Member Group Chat Guidelines
Including the General Guidelines, there are specific guidelines for participating in members-focused chatrooms. Sharing Circle, Support Room 24/7, Member Community Room, Anxiety Support, General Support, and Current Events Support Room are a few examples of such chat rooms! Here is the Group Support Main Page
Please review these guidelines before participating in these chatrooms. Any violations of these guidelines may be subject to editing or removal by our chatroom moderation team.
All the chatrooms operate under a Zero Tolerance Policy for any unsupportive, conflicting, inappropriate, or unprofessional behavior or any behavior that disrupts the supportive and positive environment of the chatrooms.
A. Basic Guidelines
If feeling overwhelmed, or anxious, or do not feel the present environment is aiding in your healing, please visit our Browse Listeners page to connect with a Listener one-on-one.
7 Cups is not a crisis resource.
Be Safe, Inclusive, Considerate
- Member Chatrooms are a place for kind, supportive, open-minded conversations only.
- Graphic, flirtatious, and sexually suggestive language, profiles, links, and content are strictly prohibited. See the General Guidelines on Choosing not to engage in sexting or flirting!
- Sharing social media, personal contacts, and confidential information about fellow members and listeners is not allowed (this includes revealing your member account, or talking about other listeners who are not present, or anyone's username).
- For moderation and inclusive participation, please use English to chat.
- Please use your mute button if you wish to not engage with another participant in the room instead of engaging in conflict. In case of conflict with a Moderator, please resolve the same using a personal message.
- Don't SPAM the room, please do not give medical advice, and let's keep religion and politics out of our support areas.
Minimum Age to Participate
- Member Accounts: The minimum age to be a teen member is 13 and 18 for adults: If you are in the wrong age group, please log out and email community@7cups.com your username and correct birthday so your account can be corrected.
- Listener Accounts: The minimum age to be a teen listener is 15. At 18, you are an adult listener. If you are in the wrong age group, please log out and email community@7cups.com with your username and correct birthday so your account can be corrected.
Respect Special Sessions
Events and discussions regularly take place in these rooms. Please participate positively and keep to the theme of the room, or you will be warned.
Be Professional (For Listeners)
Therapists Role
Respect Our Mods
Safety, Reporting, Appreciation, and Additional Support
- Any attempt to bypass a mute or account ban will result in removal from the site. Login issues? Find out why here.
- If there is an emergency in the room and no mod is present, you can call one in by filling out the emergency form here! Also here is the detailed member chatroom rules guide!
- Want to help make the community a more cheerful place? Leave an appreciation message for a kind chatroom participant here.
- If a pop-up room needs to be opened/closed, please submit your request here! or can reach out to the Community Moderator on shift
- If you need to report someone’s behavior, submit the report through the Helpdesk. To learn how to, read here!
- Your Group Support Questions are answered here! Frequently Asked Questions. If your question is not listed, add your question below to the post to get it answered.
B. Specific Guidelines on Specific Scenarios in the Chatrooms
Switching Between Listener & Member Accounts
In a few cases, members announce that they'll switch to their listener account to allow another member to PM them for support. In one respect, this is great. It's awesome to see our community looking out for one another and being there. But, a friendly reminder that there is a chat room rule in place asking that you do not reveal your other accounts.
What should you do if you are on your member account and want to help someone?
- Do not announce from your member account that you're going to your listener account.
- Login to your listener account.
- Say something like this: Hey sounds like you could use more support here. I'd be happy to chat with you. Just send me a PM if you'd like to chat!
- Do not reveal that you were previously present in the support room on your member account.
💡 At 7 Cups, you can seek support from a member account, or offer support from a listener account. We’ve found that when people know one another on both accounts, boundaries, and roles can become blurred and unclear. Listeners can end up feeling they have to give support even when they're logged onto their member account and want to support themselves. We also have cases where listeners are seeking support from members who they previously chatted with on other accounts. Additionally, it is important to ensure we do not share other people's listener/member account names. Let's all work together to respect one another's boundaries and confidentiality.
Doorkeeper Guidelines (Only for Doorkeepers)
DOs
- Make sure that if you open a room, you close it when you are finished or arrange for another Doorkeeper to close the room
- For Teen Doorkeepers: Please only open up teen rooms
- Make sure you only open rooms that are for scheduled discussions, sessions, open chats, or approved pop-ups.
- Use the Free Hugs rooms! As a Doorkeeper, you are welcome to open up these rooms for Free Hug Sessions as long as you are available to stay for the duration of the session and close the room when you are finished. Please keep Free Hug Sessions to 15 or 30 minutes only.
DON’Ts
- Open a room that you do not have access to. It's important to be able to access the rooms you are opening to make sure they are being used properly or step in if a conflict should arise
- Never open up an admin room unless you have specific permission to do so
- The exception to this rule is the Training Room. You may open up the Training Room if the leader of the training being held is not a Doorkeeper.
- Abuse your Doorkeeper power by opening multiple rooms at once and creating confusion and chaos. If this happens, all Doorkeeper badges will be cleared and everyone will be asked to reapply
Current Events Support Room
Purpose of the room
To provide support and a safe space to talk to those who are affected by an occurrence of a challenging event in a country or in the world.
Rules of Participation
- Respect for each other views, thoughts, and opinions.
- Focus on how these events affect your emotions and mental health to give and get support from each other.
- Please keep topics revolving around politics, religion, and race peacefully.
- Discourage mocking of anyone or the situation, any rumors or gossip.
- Follow the Chatroom Guidelines
💡 Group support chat rooms are your space to talk, discuss, share, and provide support to each other. Keep rooms safe for yourself as well as for others. We value your presence and care for you. We are stronger as a community and are here with you to provide support.
COVID-19-related Guidelines
DOs
- Everyone is welcome to share their stories and experiences
- Focus on your emotions while sharing your thoughts
- Validating and respecting everyone's situation as a fellow user
- Respecting general chat room participation
DONTs
- Passive political and religious statements. Also no racial or discriminating comments
- Sharing wrong statistics and information that is not valid
- Advising others
- Forcing others to follow any specific rule/guideline related to quarantine and precautions regarding COVID-19 prevention
- Blaming or disrespecting anyone
💡 Together we could scale the support for each other. If you are stressed or need support, please know that we are here with you. 7Cups Team is thinking of your families and you and sending beams.
Ensure that you follow these rules when posting any news/stats about COVID in the forums or chatrooms
- Please cite references/links to trusted sources/websites
- Avoid posting any graphic pictures or talking about the political aspect of it.
- Use 'trigger warning' if your post contains potentially triggering information (very detailed stats, death counts, etc.)
Roleplaying in the Chatrooms
Role-playing is defined as acting out or performing the part of a person or character.
Our goal is to ensure our chat rooms are inclusive for all and everyone finds a home in this space to connect and interact with fellow members to feel supported, comforted, and heard. We aim to provide the best support experience to our community members. To keep the community supportive and safe for all requires our collective efforts and support. And, for that, your support and efforts will be much appreciated.
The treatment of role-playing under the Behavioral Rating System will be under the category of “Being unsupportive” & “Being Inappropriate” and the points will be assigned as per the intensity of the violation.
An exception to the rule! Supportive phrases such as “sending beams, offering virtual hugs, etc.” can be used.
Examples: Gives out cookies and high-fives are fine, I think it's if people are more intense in their role-playing. Like the family tree role-play scenario, where people are different "family members" to the exclusion of everyone else in the chat."
Role-play scenarios like creating a story and being involved in it all by oneself and no inclusivity, or a family tree, or inappropriate ones are unhelpful.
Guidelines for participation in the Trauma Support Group Chats and Forum Spaces or any other triggering topic-based chat rooms and forums as well
Add “Trigger Warning” at the start.
If you feel your share could have some triggering elements, while posting in the forums or sharing in the trauma chatroom, please use the warning, “Triggering Share”, or “Trigger Warning”.
No in-depth graphical content allowed
Please refrain from including any graphical content, in-depth descriptions, or pictures that might be triggering for other community members.
Abusive language, cursing, and slang are not allowed
During the share, cursing isn’t permitted and should be avoided or replaced with 5 asterisks (*****) We encourage you to vent and release your frustration, and anger and express your thoughts and emotions that you experienced during abusive or traumatic experiences. But if you use cursing or abusive language to express those emotions, please use asterisks to avoid the chances of triggering someone else and maintain a therapeutic and safe environment to participate and seek support for all.
Sharing & participating guidelines in any other general or support topic chat rooms.
If the Trauma Support Room isn’t open, then in that situation you can participate in any other chat rooms to share or vent your thoughts, experiences, and emotions. But, please ensure to keep your share focused on your emotions, and no description or graphical content is allowed. And, during sharing, please remember to add the note, “Trigger Warning”
Role of Listeners in the Group Support Chats
The listeners in the group support aim to offer compassionate support and encouragement to members in the group setting.
An unsuccessful listener would be someone who is:
- Discussing personal problems and seeking personal support from their Listener Account.
- Engaging in the conflict, debate, argument, and chat room drama
- Giving advice
- Creating unhealthy cliques
- Chat and joke with other users in such a way that all or almost all members feel excluded.
A listener will be successful in the group support who is
- Professional, compassionate, and inclusive all the time with fellow listeners and members
- Using their active listening skills in the group listening setting
- Familiar with the chatroom guidelines and community guidelines and follow them as well as encourage others to do the same
- Make efforts to de-escalate any unwanted situation from evolving into an argument, or conflict among members of the community
- Refrain from giving advice but offer compassionate ears to listen and support
- Show warmth, kindness, and support to everyone
- Welcome and make new members feel comfortable in the group support
- Foster healthy conversations to participate in
DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) Participation Guidelines
The key concept is that group support does not work if there are behaviors that take away from it being a therapeutic environment. The cause of the behaviors does not matter. A person could be deliberately trying to troll other people or could be genuinely suffering and inadvertently causing disruption in the group. The latter happens frequently in offline settings like clinics. When this happens, the person is asked to leave the group and to talk with a person in a 1:1 setting. That same principle applies to the work we are doing on 7 Cups. This occurs not only to ensure there is no disruption within the group dynamics but to also ensure the individual receives the best support for their recovery.
The mods and other users know what behavior looks like which takes away from the therapeutic environment. When it happens, the person behaving in that way will be removed from the group and encouraged to seek help via 1:1 or through another service. The goal here is to keep the group therapeutic for as many people as possible.
💡 Emphasis is on behavior that takes away from the therapeutic environment in the group environment. No behavior that happens outside of a group (e.g., 1:1 or forums) will be used to make judgments about behavior that is happening in the group support environment. Also, all users are expected to follow our community guidelines. Any violations of guidelines will be looked into under our Behaviour Points System and appropriate actions will be taken. This is to ensure the safety of the user and our broader community.
C. Hosting Guidelines for Group Support Sessions
Who can host group support sessions?
Hosting Guidelines
You can host various types of sessions like an open chat, a support session, or a guided discussion on a specific topic.
If you want to host a session in a specific room, you can request a doorkeeper or Community Moderator at least 10-60 minutes before opening the room to be sure the room is opened on time. The room should be opened about 5-10 minutes before the start time.
Send an invitation to all group support rooms 10 minutes before the start time to give participants time to come to the room. This should include the time (in ET) and location of the discussion, the discussion topic, and the usernames of any hosts. Please be sure you list the time in ET and give some guidance about how soon that is for those who aren’t in the Eastern time zone.
- Please be mindful not to interrupt an ongoing discussion by checking to see if the banner is set up.
- Please do not post the invitation in the Sharing Circle Room.
💡 Example of invitation: “Hey everyone! You’re invited to join me and the name of your co-host (if applicable) in the ______Room at 11 am ET (in about 10 minutes) for a (type of chat or discussion topic). Everyone is welcome to join. Hope to see you there!”
Set the banner for your discussion at the start of your discussion. If your discussion is scheduled to begin at 11 am ET, set the banner at 11 am.
- To set the banner, choose the white box at the top of your screen that says ‘Start Discussion’.
- A box will appear once you click the link. If you have a co-host, please add their name. If there is no co-host, leave the section blank.
- Set the length of your discussion from the menu.
- Select ‘Start Discussion
- Find additional details HERE
- If you cannot set the banner, you can request a community mod or anyone who can do it for you.
Copy/paste the introduction message for the script you will be using. For unscripted discussions, please use an introduction from an approved script. If necessary, you may modify the introduction to suit the type of chat you are hosting.
💡 Example: Hi everyone! Welcome to our {Session Name}. Today we will be thinking about {Topic on which discussion going to be}. They are an opportunity for you all to learn from and share. Let’s remember to show kindness and support to others in the group at all times. If you need more support during this time, please connect 1-1 with a listener.
💡 Once the introduction has been posted, begin the discussion with an icebreaker if there is any. If necessary, you may modify the introduction to suit the type of chat you are hosting
Ask questions at a natural pace, and keep an eye on how the room flows. If there’s a lull or an opportunity to segue between questions, feel free to move on to the next question.
Keep an eye on the clock. Your discussion needs to fit into the appointed time slot. It’s okay to run overtime a little, but try not to go more than 5 minutes late. If all questions are not covered during the session, you can host another session at a later time to discuss them.
Be sure to copy/paste the conclusion. If you are hosting an unscripted discussion, please use the conclusion included in an approved script. This allows participants to leave feedback on their sessions. You may also want to promote any discussions for your sub-community and promote recruitment for your sub-community.
If your discussion is taking place in a room that is not open 24/7, please remind participants that your room will be closing at least 2-5 minutes before the discussion is scheduled to end.
- For pop-up rooms: Please ensure the room gets closed by informing a community mod on shift or using the doorkeeper request form before you leave.
Please log your hosting through this form. We will use it to award cheers and honor your efforts to host in the community.
💡 Tip: If you are a new member or listener, it is recommended to attend at least 3 sessions before you try to host your first session. You can start by attending Sharing Circle or any other support sessions that are hosted by others.
Special Events Group Chat Guidelines
If you’d like to organize an event, such as a birthday or cupsversary, it must be approved in advance by an Admin, Ambassador or Community Mod. These sessions can run no longer than 30 minutes. If it’s for the adult and teen side and requires two rooms, they are to be hosted separately (not simultaneously). The more notice the better in case there is not a moderator, and one will be needed.
D. The Role of a Listener in Group Support
To listen is to give a generous gift, it is to give time and energy and a piece of oneself. Listening is creating an open space in your heart and mind for a fellow human, and then holding them there for a little while with understanding and compassion. Listening can be rewarding and fulfilling, but it can also leave us feeling drained and exhausted. It takes time and energy, it requires us to give. We are thankful for every single one of you here - you are doing something incredibly special! We know that listening is about giving and it is massively important to us that no listener here ever feels pressured or obligated. — Heather
💡 The aim of a Listener in the Member Group Chats should be to offer support and encouragement to members and guests in a group setting.
You will be successful in this role if you:
✓ use your active listening skills
✓ are aware of newcomers entering the chat room and take care to be welcoming and inclusive to everyone
✓ ensure the focus is on supporting members at all times
✓ show warmth, kindness, and support to guests and members
✓ keep the conversation moving forward and ask thoughtful questions to engage the group
✓ maintain a high level of professionalism
✓ are familiar with the group chat rules and community guidelines and live by them
💡 If you are working towards becoming a Room Supporter, you might find it helpful to familiarize yourself with the Room Supporter Role.
💡 Toggles {▶️} are expandable and contain more details on the respective guidelines!
Have any feedback? More Questions? Submit a request here!