SURVEY

Our group web site is here: http://www.e-aa.org. We are reviewing the site for accessibility, usefullness, and content. Your feedback on the following, either formal or informal, is welcome.

1. Should we change the dark blue background on most pages to white or a light color?

• No. It is great the way it is.
• No it is fine as is.
• To a lighter colour, yes.
• I like the dark blue.
• I don't see a need to change.
• All the pages appear on my 'puter as white.
• Yes, a lighter color might be better. I noticed that some of the operating documents are white with blue lettering. I think that is nice, but I don't think we should go all blue and white that way. Maybe a lighter blue? I am guessing we are going with the color of the Big Book?
• No, I like the dark blue background.
• I would make it a bit lighter, but that would go at the expense of the 12 steps in the background. I think it's important that people can read them at the first page. But the big font "e-AA" is covering it a bit. Don't know if there is a way around. Most of the background colour is blue, and suddenly some of the screens are white. I would stick to one colour, reads easier. Stories & More is blue, click on here and background is white.
• No.

2. If you were a newcomer, or just new to online AA, how easy would you find it to contact the group for help or to get into our meetings? (Scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being extremely difficult and 10 being extremely easy). Comment if you have suggestions. Split this into two questions if you wish, one for getting help, one for getting subscribed (email) or registered (chat) for the meetings. We don't need to know about forums registrations, since the forums are what they are and no changes can be made unless we change programs. Also, difficulties entering the chat rooms once a person is registered need not be included. That's a separate issue.

• Will answer with memory of when I first came, plus a little actual checking. It was easy to find about the chat rooms and to register. Even after I had been in the chat rooms for a while, it was difficult to subscribe to e-mail meetings. Those who never participated in a mail meeting, as in my case, may have no idea of what it is, and the page could be more helpful and clarify that. I tried the Subscription Form and it did not work to get me subscribed. I filled it in again just now to test and Majordomo sent me an answer imediately. After the second mail it said my request was sent to owner of list ... seems to be going ok. Lets see :) I just remember having tried subscribing from the site and never getting one answer until someone in the chat room took my adress and said they would get me added. When I received the Majordomo instructions, it was not clear, at least not to me, whether I should write something just on the subject line or if should paste it in the body of the e-mail (the confirmation mail). Guess I am good for testing what and how a "know nothing" person can be confused about something simple to a "know something" person! Done 2 hours ago and am still not on that list. So if someone is looking for help now, like they are discussing in steppers, our subscriptions are taking too long. Did I delay it without meaning to by putting the same info in the subject line and also in the body of the message? Is it possible to make it more clear and fast?
• Getting help is not so difficult, let's say a 7-8, but I would make that button slightly bigger than all the other buttons on the home page. So that the attention is drawn at it. Subscribing is a bit more difficult; the textbox to put in your e-mail address is too short.
• N/A
• I give it a 9. Since I am not a newcomer and I could find the 'How to Get Help' on the top of the page.
• I found my way here easily and subscribed easily and am not very agile on the computer or internet. I was motivated. One thing I might recommend, though, is how some things are worded or described. For instance, it took me a while to figure out that the lists are meetings and not groups. I was not familiar with AA terminology. Sometimes I think we use an AA vocabulary that newcomers may be unfamiliar with. I know I have had this thought but don;t recall specific instances. I'll have to go back to the website and see if I can identify examples of this sort of thing. (One example in my case was when I signed up for the Members list. I didn't know it was a business meeting; I didn;t even know what a business meeting was! I just thought it was a directory of sorts where those who had joined the group put there names.)
• I made it in on my first try, but did not have the pop-up blockers that still seem to cause people problems. So, I'd say a 9. Never used the get help buttons.
• For getting help, 9, I didnt have any experience of AA on-line before e-AA. For subscription, 8.
• I found it very easy to find e-aa when I got here and very easy to get into the chat room. Not withstanding the new problems. I had more trouble trying to figure out how to register. The people in the chat room helped me figure it out. I don't know how much easier we would like to make it. I was new to computing and the whole Majordomo thing confused me at the time. I don't find it so difficult now. So I would say it was difficult to those new to computing.
• Getting help: Probably a 7. When I was involved in this area, I felt that too many people were responding to the inquiries. Getting subscribed (email). Probably an 8. I feel the subscription page is too "buried" within the links. Getting subscribed to the members list seems too difficult, although we do have a core of members anyway. Getting subscribed (chat). Not applicable, I very rarely use the chat, but don't recall any problems. I think it "felt" different from the rest of the group.

3. Have you ever used, or how often do you use, any of the following? (If you didn't even know they were there, just say that.)

• "Tell a Friend" button
  • never used it
  • didn't know it was there, uhm, where is it BTW
  • twice
  • didn't know was there
  • no
  • ?
  • didn't know it was there
  • never noticed it
  • never used it
  • never used it, probably wouldn't either
    
• Search Engine (our web site as well as AA history sites, etc.)
  • few times
  • used it
  • never tried it
  • few times
  • no
  • used
  • didn't know it was there
  • nah, don't use it
  • used it once
  • didn't know about it
    
• Polls
  • once
  • haven't used it but know it is there and might have reason to so I think it is useful
  • few times
  • no
  • used
  • didn't know it they were there
  • rarely
  • took several of the polls; polls are always fun
  • too infrequent, and multiple responses seem to be accepted
    
• "It's in the Book" random quote
  • few times
  • I have to go back and look at our home page; what's this?
  • never
  • didn't know it was there
  • no
  • ?
  • didn't know it was there
  • sorry, don't use it
  • honestly, never noticed it before; first time I saw it
  • never heard of it
    
• Sobriety calculator
  • once
  • used it when I first joined; it was fun and interesting
  • few times
  • use this once in a while, get a real silly kick out of seeing how many sober heartbeats
  • yes
  • used
  • didn't know it was there
  • I do like and use the sobriety calculator
  • used it once, take it one day at a time, don't need to know how many days
  • don't use
    
• Virtual postcards
  • thought of using it, but it has too few options; would like it to grow with more options
  • have used them, I think; I used somekind of e-aa cards
  • once
  • never use it
  • no
  • ?
  • didn't know it was there
  • I love the postcards and I do use them
  • never used them
  • never considered using

4. If you answered #3, which of those features/programs do you feel we could get rid of?

• None of them.
• "Tell a friend," virtual postcards.
• I would get rid of the sobriety calculator. We always hear to live by the day, it's not important how many days, only today is important.
• Not sure what others may like and use, so I'll abstain.
• Virtual Postcards. They are very pretty and calming, but really don't speak to the problem of our alcoholism and recovery. At least not to me.
• Others may find these things useful. I wouldn't get rid of any.
• Polls, "It's in the Book," virtual postcards. But, these are bound to be someone else's favorites.
• Postcards
• The ones I didn't find? I haven't used enough to really comment.

5. List, and comment if desired, anything that needs improvement (clearer wording, fewer words, more words, etc.).

Note: One person made several of the following comments. They are listed separately for clarity.

• Would like more explanation about e-mail meetings: how to subscribe and how it works (or what it actually is).
• How to select an email meeting and how to register. I think how to register mostly.
• Clearer wording, and, more words. Im not a stupid person. I do find in some cases that I dont understand what is being said or how to do certain things regarding e-AA.
• Home page screen takes a long while to load on dial up. And, the holiday graphics I never did see because I was too impatient to wait for them. But, it spurred me on to get DSL.
• The 'Our Stories' page is too busy. Too much information in too small a place.
• I'm easy. I'm totally satisfied with our home here.
• If you click on "Contact Us," you can select 3 committees you can contact. The first one (.Write to our 12th Step Committee.) starts with a ".", I suppose that is a typo. Yes, I admit I'm splitting-hairs. My eye just fell on it.
• The textbox to put in your e-mail address if you want to subscribe or unsubscribe is too short. Makes it difficult to check your own address once you typed or copy/pasted it in.
• Let's talk: click on sober mail, you first get a white screen, better turn off echo to screen or put screen off, something like that, it's a bit annoying. There are more pages that have this annoying thing.
• About AA: point at the second last "click me" it shows about AA. Point at the last "click me" it shows also about AA, should be public service announcement.
• AA Grapevine: the "click me" link to the archives doesn't work (page cannot be found), the Grapevine Archives link does work.
• AA Grapevine: all the "click me" links are redirected via another site, the other links are direct links. Better make the click me links the same if possible. Stories & More: chatroom opens in a separate window, forum not. Most of the buttons and links open another window that you can close in the upper right corner with the "x", but some don't open in a new window and you have to use the back button. If you are not aware of that, you close the whole website, and the internet explorer. Or you always have to use the back button, or open everything in a separate window. Uniformity throughout the whole site makes it easier for everyone.
• Stories & More has a picture and some text about our stories. I would replace that to stories with a link from there to the stories. Now the button stories has a direct link to stories, which is again not uniform with the rest of the buttons on the left. Stories & More would need another name then.
• Access to the email lists could be fewer clicks away.

6. What's missing from our web site?

• Will keep thinking about... if have any suggestions I will mail them later. But now, can't think of anything. Maybe because there is nothing missing. :)
• Nothing I can think of. Perhaps more polls could increase the usage of those, though I wonder what we'd really do with the results.
• What I look in every web site is a search button on the home page. Found a "site search" deep down in stories and more. I would put it on the home page.
• I'm easy. I'm totally satisfied with our home here.
• Nothing I could see was missing.
• Maybe an "AA Glossary."
• I cant answer that, sorry.
• I happen to like this meeting the best of the few I have tried. That's why dispite the bickering (of which I am often a part) I stick around. I still think this site is more like a real AA meeting then the other's.

7. What else would you like to say about our web site?

• It is a great site!
• Well, being a true alcohol----I hate change so I'd rather it was left alone, but, that isn't always healthy. Soooo, I will side with whatever the pundits think best.
• I would like to say a big thankyou to everyone who works behind the scenes of the web site to keep it running, I dont know anything about computers or web sites, Im just grateful to be able to come on line at e-AA.
• I think it's great.
• I'm really glad it's here. Keep up the great work!
• I love it?
• I visit it a lot, like to read the stories. I'm gratefull that it helps me with my sobriety.
• Overall I feel it's a very good site. It also seems very reliable.