Let’s start with ‘Chat‘, which is the shorthand term for real-time group instant message communication over the Internet. Two or more people meet in ‘chat rooms’ for regularly scheduled online LifeRing meetings, often structured exactly like an f2f meeting with each person having an opportunity (but not a requirement) to ‘check in’ with what’s going on in their lives and with their sobriety, both recently and upcoming. As with f2f meetings, cross talk, meaning supportive and helpful responses to the check-in from anyone present, is encouraged. Just as with the in-person meetings, regular visitors become familiar to each other and real friendships blossom. When there is no meeting scheduled, there are very often LifeRing members hanging out in the chat room ready for more informal interaction but also available for sobriety support.

It’s the ‘real-time’ element of this form of communication that is important to many. Other online venues, including e-mail groups, the Forum and the Ning social networking site, allow for much longer comments, but the responses often take hours or even days to arrive. In chat, brevity may be the hallmark, but responses are immediate, and that’s a crucial difference. If you’re being overwhelmed by tumultuous emotions, you may not feel able to wait for the next f2f meeting, or for a response to a post to one of the other venues. The chat room can be like a telephone, providing instant support from people who understand what you’re feeling. And yet it also remains very anonymous, which, perhaps ironically, seems to encourage greater honesty and openness, two of the most crucial elements in the recovery process. Because of this, the chat room can help people develop and expand social skills at a pace and in a way that feels comfortable to them.

Chat isn’t for everyone — the conversations tend to move along swiftly and disjointedly and it takes awhile to get used to that. The anonymity that encourages honesty also encourages a certain anarchic atmosphere that can be disconcerting to some. But you can’t beat it for convenience and availability. Registration is required, but it’s easy For people unsure about wanting to attend a face-to-face meeting in early sobriety, due to anxiety issues or other emotions, the chat room can be a way to enter the recovery world with that real-time support, but in a way that feels comfortable. Give it a try by clicking here to go the LifeRing chat room.

Other LifeRing online venues will be discussed in coming days.

The old website was launched in June 1996, fairly early in Web history, and it showed its age.  Over the years it grew and grew until it sprawled like a kudzu vine.  We’ve been talking forever about a new design.

We owe a big “Thank You!” to web designer Chris Adams of rollingorange.com, who volunteered his time and his professional skills to finally get us moving on a complete website overhaul.  Chris led the way in a thorough survey of stakeholders’ views, an assessment of our audiences, and a deep analysis and reorganization of the website content.  To Chris we owe also:

• the push to build this website on WordPress
• the concept of grouping all of the main content under three headings (now called Check out Lifering, Connect with LifeRing, Contribute to LifeRing)
• the idea to pile many different kinds of other content into a central blog on the Start Page
• and much else.

Unfortunately for us — fortunately for Chris — his paying work, which had slowed in the recession, picked up again and ate him up.  He was unable to continue working with us to implement the final graphic design.  While central features of the platform, structure and organization are his, the entire look and feel of the site as it stands today were developed independently.

As the founder and first webmaster of this site — originally called unhooked.com — it gives me great pleasure to conclude my tenure in this seat by completing at least the major portions of this new design.  While it still has its shortcomings, I feel confident that its cleaner look, easier navigation, broadly interactive features, and all-around greater usability will make for a better user experience and reach wider audiences.

And not only user experience!  One of the advantages of a Content Management System (CMS) — even a developing one like WordPress — is the ease with which many people can become website stakeholders by contributing content.  The CMS platform is uniquely adapted to team development.  If you have a passion for one or another recovery-related topic and are able to write about it, you can become a web author here, and reach the tens of thousands of people in many different countries who check in on lifering.org every month.

The site that you see here now has the core content of the old site, but quite a bit more of the material on the old site is worth keeping and will be moved to the new site in the weeks ahead.  And, no doubt, there will be bugs and broken links to try your patience.  Would you like to help? Send me an email: webmaster@lifering.org. Thanks.

Happy sober browsing!

– Marty N.