It's been along time since we've had so many new people joining us here, welcome to our chat room, and our website.  For those  who missed our chat on security, I'll cover the major security items we went over with you now.

PLEASE REMEMBER WHAT'S SAID IN THE ROOM STAYS IN THE ROOM -
Just as in a real life meeting this rule applies here as well. Some times you may hear facts
about a person that can lead to gossip.  Please don't play into this game.
It will not be tolerated.

CHAT SAFETY is our biggest concern here in the chat room. This is your home
and we want you to feel safe here and if you should have a problem, we are
here to help you solve it quickly. Please if you have any type of trouble let
one of the regulars know or email the staff  using the link from the website.
We ask that you please allow us 24 hrs to check into it, and get the information from you
and others about the problem and then we can deal with it together privately.

HOW TO IGNORE SOMEONE IN CHAT -
type /ignore (space) name THAT'S TO BE IGNORED
they can see you typing, and talking but you can't see them.
The standard /ignore NAME works and is your first line defense for a problem.
This command will work for mirc and pirch users as well.

WHERE TO GO FOR HELP -
Type /join   (space)  #channels
This is our admin room and if you should need the help of our server admins,
for any reason please feel free to join this room that's why they are there.
But before you do, let one of our regulars know first of the trouble if they
are in the room. If you wish to let our staff handle the problem we recommend
that you send an email directly to our staff and explain the situation.
You may contact us at recovery@12-steps-recovery.com

SAFETY TIPS TO ALWAYS USE AND FOLLOW:
Never assume you are safe! always be on the look out for potential danger in a chatroom.  On line it is so easy to hide behind a name, perverts know this, and do it all the time. It is such a big part of the internet now, that even law enforcement is getting involved in it.

 We try hard to watch out for potential problems here, but there are times that
the more experienced chatters may not be there with you to help you. So I
offer these tips to help you guard against a potential problem.

PRIVATE CHATS - PLEASE DON'T USE THIS OPTION TO CHAT - WE HAVE NO WAY TO
PROTECT YOU.
If someone wants to talk to you in private and you don't want to, let someone know in the room - HEY SO AND SO is trying to PM me. WE can then deal with that as it occurs. If the conversation is recovery based, then there should be no reason why anyone should have to use a private window.  Basically it's rude, and for new people it can be very confusing to run multiple rooms or windows at one time. On some systems this can cause it to lock up causing the person to have to close and reconnect again. So PLEASE DON'T USE THIS OPTION while in chat. Talk only in the room.

 NEVER GIVE OUT THE FOLLOWING INFO in a chat room
 1.  YOUR REAL LAST NAME - always use a false name for your chat name.
   Never use any part of the name for your chat name. In recovery we often use our
    first names during meetings and during introductions. Again if you feel
    uncomfortable use a false name we'll understand. It's ok to be safe here!

 2. YOUR HOME ADDRESS - we have email, if you must give it to someone
   do so via email never on line in a chat room. Do not send it out to the egroup either
    Send it directly to the person requesting it via email.  If we request it, we'll ask you
    to use the form mail provide on the site as way to protect you.

 3. YOUR CITY AND STATE - again, this little bit of info can be filed away by
a perv and over a period of time they may ask you for your address " i want to send you something" it happens folks, so never give it out. Always use a town close but not yours.

 4. NEVER EVER EVER EVER GIVE OUT YOUR PHONE NUMBER! PERIOD!
    This has led to so many problems it's not funny, your inviting
    trouble if you do. If you must give it out be safe call them, don't let them
    call you! and never call them collect - your number will show up on thier
    phone bill.

There are sites out there THAT WILL give information about you, and where you
are and all you need is the phone number. http://www.reversedirectory.net/ is
just one such site. I don't mean to alarm you just make you aware of how the
pervert thinks and gets the information. If you know how it's done, you'll be
able to prevent it from happening.

Try using your own phone number on this site, and you'll be able to not only
find your own info, but a map to your front door step. There is also software
currently being sold that can do far more detailed searches as well with
just this much info as a start. THINK SAFE, AND YOU'LL BE SAFE.

 FOR THE RECORD:
Our database asks some personal questions and we keep this information private.
The reason we do this is for your safety. I've had a situation before where a
person was attempting to OD and because we didn't have the phone number there
was a delay in getting that person help quickly.

By using the number, we can notify the local police and locate your address fairly fast
and or the city name and alert your local Police, and let them handle the responce for medical
attention as needed. It's our hope that this should never happen, but just in
case it can be a life saver for you. This is not a required field on any of our forms
it's your choice to give it to us or not. Rest assured the number is kept locally on
MY system only and no other person has access to it.  We do not give out anyones
personal information here for any reason - only you can give it out.

YOUR SAFETY IS OUR MAIN CONCERN, and we'll do what we can to ensure you are
safe here. If you have questions or concerns please feel free to contact me
any time and I'll be happy to address them with you privately at that time.
 

Yours Truly,
Bob H
aka Lord Wolf - AA Support
owner of the 12steps chatroom and this domain.