I've got several years in the program. The woman that broke my anonymity has 33 years in the program. I'm guessing her mention to a relative was just something in small talk. Don't know if, the fact that we worked together came up or not.
When, a newcommer comes in the door, they are self conscious. Will they come back if, after attending a meeting they are out at large and someone they know goes up and says "Hey I hear you're going to AA"
I'm having a hard enough time trying to convince newcommers how good a program we have here in my area. Look at how many on here think AA doesn't work. Try Rational Recovery etc is what several people have said on here. How can we convince people otherwise if, their trust is violated?