/spec

Detailed specification and sample scripts for the Meeting Guide API

Primary LanguagePHP

Meeting Guide API

The goal of the Meeting Guide API is help sync information about AA meetings. It was developed for the Meeting Guide app, but it is non-proprietary and other systems are encouraged to make use of it.

If you have feedback, please put an issue on this repository.

Usage

To implement the API on your server, create a file that can take information from your database and format it in the correct specification (see below).

For security, your script should not accept any parameters. It should be read-only.

Your data must not break anyone's anonymity. No last names should be used in meeting notes, and no one's face should be pictured in meeting images.

You may test your feed with the Meeting Guide JSON Feed Validator. Once it's ready, or if you have questions, see How to Connect to Meeting Guide.

If you would like to share your script, we'll include a copy in this repository so that it might help future users.

Specification

The JSON file is expected to contain a simple array of meetings. Here is an example of a live JSON feed.

[
	{
		"name": "Sunday Serenity",
		"slug": "sunday-serenity-14",
		"day": 0,
		"time": "18:00",
		"end_time": "19:30",
		"location": "Alano Club",
		"group": "The Serenity Group",
		"notes": "Ring buzzer. Meeting is on the 2nd floor.",
		"updated": "2014-05-31 14:32:23",
		"url": "https://intergroup.org/meetings/sunday-serenity",
		"types": [
			"O",
			"T",
			"LGBTQ"
		],
		"address": "123 Main Street",
		"city": "Anytown",
		"state": "CA",
		"postal_code": "98765",
		"country": "US",
		"approximate": "no"
	},
	...
]

name is a required string. It should be the meeting name, where possible. Some areas use group names instead, although that's more abiguous. 255 characters max.

slug is required, and must be unique to your data set. It should preferably be a string, but integer IDs are fine too.

day is required and may be an integer or an array of integers 0-6, representing Sunday (0) through Saturday (6).

time is a required five-character string in the HH:MM 24-hour time format.

end_time is an optional five-character string in the HH:MM 24-hour time format.

timezone is an optional string in tz database format e.g. America/New_York.

types is an optional array of standardized meeting types. See the types section below.

notes is an optional long text field to hold additional details about the meeting. Line breaks are ok, but HTML will be stripped.

conference_url is an optional URL to a specific public videoconference meeting. This should be a common videoconferencing service such as Zoom or Google Hangouts. It should launch directly into the meeting and not link to an intermediary page.

conference_url_notes is an optional string which contains metadata about the conference_url (eg meeting password in plain text for those groups unwilling to publish a one-tap URL).

conference_phone is telephone number to dial into a specific meeting. Should be numeric, except a + symbol may be used for international dialers, and ,, *, and # can be used to form one-tap phone links.

conference_phone_notes is an optional string with metadata about the conference_phone (eg a numeric meeting password or other user instructions).

location is an optional string and should be a recognizable building or landmark name.

location_notes is an optional long text field with notes applying to all meetings at the location.

formatted_address either this or the address / city / state / postal_code / country combination are required.

address, city, state, postal_code, and country are all optional strings, but together they must form an address that Google can identify. address and city are suggested. Take special care to strip extra information from the address, such as 'upstairs' or 'around back,' since this is the primary cause of geocoding problems. (That information belongs in the notes field.) Intersections are usually ok, but approximate addresses, such as only a city or route, do not have enough precision to be listed in the app.

latitude and longitude are optional numeric values indicating the geoposition of the meeting. Only five decimal places of precision are necessary here (1.11m). These values are ignored by the Meeting Guide importer.

approximate is an optional stringified boolean value, that, when present, indicates whether the address is an approximate location ("yes") or a specific point on a map such as a street address ("no"). This is ignored by the Meeting Guide importer.

region is an optional string that represents a geographical subset of meeting locations. Usually this is a neighborhood or city. District numbers are discouraged because they require special program knowledge to be understood.

updated is an optional UTC timestamp in the format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS and indicates when the listing was last updated.

image is an optional url that should point to an image representing the location. We recommend an image of the building's facade. Ideally this is a JPG image 1080px wide by 540px tall.

group is an optional string representing the name of the group providing the meeting. Groups can hold meetings in multiple locations.

group_notes is an optional long text field. Line breaks are ok, but HTML will be stripped.

venmo is an optional string and should be a Venmo handle, eg @AAGroupName. This is understood to be the address for 7th Tradition contributions to the meeting, and not any other entity.

square is an optional string and should be a Square Cash App cashtag, eg $AAGroupName. This is understood to be the address for 7th Tradition contributions to the meeting, and not any other entity.

paypal is an optional string and should be a PayPal.me username, eg AAGroupName. This is understood to be the address for 7th Tradition contributions to the meeting, and not any other entity.

url is optional and should point to the meeting's listing on the area website.

edit_url is an optional string URL that trusted servants can use to edit the specific meeting's listing.

feedback_url is an optional string URL that can be used to provide feedback about the meeting. These could be local links, eg /feedback?meeting=meeting-slug-1, remote links, eg https://typeform.com/to/23904203?meeting=meeting-slug-1, or email links, eg mailto:webservant@domain.org?subject=meeting-slug-1.

Common Questions & Concerns

We use different meeting codes!

That's ok. App users don't actually see the codes, just the types they translate to.

Our meeting type isn't listed!

Types have to be consistent across the app to make a good user experience. It's common that a user might see meeting results from several areas at a time (this happens in small areas, and near borders). The set of meeting types we use is a mutually-agreed-upon set of names across 70+ areas. If you have a request to edit the list, we will bring it up at our steering committee meeting.

Meeting Guide requirements

Some applications have requirements about what content needs to be in the feed. Meeting Guide, for example, requires slug, day, time, as well as geographic information to be present for it to be imported.

Why is slug necessary?

Slug is a required unique field because there is an app feature where users may 'favorite' a meeting, and in order for that to persist across sessions we must attach it to a unique field. It might seem intuitive that meeting location + time would be a unique combination, but in practice we see cases where there are in fact simultaneous meetings at the same location.

Why are day and time required?

It's perfectly fine for meetings to be 'by appointment' and this often happens in places where there are not many meetings. The app, however, needs this information to present useful information to the user.

Why is geographic information necessary for online-only meetings?

Meeting Guide has far too many meetings in its database to expose them all to individual users. To present only the most relevant information, Meeting Guide selects meetings that are "nearby" - even if that meeting is online. In these cases, the location can be thought of as a point of origin for the meeting, or a geographic affinity.

Use approximate locations for these meetings. formatted_address is the most flexible field for this, and values can be things like: Wicker Park, Chicago, IL, USA (neighborhood), Chicago, IL, USA (city), or Illinois, USA (state). It's also fine to use country, city, and state fields atomically.

These locations should standardized (can you find it with Google Maps?), and imply the time zone. For this reason, don't use a broad geographic area like United States that spans multiple time zones.

Why can't we have HTML in meeting notes?

Data should be portable across a range of devices, some of which might not display HTML.

What about business meetings or other monthly meetings?

This API is for weekly recovery meetings.

Meeting Types

The codes below are only used for transmitting meeting data. App users will only see the full definitions.

The codes below should be considered 'reserved.' In your implementation, it's ok to alter the description (for example "Topic Discussion" rather than "Discussion") so long as the intent is the same. For example, "Child Care Available" is a common substitute for "Babysitting Available." It's also ok to add types, they will be ignored by the importer, but be careful not to use any existing or proposed codes.

Code English Español Français 日本語 Svenska
11 11th Step Meditation Meditación del Paso 11 Méditation sur la 11e Étape ステップ11 黙想 11th Stegs Meditation
12x12 12 Steps & 12 Traditions 12 Pasos y 12 Tradiciones 12 Étapes et 12 Traditions 12のステップと12の伝統 12 Steg & 12 Traditioner
A Secular Secular Séculier 無宗教 Sekulärt
ABSI As Bill Sees It Como lo ve Bill Réflexions de Bill ビルはこう思う Som Bill Ser Det
AL Concurrent with Alateen Concurrente con Alateen En même temps qu’Alateen アラティーンと同時進行 Tillsammans med Alateen
AL-AN Concurrent with Al-Anon Concurrente con Al-Anon En même temps qu’Al-Anon アラノンと同時進行 Tillsammans med Al-Anon
ASL American Sign Language Lenguaje por señas Langage des Signes アメリカ手話 Amerikanskt teckenspråk
B Big Book Libro Grande Gros Livre ビッグブック Stora Boken
BA Babysitting Available Guardería disponible Garderie d’enfants disponible ベビーシッターあり Barnvakt Finns
BE Newcomer Principiantes Nouveau/nouvelle ビギナーズ Nykomling
BI Bisexual Bisexual Bisexuel バイセクシャル Bisexuellt
BRK Breakfast Desayuno Petit déjeuner 朝食 Frukost
C Closed Cerrada Fermé クローズド Slutet
CAN Candlelight Luz de una vela À la chandelle キャンドル Tända Ljus
CF Child-Friendly Niño amigable Enfants acceptés お子さま歓迎 Barnvänligt
D Discussion Discusión Discussion ディスカッション Diskussion
DB Digital Basket Canasta digital Panier numérique 電子献金 Digital Korg
DD Dual Diagnosis Diagnóstico dual Double diagnostic 重複診断 Dubbel Diagnos
DR Daily Reflections Reflexiones Diarias Réflexions quotidiennes 今日を新たに Dagliga Reflektioner
EN English Inglés Anglais 英語 Engelska
FF Fragrance Free Sin fragancia Sans parfum 香水なし Parfym Fritt
FR French Francés Français フランス語 Franska
G Gay Gay Gai ゲイ Gay
GR Grapevine La Viña Grapevine グレープバイン Grapevine
H Birthday Cumpleaños Anniversaire バースデー Födelsedag
HE Hebrew Hebreo Hébreu ヘブライ語 Hebreiska
ITA Italian Italiano Italien イタリア語 Italienska
JA Japanese Japonés Japonais 日本語 Japanska
KOR Korean Coreano Coréen 韓国語 Koreanska
L Lesbian Lesbianas Lesbienne レズビアン Lesbiskt
LGBTQ LGBTQ LGBTQ LGBTQ LGBTQ LGBTQ
LIT Literature Literatura Publications 書籍 Litteratur
LS Living Sober Viviendo Sobrio Vivre… Sans alcool リビングソーバー Leva Nyktert
M Men Hombres Hommes 男性 Mansmöte
MED Meditation Meditación Méditation 黙想 Meditationsmöte
N Native American Nativo Americano Autochtone ネイティブアメリカン Ur-amerikanskt
NDG Indigenous Indígena Indigène 先住民 Urfolkligt
O Open Abierta Ouvert(e) オープン Öppet
OUT Outdoor Al aire libre En plein air アウトドア Utomhus
P Professionals Profesionales Professionnels 職業人 Professionella
POC People of Color Gente de color Gens de couleur 有色人種 Färgade
POL Polish Polaco Polonais ポーランド語 Polska
POR Portuguese Portugués Portugais ポルトガル語 Portugisiska
PUN Punjabi Punjabi Pendjabi パンジャブ語 Punjabi
RUS Russian Ruso Russe ロシア語 Ryska
S Spanish Español Espagnol スペイン語 Spanska
SEN Seniors Personas mayores Séniors シニア Seniorer
SM Smoking Permitted Se permite fumar Permis de fumer 喫煙可 Rökning Tillåten
SP Speaker Orador Conférencier スピーカー Talare
ST Step Study Estudio de pasos Sur les Étapes ステップ Stegmöte
T Transgender Transgénero Transgenre トランスジェンダー Transpersoner
TC Location Temporarily Closed Ubicación temporalmente cerrada Emplacement temporairement fermé 一時的休止中 Tillfälligt Stängt
TR Tradition Study Estudio de tradicion Étude des Traditions 伝統 Traditionsmöte
W Women Mujer Femmes 女性 Kvinnomöte
X Wheelchair Access Acceso en silla de ruedas Accès aux fauteuils roulants 車いすアクセス Handikappanpassat
XB Wheelchair-Accessible Bathroom Baño accesible para sillas de ruedas Toilettes accessibles aux fauteuils roulants 車いす使用者用トイレ Handikappanpassad WC
XT Cross Talk Permitted Se permite opinar Conversation croisée permise クロストーク可能 Kommentarer Tilltåtna
Y Young People Gente joven Jeunes ヤング Young People

Proposed New Types

The following types are proposed for future use. They are not currently in use in the app.

Code English Español Français 日本語 Svenska
AM Amharic Amárico Amharique アムハラ語 Amhariska
BV-I Blind / Visually Impaired Ciego / Discapacidad Visual Aveugle / Malvoyant 視覚障害者 Blind / Synskadad
D-HOH Deaf / Hard of Hearing Sordo / Duro de Oído Sourd / Malentendant 聴覚障害者 Döv / Hörselskadad
DA Danish Danés Danois デンマーク語 Danska
DE German Alemán Allemand ドイツ語 Tyska
EL Greek Griego Grec ギリシャ語 Grekiska
FA Persian Persa Persan ペルシア語 Persiska
HI Hindi Hindi Hindi ヒンディー語 Hindi
HR Croatian Croata Croate クロアチア語 Kroatiska
HU Hungarian Húngaro Hongrois ハンガリー語 Ungerska
LO-I Loners / Isolationists Solitarios / Aislacionistas Solitaires / Isolationnistes 孤独 / 孤立主義者 Ensamvargar / Isolationister
LT Lithuanian Lituano Lituanien リトアニア語 Litauiska
ML Malayalam Malayalam Malayalam マラヤーラム語 Malayalam
POA Proof of Attendance Prueba de Asistencia Preuve de Présence 出席証明 Närvarobevis
QSL Quebec Sign Language Lengua de Señas de Quebec Langue des Signes Québécoise ケベック手話 Quebecskt Teckenspråk
RSL Russian Sign Language Lengua de Señas Rusa Langue des Signes Russe ロシア手話 Ryskt Teckenspråk
SK Slovak Eslovaco Slovaque スロバキア語 Slovakiska
SV Swedish Sueco Suédois スウェーデン語 Svenska
TH Thai Tailandés Thaï タイ語 Thailändska
TL Tagalog Tagalo Tagalog タガログ語 Tagalog
UK Ukrainian Ucraniano Ukrainien ウクライナ語 Ukrainska

Proposed Changed Types

The following types being considered for a name change.

Code English Español Français 日本語 Svenska
LGBTQ LGBTQIAA+ LGBTQIAA+ LGBTQIAA+ LGBTQIAA+ HBTQIAA+

Sharing Your Data

If you choose, you may make your feed discoverable by linking to it (like RSS) in your site's <HEAD>.

<link rel="alternate" type="application/json" title="Meetings Feed" href="https://example.com/etc/meetings-feed">

The script may have any name, and be in any directory, but it should be a fully qualified URL, and the title="Meetings Feed" attribute is required.

Next Steps

Some possible next steps for this format include:

  • metadata so that service entities can indicate their preferred name and URL
  • contact information for following up on issues with feed or meeting info
  • language split out into its own fields
  • indication of which language was used for geocoding