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The AA Technology Forum

About this website

The TIAA Forum brings together A.A. members to share about using technology in service of AA’s primary purpose via an AA Technology Forum. Members range from technology industry experts to complete novices. All are AA members or support AA technology, and all are welcome.

To join the forum, sign up or email: info@tiaa-forum.org.

You can come here to:

  • Share your experience about using technology in A.A.
  • Ask questions about how to use technology in A.A.
  • Simply follow discussions to see how technology is being used in A.A. around the world.
  • Share your progress as you explore or develop technology in support of A.A.

Wondering what a forum is – or whether to join this forum?

Here is information that may be helpful.

What is an online forum?

An online forum is a space where people with similar interests hold discussions. In particular, the TIAA Forum facilitates discussions among those interested in how technology is being used — or might be used — to help carry the AA message.

Unlike social media, an online forum organizes content into topic discussions that members start. Once started, other members can respond, follow, or ignore a discussion. Therefore, a topic can begin with any question or statement likely to spark conversation.

Forums also differ from chat rooms in an important way. Conversations develop over time — members do not need to be present simultaneously. As a result, discussions tend to be more thoughtful and thorough than real-time exchanges.

How the TIAA Forum Is Organized

The TIAA Forum organizes discussions into categories. Members post questions or prompts within a category, and others reply. Members can also share multimedia content, and posts are generally longer and more detailed than social media posts.

Furthermore, members control what they see. You can choose which categories and topics to follow, eliminating noise and focusing only on the conversations that interest you. Similarly, when a new topic starts, you can choose not to follow it.

Members can also send a Personal Message (PM) to another member — essentially an email within the forum.

The TIAA Forum is a moderated forum. Consequently, a team of moderators follow discussions to keep the forum orderly and safe. Forum guidelines cover things like staying on topic and treating fellow members with respect. Moderators may move a topic to a more appropriate category, or contact a member privately to request an edit. Fortunately, TIAA Forum members are generally thoughtful and considerate in their postings.The TIAA Forum organizes discussions into categories. Members post questions or prompts within a category, and others reply. Members can also share multimedia content, and posts are generally longer and more detailed than social media posts.

The AA technology forum welcomes members at every level — from seasoned developers to complete novices. What members share is a common interest in applying technology thoughtfully to AA service work.

What's our Forum Like?

A guide to the TIAA Forum: About Categories, Topics, and more.

If you are not familiar with forums, entering one can feel like stepping into a new world. However, it is not that hard — most members figure it out quickly. A brief introduction may help.

How it works. The forum consists of discussions, each beginning with a conversation starter followed by responses. In our terminology, such a discussion is called a topic. Any member can post a topic, and other members can post replies that keep the conversation going. If a topic remains idle for 30 days, it closes — but remains available for search.

Categories organize topics into subject areas. The creator of a topic assigns it to a category. Examples include “How To,” “Help Wanted,” and the more general “Technology.” For a fuller list of categories, see here.

Instructions for Completing this Form

Name:

The name you use here is not verified and only used to control for spam and bot submissions. It will not be tied to your account. You can create and edit a profile disclosing the account name and information you wish to expose to the community (not publicly visible outside the forum) when and after you join.

Email:

Email where the invitation to join will be sent. This will also become a secondary way of logging in or recovering your password. We recommend a personal email address (e.g. your_name@example.com) instead of a “positional” email address (e.g. webmaster@your_intergroup.org) unless you intend for you membership to rotate with the person holding the position in the future. This email address can be changed after you join if you wish to change it by editing your profile information.

Affirmation:

By the group conscience of the members, this forum is only open to members of AA and those non-members of AA supporting AA services (e.g. Intergroup offices, AA service structure, etc.).

Topic Interests:

If you are interested in conversations in more than one  technical topic area (e.g. web sites, answering services, virtual meetings, etc.) or have a general curiosity about AA discussions in general (e.g. topics above and beyond technology like committees and group dynamics), you would probably want to select the default “General” option.

If your primary interest is in Archives only, you probably want to select the “Archives” option. Note that with either option, you will still have access to all topics on the forum but with the “Archives” option, your “home screen” will automatically place you in the “Archives” category where most of those conversations happen.