QUICK GUIDE

• No password is needed for our meetings
• Here’s a good sign-in example: Joe T (Reno, NV)
• Convert 12PM Pacific time to your timezone for the right time to join the meeting from your neck of the woods (use this handy converter by adding your city in the field below San Francisco, CA)
• When joining the meeting, first you enter a waiting room – you will be let in generally within a few seconds
• Review the topics below if you need more detailed help related to devices & getting connected

How-To: “ZOOM”

A common email we receive is, “I need a meeting. How do I join yours?” If you can relate – perhaps you’ve never done online meetings, or maybe you’re new to AA altogether in a time when local in-person meetings can be very difficult to find – and so it’s just not clear how to get started online, you are not alone. It’s also wise not to let being an “online meeting newcomer” delay you from getting to a meeting.

Actually, once attempted most people find it’s pretty simple to join a Zoom meeting (“Zoom” is the platform our AA meetings are hosted on) – easier than most people imagine. It’s also highly enjoyable and fun as well! And it helps, but one doesn’t have to use a desktop computer, laptop or fancy tablet to attend either.

To help get you started, download this simple one-page instruction sheet covering the various options you have for setting up Zoom on your device(s) and rest assured… you’ll be in our online meeting room in no time.

Remember too, you can always use a phone and good old-fashioned “dial-up” if and when needed. Those instructions are covered in the section labeled “other ways to join our meeting.”

We look forward to seeing you in the room soon!

OLD-SCHOOL WORKS!

Don’t have a smartphone, tablet or PC handy? Join a meeting by dial-in:

• dial (669) 900-9128
• when prompted, key in meeting ID: 166-876-977, then the hash/pound sign: #
• hit # again when prompted for a participant ID number (a feature we do not use)

Once you’re in the meeting following a brief hold in the waiting room, you will want to get familiar with using:

• *6 (star + six) to mute & un-mute your phone to share
• *9 (star + nine) to a raise your hand to share
• please do stay muted at all times except when you are sharing, or in the informal chat after the meeting

An “open” AA meeting is defined best by A.A. General Services in New York (click on the image to enlarge it):


For our meeting purposes, what this means is — “the only requirement for attending our online meetings is to have a desire to stop drinking.” That is all that is required to become a regular member of the group.

Outside of that however, “non-AA visitors” – psychology students for example – are also welcome to attend as observers. Early in each meeting we invite our non-AA visitors to introduce themselves and ask only that they not share during the member-sharing part of our meetings. Those sent to us by the courts are welcome to join us any day as well.

We commonly have new friends come and attend our meetings for a time who have been sent to us (well, more accurately, sent to A.A.) by the courts. We know this can be for any number of reasons – reasons which many of our regular members also have experienced. If you are one of these people, you are of course also welcome to attend our meetings as often as necessary (refer to section above about “open” A.A. meetings).

For those needing proof of attendance at AA meetings, whether sent to us by the judicial system or by the educational system (student observers also commonly need some form of proof they attended a meeting), we do supply an accepted form of verification for whatever number of AA meetings one needs to attend.

Please do keep in mind, however, that this is strictly a voluntary public service – that neither Alcoholics Anonymous World Services nor any local or online A.A. group (each group being fully autonomous from each other and from A.A. as a whole) is compelled to, or responsible for, providing this service.

Additionally, it is the responsibility of the person needing attendance verification to follow our process (meaning they ought not insist on needing special forms of proof such as daily scanned signatures, etc.) as well as to submit requests for verification in a timely manner, directly after each meeting attended.

We verify attendance for those we can physically see in attendance for each full, 1-hour meeting. We do not and cannot rightly verify attendance for partial meetings, late-comers or meetings that took place in the past, weeks or a month ago.