from pp. 305-306, "Pass It On"
In 1944, "Much of Bill's work at the office was taking care of correspondence. Since the Saturday Evening Post article, mail had been arriving in a steady stream. Many of the letters asked for assistance in forming new groups, or requested advice on various problems and circumstances in the groups.
Bill described the problem as it existed in mid-decade:
"The solution of group problems by correspondence had put a large volume of work on Headquarters. . . It seemed as if every contestant in every group argument wrote us during this confused period.
The basic ideas for the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous came directly out of this vast correspondence. In late 1945 a good friend suggested that all this mass of experience might be codified into a set of principles which could offer tested solutions to all our problems of living and working together and of relating our society to the world outside. If we had become sure enough of where we really stood on such matters as membership, group autonomy, singleness of purpose, non-endorsement of other enterprises, professionalism, public controversy, and anonymity in its several aspects, then such a set of principles could be written."
It was testament to Bill's genius that he thought to call them Traditions. Had they been called "laws," "rules," "by-laws," or "regulations," they might never have been accepted by the membership. Bill knew his fellow alcoholics well; he knew that no self-respecting drunk, sober or otherwise, would willingly submit to a body of "law" -- much too authoritarian
The name "Traditions," however, would come a bit later. At first, he dubbed them "Twelve Points to Assure Our Future," because he saw them as guidelines necessary to the survival, unity, and effectiveness of the Fellowship. Under that title, they were first published in the April 1946 issue of the Grapevine. In subsequent issues, Bill wrote an editorial for each point, explaining its origin and why it was necessary."