online-meeting-types

[twn2twn]

Hi Jeff B from OIAA,

PAC has been getting a lot of requests for a filter for 'Concepts' meetings.
Also, the directory team has seen requests for 'topic' meetings.
Hybrid is still in the mix since some like to transition to the hybrid live meeting as they did when lock down ended.

Could this be less of a hassle if some of the unused or lesser used filters were substituted?
Fragrance Free, Smoking Permitted, Breakfast or Location Temporarily Closed?
or perhaps there's a way of seeing what is not being used?
thank you, Jeff B

[joshreisner]

hey jeff, these projects follow the meeting guide spec, which is used by many AA service entities, so we have to be very careful about making changes.

the spec doesn't have a type for "Concept Study" (like we do for "Step Study" or "Tradition Study") because the meeting finder is generally understood to be for recovery meetings, so we discourage listing other types of gatherings like concept studies, business meetings, and service events. has there been a larger discussion at OIAA about including these types of meetings? it might be worth a larger discussion!

we don't have a specific type for "Hybrid" meetings, you can read more about the rationale here. one way forward might be to start displaying physical locations when available, but that would mean entering physical locations, rather than just checking a box. this probably requires some longer-term thinking as well.

the "Discussion" type is commonly understood to be the same thing as "Topic Discussion" (similar to how "Newcomer" is the same as "Beginner") - i would steer people to that type if possible.