Recently, an abundance of online meetings have appeared in Heroin Anonymous to achieve social distancing ideals due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As always, members are suggested to abide by the traditions of HA when holding meetings. Since HA had not previously established online meetings, we suggest the following considerations when holding online meetings to preserve the anonymity of those attending.
During meetings:
· Members are suggested to use their first name and last initial in how their name is presented with their video feed. This can be edited in the individual profile settings.
· Members may use a “virtual background” to mask their location if desired. This may be helpful if the member is at their place of employment.
· It is suggested not to video record meetings. The administrator can disable all recording options in the settings. If audio recording is desired, the chairperson should make it clear at the beginning of the meeting.
· The administrator is suggested to disable auto-saving chats, feedback, file transfer, data sharing, and screen sharing. In observation of the 7th tradition, organizers should pay for meeting platforms from group funds rather than, for example, using one’s work account.
If your online meeting is temporary, please contact the webmaster committee at hawswebmaster@gmail.com and ask them to post your meeting link temporarily.
If your online meeting is permanent, we suggest against it being affiliated with a specific location. More information will be given regarding long-term online meetings in the future.