Confidential Mailing Lists

Confidential mailing lists are maintained throughout our service structure by Groups, Districts, Areas, and the World Service Office (WSO). Care must be taken that members’ identifying information from these confidential lists is not made available to the public in published materials or posted on public Al-Anon websites. Digest of Al-Anon and Alateen Policies, page 100.

Service Communication

Service communication via email is expedient and efficient, but care and common sense must be taken in its use, particularly in forwarding messages. Use of blind copies protects members’ anonymity. Members should select with care the email address(es) they use to conduct Al-Anon/Alateen business. It is recommended not to use members’ full names in them. Business email addresses might not provide privacy and could imply affiliation.

•  Current Mailing Addresses (CMAs), Group Representatives (GRs), and other trusted servants sending information by email to group members take care in the wording of email subject lines and use an email address that protects anonymity as the email addresses to which they are mailing may not be private.
• Email addresses of trusted servants are assumed to be private. Electronic correspondence sent among the links of service may include the name Al-Anon or Alateen.

As postal correspondence is delivered by public means, letters (including the return address) to an Al-Anon or Alateen member should never have the name Al-Anon or Alateen on the envelope. The WSO uses “AFG, Inc.” on envelopes sent to members in order to protect anonymity. Digest of Al-Anon and Alateen Policies, page 100-101.

Anonymity in Al-Anon/Alateen Publications

In all publications available to the general public, personal anonymity is maintained. Although the WSO requests that member submissions to WSO publications include full names, addresses, and phone numbers, the WSO publishes the material signed with “first name and initial, “Anonymous,” or a pseudonym. Service arm publications follow the same publishing policy when distributed outside the fellowship.

Publications and other materials meant for members (such as flyers, reports, letters, email messages, and newsletters) that identify members by full name or provide members’ phone number or address can be posted on Al-Anon/Alateen password-protected websites. Posting material meant for members on websites that are not password-protected could result in publishing a member’s full name, which violates the principle of anonymity. See “Anonymity”: “Anonymity Outside of Al-Anon/Alateen”: “Anonymity and the Media.”  Digest of Al-Anon and Alateen Policies, Page 101.

See Maintaining Anonymity while sharing meeting information on the Al-Anon Family Groups website.