1.  The spirit of A.A. principles and traditions will be followed at all times. This means among other things:

         a. Anonymity will be preserved and protected: the complete names of individuals, individual phone
             numbers, postal and identifying E-Mail addresses will not be displayed on the Website. (Traditions 11 & 12)

         b. There will be no endorsement or affiliation with non-A.A. entities. (Tradition 6) Autonomy will be
             respected. The A.A. Preamble will be prominently shown on the Home Page of the Website. The Website
             will not link to web sites not sponsored by bona fide A.A. service entities

        c. Home Groups, Districts and Intergroups/Central Offices will decide for themselves what information they do
            and do not want given on the Website, as well as the extent of their participation in the Area Website
            activity. (Tradition 4)

2.  The Home Page will identify the Website’s focus on A.A. within Area 59, making it clear there is no attempt to speak for A.A. as a whole. A link to the A.A.W.S.’s web site (www.alcoholics-anonymous.org) will be provided to access general information about A.A..

3.  Copyrights shall be respected and registered trademarks, when used, should be acknowledged as such. (For example: Alcoholics Anonymous®, A.A.® and The Big Book® are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. The Grapevine® and AA Grapevine® are registered trademarks of The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.)

      4.   E-mail accounts will be issued to each Area Officer and Committee Chairperson at the beginning of the panel
            representing their service position. Passwords for that web-based mail box can be changed by the Officer.
            E-mail Copy forwards to personal e-mail addresses are available if desired.

                  a. Officers and Chairpersons not on the internet are asked to provide a contact person in their place.
                  b. All Website visitor messages should receive a timely reply, even if it’s nothing more than a “Thank You”
                      for their message.
                  c. The committee will determine an “e-mail rotation date” at the end of the panel for the switchover of
                      e-mail accounts to incoming Officers and Chairpersons. At that time account password will be changed
                      and all remaining e-mail messages cleared administratively.

5.  The following types of information are also approved for display on the Area 59 Website; other information is not allowed:

a. Home Group meeting information: type of meeting, time and location. (Area 59 only.)
b. District meeting time and location, mailing address, and answering service telephone number. (Area 59 only.)
c. Central Office and Intergroup contact information, location and hours of operation. (Area 59 only.)
d. Event information (location, time, agenda, registration form, etc.) for the following types of activities, primarily focused on events in Area 59:
*  A.A. general service functions (assemblies, conferences, special forums, workshops, etc.).
*  Fellowship activities (roundups, speaker meetings, picnics, dances, camp-outs, etc.)
e.  Area Committee reports (elected officer reports, standing committee reports, and Assembly meeting minutes, etc.)
f.  Area 59 Structure Manual and Area Motions that have been placed on the Assembly Agenda, including Pros, Cons and other background information.
g.  Links to web sites sponsored by bona fide A.A. service entities will be provided as a service to the Website visitor. It shall be made clear Area 59 does not endorse these web sites, and our linking to their web site does not constitute their endorsement of the Area 59 Website. Permissible links to A.A. web sites are:

h.  Recommendations on how to submit information for display on the Website. (contacts, format, etc.)
i.  These Guidelines for the Area 59 Website.

Domain Name Registration

1.  The Website shall be registered to Eastern Pennsylvania General Service Area with a domain name of Area59aa.org.
2.  The Area 59 Webmaster or delegated representative shall be the Administrative Contact for the Website’s domain name.
3.  The Area 59 Webmaster or delegated representative shall be the Billing Contact for the Website’s domain name.
4.  The Technical Contact shall be the Internet Service Provider (ISP) who maintains the primary domain name server for the Area Website.
5.  The Registration will be held in a private registered account (Domains By Proxy, Inc.) so that no personal information will be revealed to the general public.

Administration and Maintenance

1.  The PI Subcommittee of the Eastern Penna. General Area Assembly through its Chairperson shall have direct oversight on all matters pertaining to the Website. In some instances this will require access to the Internet. However since Internet access is not a prerequisite for the service position, the Chairperson may seek help from our fellowship in performing some tasks. Specific responsibilities for the Chairperson include, but are not limited to, the following administrative duties:

        a.  verify the Website adheres to these guidelines and A.A.’s Traditions,
        b.  ensure Website expenses are paid and do not exceed the PI Committee Budget without approval.
        c.  mediate differences of opinion regarding the information displayed on the Website and the services it
             provides,
        d.  give Website status reports at all Area 59 Area Meetings, and update these Website guidelines to reflect
             lessons learned and the conscience of the Eastern Pennsylvania General Service Assembly.