Created: 7/98 Last updated: 11/27/02
See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge Newsgroups: alt.recovery.na,alt.answers,news.answers Subject: [alt.recovery.na] Welcome - read this first! Summary: This posting describes the newsgroup alt.recovery.na, including where to find more information. It should be read by anyone who wishes to post to the alt.recovery.na newsgroup. Followup-To: alt.recovery.na Archive-name: alt-recovery-na-welcome Posting-Frequency: biweekly Version: 3.0 URL: http://www.syix.com/mleahey/arna/index.htm Hello and welcome to alt.recovery.na (arna)! (For those of you wondering what the na stands for, it's Narcotics Anonymous.) If you've read some of the posts you're probably wondering just what you've stumbled into. Hopefully, this FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) will help you figure it out. If you're new to USENET, you might also want to subscribe to news.announce.newusers for general information on posting and netiquette. WHAT IS ARNA? The best answer is to explain what arna *isn't*. arna isn't a meeting, though posts regarding recovery and issues surrounding staying clean are discussed. arna isn't affiliated with any NA service board or committee, and isn't bound by the traditions, contrary to what some here believe. Just think of arna as the meeting after the meeting and you'll get the idea. ARNA has a home page on the web it can be found at: http://www.syix.com/mleahey/arna/index.htm CAN ONLY MEMBERS OF NA POST HERE? Nope. Anyone with access to USENET has the ability to subscribe and post articles to arna. Though, for the most part, it's members of NA and sometimes AA who post here, anyone can post and take part in the discussions. From time to time individuals with an ax to grind drop in to tell the world that NA/AA is a harmful cult with a hidden agenda, and that members are mindless zombies. They're basically ignored or ridiculed except when they make a concerted effort to disrupt the group. If you've had bad experiences with 12 step organizations, we think you'll be happier over in alt.recovery.rational or alt.recovery.from-12-steps. Both groups will welcome you with open arms and support. Bashing NA and people for being members of NA is off topic and we ask that you respect that. We have no wish to stifle discussion but there are enough flamewars within this group as it is, and there are plenty of other forums in which you may vent your anger and/or disillusionment with the fellowship. However, if you wish to engage in a rational discussion of weaknesses you see in the fellowship, or wish to criticize aspects you see as not working, please feel free. Promotion of other programs of recovery is off-topic and considered flamebaiting. Promotion of other programs of recovery that are profit driven is spamming. Promotion of recovery products or websites that require payment is spamming. If you engage in these practices, steps will be taken to make you stop. WHAT IS ON TOPIC FOR ARNA? Pretty much anything you feel like talking about with the exceptions described previously. We don't want to put too many rules in since we like the way the group is now. Keep in mind that this is a public and un-moderated forum, if you post your opinion you are likely to get responses. Some of them will be in agreement, but it's just as likely to be disagreement in the form of parody, argument, and sarcasm. Try not to take it personally, it's usually not meant that way. PEOPLE ARE CALLING ME A TROLL. WHAT IS THAT AND WHY ARE THEY SAYING IT? A troll is someone who posts outrageous articles in the hopes of a response. In arna trolls usually take the form of a regular poster coming in pretending to be new and posting outrageous articles. This has happened so often that most regular posters tend to look on new people with some suspicion. Again, don't take it personally, keep posting and we'll eventually figure out that you're genuine. WHAT IS A GUARDIAN AND WHY ARE PEOPLE CALLING ME THAT? Check out http://www.syix.com/mleahey/GOR/sheild.htm YOU PEOPLE ARE UNSPIRITUAL AND NEED HELP WHY DON'T YOU POST SOMETHING POSITIVE AND LOVING? Duh. The name of the newsgroup should have clued you in. If you don't like what you're reading then post something you think is worth discussing. People will either ignore you, respond positively, or respond negatively. This is the beauty of a public, un-moderated forum. You get out of it what you put into it. If you absolutely can't stand what a particular poster writes you may want to consider using a kill-file. If you don't know what a kill-file is, you should probably subscribe to news.announce.newusers and/or contact tech support at your I.S.P. for more information. A newsgroup takes on the character of those who post to it. For the most part the regular posters to arna take a fairly irreverent view of life and the program in general and the service structure specifically. You aren't obliged to agree but if you find yourself getting upset and taking what you read here to heart after you logoff, you may want to think about finding alternative forums. ARE THERE MORE PROGRAM-ORIENTED FORUMS? Yes. There are on-line meetings held at specific times and dates, there's also an NA list-serve below is one list-serve. I'll be adding more information as I find out about it.[1] 1. Narcotics Anonymous online meeting www.egna.org Send requests to join the group here http://www.egna.org/join.cfm You may want to check with your news.admin at your ISP as to whether or not your server carries USENET2, specifically, net.support.addiction.misc. USENET2 is a somewhat moderated version of USENET classic (what you're reading right now) where spam, flames, and off-topic posts are kept to a minimum. You should also read the net.support FAQ to get familiar with what is and isn't acceptable to post. WHAT DO ES&H, ISP, BTW, AND LOL MEAN? These are USENET shorthand for: ES&H - Experience Strength and Hope ISP - Internet Service Provider BTW - By The Way BT - Basic Text LOL - Laughing Out Loud ROTFLMAO - Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off BB - Baby Blue or Big Book IRC - Internet Relay Chat WSO - World Service Office WSC - World Service Conference NAWS - Narcotics Anonymous World Services ASC - Area Service Committee RSC - Regional Service Committee IIRC - If I Recall Correctly AFAIK - As Far As I Know ARF - alt.recovery.from-12-steps ARFERS - denizens of alt.recovery.from-12-steps YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary .02 - two cents [1] I don't have any more information other than that, use your favorite search engine and I'm sure you'll find them eventually. User Contributions:
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Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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