MCB, I get the 3,200 population and your job position completely. I have never tried the AA Online thing, but I think there IS such an animal, or possibly other groups that are live online. I would think/hope that you could 'screen-name' with a different name and have volume only. If it is like Skype, you certainly could find a tape on mustache and beard...
or stick a wood-floor-stool-leg-pad over your laptop camera (like I have done). Yes, I am of the paranoid sort.....
I don't know why, maybe I am old school, but hearing peoples voices as they reveal their 'stuff' really adds to the effect on me when I am taking in what I hear them say.
Like you, SR has been a life saver for me too. I mostly lurk and read, sometimes I post and comment. I can really relate to what you have to say, so, you pulled me out of my 'lurkingness' today following my previous brain dump from this morning.