The members of AA and other similar 12-step programs are admonished to maintain their anonymityAlcoholics Anonymous and all the 12 step groups modeled after it, protect the anonymity of its members. Members are forbidden from disclosing the identity of other addicts to outside sources or identifying themselves with the group on any form of public media. The idea behind this is to focus on the... and that of the other members. The 11th tradition states that “we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.” An individual revealing their membership on a very public level, or revealing the identity of other members in any way, is considered to have broken anonymity.