for the following purposes:
  • The cookie notice that pops up at the bottom of the page when you first visit, so you don't see it again.
  • The e-mail subscription form that pops up, so you don't see it again if you subscribe, and so it doesn't bother you again for a while if you don't.
  • The meeting organizer login system on our site.
  • Keeping meeting Zoom passwords secure on the calendar page.
  Your usage of this website will not be tracked by any third party.

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© 2025 Alano Dot Online, a §501(c)(3) non-profit company.

Alano.ONLINE is not endorsed by, nor legally nor financially affiliated with any other organization.

Contact: alano.online@outlook.com