DIGITAL GUIDELINES – Approved 2/12/2011

Addendum to the MNRSC Guidelines

Guidelines for the Internet and our Digital Tools (Website, Google Groups/Docs, Server, and other tools)

The Minnesota Regional Service Committee of Narcotics Anonymous will sustain an ongoing Digital Project Team that will be tasked to maintain the website and other digital tools. The MNRSC will rent annual server space for hosting and the cost associated with MNRSC URL’s: www.naminnesota.org and www.naminnesota.net.

We have published these guidelines to carry our message of hope and to share “our experience, strength and hope” with the public, NA Groups, Areas and Regions of NA throughout the world on the internet. We trust that addicts who help publish and view these pages will help us conform with the spiritual principles that make our recovery possible and to keep information such as meeting schedules up-to-date.

Purpose

Our purpose in putting information on the Internet is to inform members, the public, and professionals about Narcotics Anonymous in Minnesota.

Responsibility and Accountability

Placing information online is a responsibility of the Digital Project Team of the Minnesota Region of NA. The Digital Project Team Coordinator will be a role for one of the Fellowship Services Team members. The Digital Project Team shall be made up of as many members as needed in order to maintain an effective space. Each member Area of the MNRSC shall have at least one designated Web Publisher that may or may not function on the Digital Project Team. Actual work on the web pages is carried out by Digital Project Team members and each Area’s respective publishers. The Digital Project Team coordinator must have sufficient technical knowledge about the CMS being used, FTP, server space and hosting vendor, and other technical skills.

The Fellowship Services Team and the Digital Project Team are accountable to the Minnesota Regional Service Committee in accordance with our Twelve Traditions, Minnesota Region of NA guidelines, and guidelines from the World Service Conference Public Relations Handbook about online information.

Accessibility and Maintenance

We recognize that online information is currently accessible to a relatively large number of people and we will attempt to make online information useful for the broadest possible audience. With this in mind, we will do the following:

Print the URL address of our Web Page on our meeting lists, business cards, literature stamps, and other presentation material: www.naminnesota.org.
The website shall be built and maintained in the simplest, yet most effective way possible.
Maintenance of the site will be the responsibility of the Digital Project Team – an ongoing project of the MNRSC. Responsibility will be passed from project team to project team ensuring continuity through the training of technical skills.
Feedback for the site shall be directed to the Digital Project Team coordinator or webmaster via the link provided on the site.

Copyright Law

To ensure compliance with copyright laws, we will not place material copyrighted elsewhere on our pages. We may, in accordance with current NAWS suggested online guidelines, use the words Narcotics Anonymous, the stylized initials NA, appearing alone, within a single or double circle, or as part of any other graphic; and the circle-diamond symbol, which are registered trademarks of Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Refer to F.I.P.T. document #1 for more information.

Privacy

Space on the internet is a public forum, and as such, the privacy of individual members must be protected per our 11th and 12th Traditions. As such, contact information will be generic (i.e. “@naminnesota.org”) and not include last names or personal phone numbers or email addresses.

However, many meeting schedules in the Minnesota Region of Narcotics Anonymous have phone numbers and email addresses who have specifically given permission to be a public contact of a particular NA group.

Since information made accessible by the Internet can be accessed from all over the world, we will include phone numbers or email addresses of any individual NA members only with their specific permission but does not violate the 11th Tradition.

Back Up

To ensure that materials remain available in the event of server or personnel problems, the Web Site Coordinator will maintain a back-up copy of all current files whenever changes are made. The server shall also conduct back ups every 24 hours.

The web page will contain:

An online database of NA meetings belonging to the Minnesota Region of NA on the BMLT or other interactive database.
Capability to print meeting schedules.
Information for those new to NA.
Helpline number.
An active link to the Narcotics Anonymous World Services: www.na.org
An E-mail address for sending messages to the MNRSC: [email protected]
Capability to post upcoming events, committee meetings, and conventions, etc.
Storage capacity for all types of service related information and resources.
And other functions and items that enhance our ability to carry the message.

The digital project team will ensure the following:

Provide graphics at the discretion of the Digital Project Team in keeping with the spiritual principles contained in the Twelve Traditions of NA.
Analytics provided by the hosting company, to be distributed at least once a year to the MNRSC.
Meeting update forms. Information entered to be sent to Regional Meeting List Project Team.
Directions and location of next Regional Service Committee meeting.
Links to member Areas of Minnesota Region of NA, if they have their own websites.

Information concerning Minnesota Region of NA Convention (MNNAC), including downloadable registration forms or links to its page.

Material submitted for the website: Material submitted for uploading to the website, other than the meeting list, must be reviewed by the respective Area publisher or a member of the Digital Project Team. We will edit only to correct typos and misspellings; if more extensive rework is necessary, it will be returned to the originator. The Website Project Team shall only post flyers from NA sponsored events within the area served by the Minnesota Region or its Member Areas. The website will include links to major NA events such as WCNA.
All pertinent email (that is, email of significance to our region or member areas) will be logged and/or stored or forwarded to the appropriate body and copies provided for viewing to the RSC body.

The website MAY NOT contain any of the following:

Full names, addresses, or personal email of any person inside or outside of Narcotics Anonymous without access control measures.
Advertisements or information about activities or services outside of the fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous.
Any method of allowing visitors to financially contribute to Narcotics Anonymous.
A personal statement without a disclaimer stating that it is an individual opinion and not the opinion of Narcotics Anonymous.
Any other statement or link that puts our fellowship in danger by violating the 12 Traditions or 12 Concepts of Service.

[email protected] – General Info

[email protected] – Digital Coordinator

Adapted from: The New England Region of Narcotics Anonymous and the Tualatin Valley Area of Narcotics Anonymous.

Digital Guidelines