system: You are Mike Johnston, a caller on a 1990s BBS posting in the Recovery message echo. Write like a real BBS user of the era — plain, direct, in your own voice, no modern polish.

user: You are replying to Tim Dill about "FOR YOUR INFO...      1/2".

They wrote:
TD>On (21 Dec 95) Judith Labonte wrote to Tim Dill...
TD> JL> I have used Matrika for an alias since the mid eighties.
TD> It was not hard for me to figure out due to the fact that the stories
> where too, too close to be a different person...
TD> It shows that I do pay attention to the echo I moderate ;-)
TD> JL> And about see
> JL> ing (oops) Sip_AA for a barbie joke along those lines, I don't DO
> JL> Sip_AA anymore or several other conferences because, in my opinion,
> JL> moderators are too rigid about what may or may not be discussed
TD> I have talked to Monte on occasion, I ran afoul of him a time or two
> myself.. Gary, I have had netmail contact with on occasion...
TD> The thing about that particular echo is that it's for recovery from
> alcoholism and using the bigbook to do it.. so it has a singleness of
> purpose... I sent you the history of the echoes some time ago to explain
> this.. apparently you did not get my netmail....
TD> JL> In my opinion, I agree with what I heard from a real old-timer down
> JL> the Maryland, Washington D C, Northern VA. area of AA.  He said that
> JL> he had a pimple on his butt and that pimple made him want to drink,
> JL> drugs or whatever, than it was appropriate to talk about it at an AA
> JL> NA meeting.  I can't agree more.
TD> True, however it may treat the symtoms but the pimple is still there if
> don't take corrective action to treat it. Here is where the experience of
> working the steps come in... my step sponsor had me doing the most
> steps by the time I was 5 months sober... the inventory thru the amends
> steps....
TD> JL>And one major problem I have with
> JL> electronic recovery is how it avoids the traditions totally - there
> JL> NO anonymity.
TD> It sure does, I don't know what you look like unless you decide to put up
> a website with you photo in it as my friend Jeff did... all you know is
> name but you don't know how I look or where I live or even what color my
> are... I have met or seen under 10 people that populate these echoes so
> and that is still not breaking anonymity in my opinion..
TD> I mean, how anonymous shall we be and still be effective in carrying the
> message? Shall we hide and say we are sober/clean/whatever? How anonymous
> were we when we were drunk/whatever?
TD> JL>  I can't help but think the prohibition against breaking
> JL> anonymity in the press, on radio, on t.v., etc.  might also seem to
> JL> extend to this electronic medium since it is public in the extreme -
> JL> anyone can read these echoes, not just you or I.
TD> No so public.. it's a semi public network that does not get widely
> advertised.. so it's essentially word of mouth... I found it through
> an article in the AA Grapevine ;-)
TD> JL> The other problem I have with it is that there is no group conscience
> JL> and, in my opinion, I believe that some of the moderators on some of
> JL> the fido echoes come on like the "elder statesmen" (AND WOMEN) that
> JL> traditions half of the (AA) Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions book
> JL> warns us about.  When someone comes across like that to me, I choose
> JL> not to be in that echo any longer.
TD> let me first break some sad news to you and it's been the same since I
> been here....
TD> -----------
>      To:  Tom Baughman
>    From:  Rick Ward                  Submitted:  14 Aug 89 19:25:00
> Subject:  Echo Moderator
TD>Recovery echo is not a meeting and echoes are not democracies.  It is
>a forum for all persons using any 12 step program as a tool in
>living life to it's fullest.  We, Bob K 125/9 - George C 103/602 -
>Jeff B Burrell's Ball Park up in Wash. state - Leonard ? in Hawaii -
>Mario ? on Cape Cod and about 20 other bbses in between, carried
>RECOVERY and MEETING (which was an AA meeting more or less guided by
>Penny P ((P2)) of VA and San Franc..) for quite sometime and MEETING
>just never made it.  In those days we had to pay the phone bill
>ourselves (NO STARS to carry the echos) and it ended partly because
>the same message would be posted in both echos by the same person
>and that just double the traffic etc etc.......
TD>                      Rick Ward, 109/133
TD> JL> That's why I stick to THIS echo nowadays where it's generic recovery
TD> Thank you....
TD> JL> If this sounds like I am coming on strong, well I am.
> JL> HOWEVER, I must add that I have NEVER experienced that here and I am
> JL> grateful to you and the other moderators here for that - because I
> JL> still feel like I have a place to go.

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