Where were you in May 2001?
I was celebrating eights years of sobriety that month. I had begun sponsoring women more frequently by this time. I was more involved in service at my home group, and I was actively participating in several online recovery-related sites. Finally willing to be of service to others, I had entered a new phase in sobriety.
Online, I was involved in one very large AA-related Yahoo Club (at that time, they weren't called "Groups" yet). On this particular site, unfortunately, constant bickering, arguing, and general chaos regularly interrupted on-topic discussions. For all intents and purposes, it was an unmoderated site—a real free-for-all. Not much recovery spoken there. Not much about the 12 Steps or the principles of the Steps. Not much help for beginners.
I would meet newcomers there once in awhile and try to correspond with them, but often my posts simply became lost and buried in the war zone. I always felt really badly about that… people, suffering from alcoholism, coming to a website looking for answers, but instead of hearing the message, all they got was the mess.
Questioning My Purposes Online
One night–May 29, 2001 to be exact–I went to bed feeling particularly frustrated. I lay there in the dark, evaluating my reasons for being involved in on-line recovery-related activities. What was I trying to accomplish? What were my motives? What was my primary purpose? Things had turned so ugly in that group, I was really wondering why I didn't just log off for good.
But all I could think of was this… I wanted to be of service to others. Maybe one person would recover because I helped point him to AA, to God, and to a life better than he could ever dream possible.
My Dream
As I slept that night, I had a vivid dream that I believe was God-inspired. In the dream, I created a new Yahoo Club that would be dedicated to helping newcomers. I even envisioned the title of the Club in my dream – it would be called the "AA Beginners Club" so that newcomers would quickly find it alphabetically while searching the Yahoo directory. The mission statement of AABC came as a direct result of this dream.
AABC is Born
Early on the morning of May 30, 2001, I jumped out of bed, logged on, and created AABC. I wrote the mission statement on the home page. That same “Welcome Message” still appears there to this day. The words just flowed, with little effort. I chose colors and a home page photo. All morning long, I worked setting up shop. (Yahoo "Clubs" looked completely different than Yahoo "Groups" look today, but it was basically the same idea.)
I invited Jennifer ("Sildriana" in Yahoo-land then) to serve as co-owner of the group, and she accepted. Together, Jen and I established the website. We formed group policies. We invited people to join, and the club grew.
Jen conducted 12-step studies. I created "Beginners Club Baseball" and kept the conversations going with lively topics about recovery. A wonderful woman named Crystal ("xtowandax") joined Jen and me as our first moderator. Chrystal contributed tremendously, and we really loved her a lot (still do!). The three of us answered questions for beginners, offered encouragement, and worked steadily to get the ball rolling. Others with long-term sobriety joined to help the beginners, too.
The club continued to grow. Eventually, we were forced to migrate into Yahoo “Groups.” It was very difficult, changing to an entirely new format! But we got through it together.
(By the way, that’s the reason we can’t access the archives from the beginning of the group through May 2002—the Yahoo “Clubs” archives were eventually deleted.)
Challenges and More Challenges!
Changing formats wasn't the most difficult challenge we ever faced, though. We've had some terrible storms, and endured some difficult personalities. We've always been under fire from those who hate AA (“Anti-AA Activists”) and want to see it destroyed. They seem to hold us up as the quintessential AA-related Yahoo group; as such, they hate us with a passion. (This fact truly warms my heart—we’re obviously doing something right!)
We've cycled through many moderators and several co-owners. I had a horrible temper tantrum once and almost deleted the entire group with one click of my angry mouse! But instead, I resigned as group owner. Eventually, I was asked to return, and after some sincere soul-searching and priority re-evaluating, I happily agreed. In 2006, I decided to go on an extended sabbatical from group management, although I continue to participate as a member.
AABC has endured Yahoo difficulties, as well. At times, it became absolutely impossible to access the groups or post messages. Now and then, our emails would simply disappear out in Yahoo-land, never to be seen; or, they would take hours, days, or even weeks to arrive. Eventually, though, Yahoo got their act together and now things seem to be running pretty smoothly, for the most part.
Miracles
I could go on and on about the members we've seen come and go through our group doors. I've made lifelong friends, and I’ve spoken with many members on the telephone. To date, I have only met a few face-to-face, but I know that many other members have met each other in person over the years.
Some members actually get sober in AABC! My all-time favorite is Christina (“Ananobanana”) who went from being a terrified, hopeless, defeated alcoholic to a functioning, happy, recovered member of society right before our very eyes. What a blessing it is for me to be a part of those miracles.
My Own Spiritual Growth
I wish I could explain how much this group has helped me in my journey. I go back and read some of the earliest posts, and often I'm embarrassed at how ego-driven and arrogant I was. I still am, I know… but I've gotten so much better. I really can see spiritual progress, but (thank God!) I still don't see spiritual perfection.
When May 30 rolls around each year, I go through a period of reflection, re-affirmation, and a renewing of my primary purpose, which is to stay sober and to help other alcoholics achieve sobriety. This group is dedicated to sharing the message of Alcoholics Anonymous with those who suffer. I think, with God's help, we do that pretty well.
God Bless AABC
I pray for this group and the membership every single day, and I have since the very beginning. I will continue to pray, in hopes that our little corner of the internet will remain as an effective beacon of hope for others.
Thank you to those who have been here from the beginning. Thank you to all who are here to be of service to others. Thank you to the past and current owners/moderators for your tireless service and dedication to sobriety.
Most importantly, thank you to the "Beginners." You are definitely the most important people in the room. We need you.
With gratitude and love,
Karen
(aka: Honey_dot_com)
Founder, AA Beginners Club
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/aabeginnersclub/
AABC membership as of July 2, 2009: 3,158
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, The Master calls the Butterfly.”
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