How to Get Your 12-Step Group Online Quickly

Because of the COVID-19 Coronavirus, you may want to get your 12-Step group online so it can meet via videoconference or phone conference. Our group had to do it recently and we wanted to share what we did so others can do it too. Take a group conscience before setting this up if possible; or as soon after doing it as you can.

What You Will Get From This Guide

• Zoom videoconferencing account that allows everyone in the meeting to see and talk with each other (with phone dial-in too); or a free telephone conference number
• A way to take online contributions for 7th Tradition
• A simple website (like this one) that will:
  • host meeting information
  • have a link to join the Zoom video conference, and
  • host meeting documents (script, readings, etc.)

What We Did

This is an overview– see below for all the details.

1. Get a tech-savvy person to help you – just someone who knows the basic of setting up online accounts and editing HTML
2. Create a free Google Account to store documents and receive emails (necessary for the next steps)
3. Upload PDFs of meeting documents to Google Drive
4. Get shareable links (URLs) for all PDF meeting documents
5. Sign up for a free Neocities account to make a free website for the meeting
6. Sign up for Zoom video conferencing ($15/mo) or FreeConferenceCall phone conference (free) (Zoom is recommended so you can see each other)
7. Have the group Treasurer sign up for a Square Cash account and install app on their phone so they can receive 7th Tradition payments from members
8. Copy the files from this website to your Neocities account and make edits to them (put your meeting info there)
9. Test that the website, meeting documents, and Zoom videoconference or phone conference works
10. Create a phone list for the group in Google Sheets
11. Send everyone the new website info by texting it to them
12. Share phone numbers during the Zoom call

The Details

1. Get a tech-savvy person to help you – just someone who knows the basic of setting up online accounts and editing HTML:
   This may be someone in your group or a young person you know. Ask around for help.
    
   
2. Create a free Google Account to store documents and receive emails (necessary for the next steps):
   Click the link in the line above. You may need to sign out of your Gmail for your personal account, or open the link in a private web browser window if you want to stay signed in.
    
   
3. Upload PDFs of meeting documents to Google Drive: Click the link in the line above (or use the tic-tac-toe button in the top right of Gmail) to open Google Drive. Once in Google Drive, use the "+" button to upload all your meeting documents to Google Drive. You may have to get the documents from whoever maintains them for your meeting.
    
   
4. Get shareable links (URLs) for all PDF meeting documents:
   Right-click on all the documents in Google Drive and select "Get Shareable Link" for each document. This makes them accessible to the Internet.
    
   
5. Sign up for a free Neocities account to make a free website for the meeting: Click this link to create a new Neocities account. Fill out the form using the Gmail address you created above, and submit the form. Then check your email for a verification link from Neocities. Click it to verify your email. Now you're ready to create your website. But first...
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6. Sign up for Zoom video conferencing ($15/mo) or FreeConferenceCall.com phone conference (free): (Zoom is recommended so you can see each other)
   • Zoom is easy and works very well– with the Gallery view, you can see everyone's faces. It's the closest thing to an in-person meeting as you can get. It can be used from a laptop or desktop computer, or an Apple or Android smartphone. Zoom also provides dial-in numbers so people can join the call with phone. We strongly recommend choosing this option.
   • Note that all the 12-step groups in your Fellowship in the same area can use the same Zoom account, as long as they meet at different times.
   • Set your Zoom settings to protect meeting attendee anonymity by following these instructions provided by the NY AA Intergroup.
   • FreeConferenceCall.com is a free phone conference service. Choose this if all meeting members can't use computers or smartphones, or if members are less technically savvy.
7. Have the group Treasurer sign up for a Square Cash account and install app on their phone so they can receive 7th Tradition payments from members
   If you are in the US, Canada, or UK, we recommend using Square Cash account because it's the easiest way to accept payments via phone or web. It's free for individuals to send and receive money, and it's confidential. Outside the USA, choose Paypal. Venmo is not recommended since by default transactions are not private. (If you use it, make sure you turn on account privacy so transactions stay private and test this out.)
   Have the Treasurer sign up for Square Cash using these instructions, take a screenshot of the Square Cash QR Code, and save this picture, then upload it to your Neocities account.
    
   
8. Copy our website files to your Neocities account and edit for your meeting: Open your Neocities Dashboard and copy the files from our website to your Neocities account.
   Here's a list of our files (you can see the HTML code for them by using your web browser's View Source function):
   
   • index.html
   • style.css
   • contributing.html
   • square-cash-instructions.html
   • cash-qr-code.png (image file) – replace this with your QR code image
   You will need to get the shareable links for each of the meeting documents, and insert them into the index.html file above. You can get the shareable link by going to Google Drive and right-clicking on each document one by one, selecting "Get Shareable Link", and then inserting the link into the index.html hyperlinks. Remember to change the Square Cash info (QR code and cash code) to your group's info.
    
   
9. Test that the website, meeting documents, and Zoom videoconference or phone conference works:
   This is very important, so you don't have problems on the day of the meeting. Get help from one other person to test that the videoconference or phone conference works.
    
   
10. Create a phone list for the group in Google Sheets: Make a simple spreadsheet with two columns: Name and Phone Number. Take photos of your paper sign-in sheets for 4-6 weeks and enter them into the spreadsheet. You can select the two columns of data and click Data > Sort Selection A-Z to sort the data.
     
    
11. Text everyone the new website info: Do this from a computer if possible, since it's very easy to copy and paste the message. Here's the sample text that we used:
    

    You’re getting this message because you signed into the Saturday BDA meeting in the last several weeks. 
    This meeting is going to be held by videoconference until further notice in order to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
    
    The videoconference is free. Visit the website link below and click the “Join BDA Meeting” button. 
    You may have to download software and follow instructions to install it and join the meeting.
    You can also dial in by phone, info is on the website below.
    
    Saturday BDA
    Meeting day & time: Saturday 9:00am – 10:30am
    Meeting website with script materials and link to sign in: https://bdabpb.neocities.org/
    
    Please pass along to anyone who needs this info.
            

     
    
12. Share phone numbers during the Zoom call:
    Use the Zoom chat functionality to share the phone list during the meeting– paste it into the chat so that others can copy it to their computer. Offer the opportunity to everyone not on the list to put their name and numbers into the chat. Have someone gather these numbers and update the phone list for next time.
     
    

If you have questions about these instructions, or improvements to this page, contact: adamf@pobox.com