"There was actually a time when the press of America thought the
anonymity of AA was better for us than some of our own members did.
At one point, about a hundred of our Society were breaking anonymity
at the public level. With perfectly good intent, these folks declared
that the principle of anonymity was horse-and-buggy stuff, something
appropriate to AA's pioneering days. They were sure that AA could go
faster and farther if it availed itself of modern publicity methods.
AA, they pointed out, included many persons of local, national, or
international fame. Provided they were willing--and many were--why
shouldn't their membership be publicized, thereby encouraging others
to join us? These were plausible arguments, but happily our friends
of the writing profession disagreed with them." (Twelve and Twelve,
Tradition Eleven, pg. 182)