📜 DGL Bros Charter

V6 (02/15/2025)

📕 Table of Contents

☀️ Introduction & Mission Statement

 🐺 SLAA cofounders founded DGL Bros won February 13th, 2023, as an informal WhatsApp thread to save time by sharing their DGLs in one chat instead of copying and pasting them to multiple recipients each day. Since then, DGL Bros has evolved into a unique support community with its own distinct culture, practices, and rules.

🐺 DGL Bros is an anonymous, not-for-profit men's support and accountability service community for SLAA brothers. Our primary purpose is to provide supplemental support for SLAA recovery through the healing power of prayer, accountability, gratitude, and fellowship. While DGL Bros is inspired by 12-step principles, this is not a 12-step group and is not meant to replace working a 12-step program. DGL Bros is governed by experienced admins but all members are encouraged to voice their perspectives, which admins consider when making decisions. 

🐺 Our mascot is the wolf which represents strength, teamwork, and community. 

ℹ️ Rules are subject to change but any major changes will offer a 90 day grace period for fellows to voice concerns or make arrangements. 

ℹ️ For any questions, concerns, or complaints please contact an admin. 

🔒 Confidentiality, Anonymity & Data Security Statement

🛡️ As members of 12-step programs in a digital world, it is important to review and understand data & confidentiality choices and expectations. All communications within DGL bros, membership information, & WhatsApp chats are strictly confidential. WhatsApp messages are securely end-to-end encrypted, meaning that only the person sending and receiving the messages has access (according to the terms and conditions, the WhatsApp platform cannot read members’ messages but may have access to data that “a message was sent at X time”). Although WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted, please note that posts shared on DGL channels may be vulnerable to being compromised by data stored on devices or drives like chat backups or screen hacks, which are not encrypted. As a result, each member is invited to decide for himself what he does or does not feel comfortable sharing, understanding that there is always a risk of compromised data.

🛡️ Please only share first names, last initials, nicknames/monikers and city/state names to identify oneself. Please do not provide any identifying personal information on any DGL channel. Members are welcome to share their personally identifying details privately at their own discretion.

🛡️ Members joining DGL bros who decide to join are required to take a vow of confidentiality upon their Higher Power (H.P.) to honor this sacred commitment. [Vow at the end of cahrter]. If a prospective member has questions or concerns about this vow, they are asked to discuss this with an admin,

🛡️ For the safety & serenity of the group, please do not mention any specific illegal activities or behaviors, if needed members may simply refer to these vaguely as “U.B.s” — “unlawful behaviors”

🛡️ Any use of 3rd party applications to analyze, export, or externally process DGL Bros data is strictly prohibited. WhatsApp’s native backup feature is the only acceptable form of exporting data in the case of a loss or disablement of a device, as WhatsApp chats are not backed up on WhatsApp servers. 

💬 WhatsApp Community

DGL Bros has three primary chat channels in the WhatsApp community:

🏔️ Classic

"🏔️ Classic" is a channel we consider a sacred space. Use this channel for outreach requests, daily gratitude lists (DGLs), reflections, recovery exercises, affirmations, 2WPs (2-way prayers), accountability checks, day counts, and feelings or experience check-ins.

⭐ Positive support, experience, strength, and hope in response to messages is welcome, however, please refrain from directive or critical feedback, or discussing outside issues for the serenity of the group. We strive to create a positive, supportive, focused, listening and drama-free space where brothers can feel heard & seen.

⚠️ For the serenity of the group, please follow the sharing guidelines:

Media: Please refrain from posting photos, memes, videos, documents, stickers or links. "😎 Freestyle" channel is the appropriate channel for posting these.

Voice Notes: Please limit voice note shares to one per day on classic.

Cultural References: Please refrain form mentioning specific cultural, arts. entertainment, or political names, figures, or works in classic. Example:

• • • ✅ "Today I am grateful for funk music"

    • ✅ "Today I am grateful for podcast I listened to"

    • ❌ "Today I am grateful for the music of Earth, Wind & Fire"

    • ❌ "Today I am grateful for Michael Michaelson's podcast"

Fellows may share specific names of cultural figures on Freestyle as long as the content and expression of such mentions is stated in an uplifting and non-divisive way, as determined by moderators and admins.

Responding to Outside Matters: Please do not respond to a person's share in Classic to discuss outside matters. Freestyle is the appropriate channel for such discussions. Use the "@" feature to tag the fellow. Example:

• • • Fellow A shares in classic: "Today I am grateful for funk music"

    • ✅ Fellow B responds in Freestlye: “ @FellowA I saw your gratitude for funk music! Who's your favorite funk artist?” → appropriate discussion of outside issues in Freestyle, no unsolicited feedback/suggestions

    • ❌ Fellow B responds in Classic: “ @FellowA WOW I am a huge fan of Earth, Wind & Fire ! I love funk too!” → Mentioning specific cultural references, artists, figures etc. and / or responding to discuss outside issues is not approrpriate for Classic. Freestyle is the appropriate channel to respond respectfully.

S-Related Shares: Please refrain from mentioning body parts or describing S-related acts. It’s okay to talk about S-related matters using vague language omitting details as long as the focus is on our feelings. Example:

• • • ✅ “I had a sexual experience with my partner. I felt [feeling A]” → Vague mentions and focus on feelings are welcome.

    • ❌ “I had a sexual experience with my partner. We did [sexual acts XYZ then ABC] involving [body part A].” → Detailed mentions of sexual acts or body parts are not appropriate for any DGL Bros Channel. Admins encourage fellows to discuss with their fellows or sponsors what is and isn’t appropriate to share with whom.

Identifying Details: Please refrain from identifying details or names in shares, with the exception of positive, non-feedback mentions of fellows in the group. Examples:

• • • ✅ “I really related to fellow Josh’s share.” → Positive mention of fellows are okay.

    • ✅ “I was frustrated by my boss,” → Appropriate non-identifying mention.

    • ❌ “I was frustrated with my boss, Bill.” → Not okay to identify non-group individuals.

    • ❌ “I was frustrated by fellow Paul J.” → Not okay to mention a fellow by name if the context or content is negative.

    • ❓ “I hadn’t seen fellow Paul J. in awhile.” → While not explicitly negative and not technically breaking the rule, the comment could be construed in a negative light depending on the context.

Divisive Discussions: Please refrain from derogatory or divisive discussion of outside topics such as race, religion, politics, and gender identity. We may share on these topics only as they are relevant to our feelings, and the focus is on our experience. We do not identify “outside enemies”. Examples:

• • • ✅ “As a person of identity A, I sometimes perceive myself to be the victim of [situation B].” → Appropriate. Focuses on fellow’s feelings and personal experience.

    • ❌ “As a person of group A, I strongly disagree with people of group B.” → Not appropriate. The focus is not on feelings and an “outside enemy” is identified.

    • ✅ “This week I went to a political rally, and I felt a sense of belonging.” → Appropriate. Does not identify a specific political party or group, focuses on feelings.

    • ❌ “This week I went to a political rally for Candidate A/Party A and I felt a sense of belonging.” → Not appropriate. Identifies and associates with a specific political ideology.

Admins and mods reserve the final right to remove posts deemed inappropriate. Admins reserve the right to post relevant links, documents & announcements in DGL Classic

😎 Freestyle

"😎 Freestyle" is a forum where members can share fun or humorous posts, including photos, videos, links etc. Many members share art, music, and top line activities on this channel. 

⚠️ For the serenity of the group, please follow the sharing guidelines:

• Please keep posts rated "G" in terms of content

• No sexual innuendos, jokes, references, or lewd humor

Admins and moderators reserve the right to remove content deemed disruptive or inappropriate.

☀️ Service Channel

"☀️ Service [S]" is the appropriate channel for all service and group business related matters. Fully initiated members who take service positions are added to this channel after their 90-day introductory period. Brothers close to completing their 90-day period may be added early at their own request and admin’s discretion for ease of scheduling trainings.

Additional service channels for service roles are indicated as [S] for service. 

🛡️ Service Positions

After the 90-day introductory period, DGL Bros are required to be of service for continued membership. Continued time in DGL bros unlocks new service roles and ranks. DGL bros are welcome to hold multiple roles but only one is required to fulfill the mandatory service requirement.

🐥 Initiate (0-90 days)

🥉 Brother (90-180 days)

• • ❄️  Chaplain: calls and checks in with DGL bros 

  • ⚡ Announcer: announces DGL bros in meetings

  • 🔥 Intaker: intakes DGL recruits

🥈 Guardian (180-365 days)

• • 🚩 Captain: coordinates chaplains, announcers and intakers

  • 🔔 Shepherd: tracks user activity and removes inactive users. 

  • 🛡️ Moderator: moderates chat channels

  • 🎓 Trainer: conducts service trainings 

  • 🖋 Literature Person: writes and revises written materials

🎖️ Admin (365+ days)

🫱🏼‍🫲🏾 Membership

DGL Bros is open to all qualifying SLAA men who undergo the intake process and commit to doing mandatory service after the 90-day introductory period. 

☠️ Removal

As an accountability group, there is a mandatory minimum activity and service requirement to participate in DGL Brothers. Fellows may be removed by a shpherd or admin in the following scenarios:

• Failure to post a check-in or DGL within the first 7 days of joining

• Failure to undergo service training after 90 days

• Failure to post a monthly service check-in after service training

• Failure to fulfill service tasks

• Inactivity for more than 60 days without prior notice

• Repeated intentional violation of channel guidelines, harassment, devisiveness, disrepespect etc. despite warnings [Admin approval required]

Courtesy inactivity reminders may be provided at an admin or shepherd's discretion but are not guaranteed.To be restored, members must undergo the intake process anew.

👋🏼 Welcoming New Members

🛡️ The Confidentiality, Anonymity & Data Security Vow

Please note that this vow only relates to honor sacred confidentiality — There is not, nor will there ever be a vow for continued participation. Members are encouraged to explore the community and decide if it works for them, to stay when it works and leave when it is no longer useful. Please make the following vow with the admin or headhunter:

“I, ________________ (name), solemnly vow ____________ (upon [fellow's choice of Higher Power or Principle]) to keep confidential and secret all information and data shared on DGL to non-participants, unless explicitly given permission by the sharing individual.”

📦 DGL Starter Pack

New members of DGL bros are encouraged (but not required) to do the following introductory tasks to help them on their journey

1. Do 30 consecutive daily gratitude lists in 30 days, with at least 10 items on each list. If you miss a day, start over until you get it. This exercise has changed the lives of many fellows and was originally suggested by an experienced veteran of SLAA.

2. Introduce yourself on DGL Classic. Share your name, number, location, patterns, behaviors, and interests. Examples might be:

   • “Hi guys, my name is Quentin B. from NYC. You can reach me at [phone number] My patterns include compulsive P&M and lying. I am currently in a long-term relationship I am trying to reconcile. I am a musician and want to connect more to my art in recovery”

   • or “Hello brothers, this is Thomas R. from LA. My # is [phone number] is My patterns include anorexia and romantic obsession. I am early in program and don’t have a dating plan yet. I am really into cars, if anybody is interested in that.”

3. Personally introduce yourself to 5 DGL bros you are interested in getting to know more and arrange outreach calls.

If you have read this far and decided DGL Bros is a community and practice you would like to try, congratulations! Not many make it this far.