A Brief History of OIAA

In 1994, the online members of the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous began to look forward to participating in the International Convention in San Diego, held in June 1995. Many in our community felt it would be a great opportunity to meet some of our fellow alcoholics face to face, further bonding the close friendships we had made in our online groups.

The Living Cyber Committee was formed in March 1994 to coordinate the hosting of a hospitality suite at the convention. Participation ― or membership ― in the LCC was open to all recovering alcoholics who wished to join. Alcoholics from all corners of the online community ― bulletin boards, commercial online services, and the Internet ― joined in the effort.

Prior to the convention, the LCC endeavored to communicate its existence, purpose, and activities to all known online A.A. groups. A Web page was set up. Flyers containing information on how to contact the Fellowship online and how to find online A.A. resources were compiled, printed, and distributed at the convention.

Our plans evolved to include a link to the online fellowship ― to those who could not attend the convention in person. Three computers were set up in the suite and stayed online continuously with alcoholics around the world.

The Living Cyber Suite was a resounding success, providing a gathering place for members of online groups to meet each other in person, usually for the first time. Visitors were given an opportunity to log on to the actual online Fellowship. Those unable to travel to San Diego were able to "virtually" attend the convention through the suite. Two major email groups, several groups from the major online services, and an Internet Relay Chat channel participated in uniting alcoholics from all over the world with the online members and visitors in the suite.

Following the convention, it was decided to dissolve the existing committee and reform. All online A.A. groups were invited to send a representative to the committee. We decided that we should serve as an Intergroup, serving the A.A. groups online.

The Online Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous now represents scores of online groups with a combined membership numbering many thousands.