Cast your vote ! Saving messages in chats & rooms!

I feel like this is a question that should be asked to the members. Putting myself in a member position I wouldnt want the purpose of me coming here to be saved for any length of time.

However, as a listener I totally understand the appeal. My suggestion would be to save the last 30 messages so listeners can get the information they need to be best they can be.

Thanks for reading 😁

I completed the survey, but I didn't see a place to add a question or comment.

Here's my concern:

Regardless of what time period is selected, I really want to be able to see the last 10 - 15 messages, even after 3 or 6 months.

One major reason:

I like to go back and "check in" with members I haven't talked with in a while.

If possible, I'd like to be able to see the last 10-15 messages even when more than x months has passed.

@Annie same here

I have DID so it's not always me who sends messages so in 1-1 I would like to check back and see which personality has been talking. I use that method on skype and it is super helpful filling in lost time gaps. Secondly I think it could really help listeners! For room chats, please please please don't save chats. I share in group rooms because I know i'm only sharing with those currently present (esp in support sessions). Often I have got to know them and feel a level of trust and the presence of mods make me feel safer. So coming back and seeing my whole chat laid bare for anyone would stop me participating.

Oooh I defiently like this idea. As a listener it can sometimes be difficult to remember several 1-1 conversations that I have and all of the information that members give me so I believe having the option to save the messages will allow me to gain the knowledge without reasking the member. I have been using the notes feature to note several important bits of information, but this is not always possible when I have several other things going on whilst speaking to a member, so it will be good that it is all in one place and I can refer to the latest conversation I had with the member.

Also as a group moderator I believe this could be helpful, I understand the concerns of privacy that some of the individuals are having - but if it was based on a small time period that we could go back on it could help us moderate the groups as we will be able to understand what is going on in the room.

I think this will be a good update for the site - it may take some time getting used to but I certainly believe this would help save a lot of frustration especially within the 1-1 chats

- Emma

@emsworld yeah it would be a great idea.

It would help me a lot for sure. 😛 my inbox is sometimes flooded with people asking me hey hi remember me. 😋 I have to think about it but mostly I avoid that question tactically as I get a minimum of 10-12 persons.😂😂 So please update this so that we don't have a hard time out here. 😅

@Laura please let us be able to keep one on one chats with our listener. In the survey it seemed black or white. Please when deciding the vote read and take into consideration what people have posted!!!

I agree that one on one chats should be kept. It helps me look back at something the member has told me which I may not remember, and would not want to ask them about especially if they sre uncomfortable talking about it again.

This, I believe would help me improve my listening skills and give me material to make notes later on.

Maybe included something by which we can save important parts of the chat within the chat (like a pin option) so that they dont get deleted when the rest of the conversation does.

Group chats can stay up for a day or two maybe?

@Laura

I think I like the idea of keeping all conversations especially in 1-1 chat, sometimes we need to go back to history for take an information.

I wish you take this idea.

How has everyone

I have a question? went to my one on one with my therapist. Now my picture is there in all our conversation. Just started a few minutes ago

What is going on? Is this chat still private and why was my link attached now and not at the beginning or am I being monitored?

It would have been nice and mindful to have been informed first. Nothing hide I just don't care for those types of surprises it makes me feel unsafe. I've been here all night and things were not this way.

@scarletPear1945

I could be wrong, but I don't believe anything has gone into effect yet; we'd definitely have been more informed.

However, the site has been having a lot of glitches throughout today regarding the chats; if you mean it looks like you messaged yourself, I have that too right now. I'm not too sure what you're experiencing, but almost everyone is experiencing a glitch. The team is working on it, though!

@Diandra

Thank you for a prompt response. However another question? Whatever caused the glitch to attach my picture and username is now linked to my one on one with my Therapist. I feel my privacy has been breached. I have not build a relationship with her to expose my stuff to her as of yet. I think that should never of happened. So now I feel personally was that the intent?

I believe since it is an anonymous interaction, there is no harm in keeping a history

i started out at 7cups as a guest. and everytime i needed support, i always came here as a different guest. its tedious typing everything out everytime but i do it because i'm scared of having my personal issues out in the open. especially now that i'm a listener.

i've read everyone's thoughts on this so far and here's what i think:

1. 1-1 chat should retain everything as long as the chat is active or has just recently ended. once the listener logs out or 12 or 24hrs have passed, then the log is erased and only the last few (10-15) messages are retained. this gives the listener enough time to read back, reflect and take notes.

2. make note-taking easier and non-disruptive to the active conversation by allowing the listener to "add to notes" chosen messages that they think are important, by simply clicking on the message. once the first "add to note" is clicked, a new note is automatically created with the member/guest handle and date as the title and the selected messages as content. the listener can also add to the notes afterwards, things such as thoughts or to-dos. after all, the priority of the listener is, first and foremost, actively listening to the guest/member.

3. allow the guest/member to delete everything. this includes the notes generated on them. if a guest/member doesn't want to be remembered, then that is their right and i don't think they would feel bad or unprioritized if you don't remember them as it was their choice to wipe the logs. the privacy and protection of our guests/members are the most important thing in my opinion.

in the end though, having a feature-rich site doesn't automatically make good listeners. these are just tools to help us get there.. but if we don't put in the effort to actually listen, learn and take notes, no amount of tools will help.

There are no assurances that saved messages will be secure and never used beyond keeping track of chat history. Saving messages have not helped me in the past and I'm not sure I want my personal details hanging out there to be exploited by listeners or management. I want the right to delete my messages as needed where both parties have no access to it. If listeners don't have a reference point, just get a reminder from your members.

Not a good idea to retain messages unless both parties agree to it.

@Ranmusic

hi, um i'm new to this, so i'm really confused even still. so basically we have listeners who support us and evrything and direct us on a personlised pathway right? but then since there are other member such as you and myself can we not communicate with each other .

I wish the listener could delete the messages...at times I'll be messaged and 10 minites in most of our messages are gone and I'm very confused what we talked about. It would be really great if the messages would stay there unless I wanted them gone then I could delete some of them. As for the chat rooms the messages could disapear because I don't see a need for them.

I would prefer to have the choice to keep or delete my chat history. Today, after a really amazing session with a wonderful listener yesterday, I wanted to reflect on our discussion and take it in again with a fresh perspective; how I was feeling at the time, her responses, how I felt at the beginning and where I netted out -- much relieved and feeling better - at the end. While some parts of it still were available, the entire session was not. In not having access to the entire 'transcript' I feel like I lost something I really valued. It's possible to continue to learn from the exchange, and be comforted by it, long after the conversation has ceased.

Hey @Laura I brought this up in a member room and members have told me that they would actually prefer if there was 30 to 40 messages stored at a time rather than 10, and are wary of it being tied to time because that would mean potentially losing a complete log of a message and that would confuse them. If we move to storing logs for x months, will we also keep messages after that so we have something to go off of?

Hey @BurningEmber I brought this up in a member room and members have told me that they would actually prefer if there was NO messages stored anytime rather than 10, and are wary of it being tied to time because that would mean potentially losing privacy and anonymity and that would harm them. If we move to storing private information for x months, will we also keep these private information after that so we have something to get off on?

@burnlngEmber

please change your username ? Whats the point of copying mine ?

@Laura @Kate

@BurningEmber soon ❤️

@burnlngEmber

... okay. @Kate @Laura

Message should not be deleted coz as a Listener i might tend to forget certain things thy said so it might come in handy to refer back

@silverPeace98 Have you ever heard of Privacy and Confidentiality? heres a resource link:

www.dictionary.com/browse/privacy

and

www.dictionary.com/browse/confidentiality

I hope you have a better understanding now. Get back to me if you have any questions.

Users not listeners should have control on their chat history, they can delete whatever they want ( like Skype ) where it's deleted from both sides.

@shyGrapes I totally agree . It's a way to respect their confidentiality

@Laura

I think it is a good idea to give listener the choice to clear or save the chat

This tool 'll be useful

So I agree

But in the group chat I don't think it is necessary

I think it should be left between the two people to about what they want to share and how long in 1-1 chat.It gets difficult to reconnect when a lsitener connects with a member after a long time.For group chats the chats should remain for about 5-10 min for the new participants to uderstand the context

I think that it's up to the member to decide if they want to keep their chat history or not .

I think it's a matter of preference. What if I need to come back to the chat later? Because I find I might need to reflect on said things. I think it's best if messages are deleted by default but you could save the messages you feel you want to save (like long pressing on Snapchat).

I understand the need to save messages, but client confidentiality is really important.

many companies have suffered hacks, and what if the phone is stolen, could someone be blackmailed?

i think the risk outweighs the pros

i think chat history should deleted an hour after logging off. that way clients can reflect right after appts.

@Laura It's a great idea for those of us who have multiple regulars, but If you do that, please grandfather the existing situation and make the longer history an OPTION that the member can turn on should they want to. (this is the basics of good design, but worth mentioning still). This is to avoid surprising those members who are less tech-savvy and don't know how to delete chat history and just want things stay the same.

I think it would be a good tool if the listener has the control. Some messages may bring back some bad feelings or memories if non-listeners were to go through them all. Of course, Listeners should have the other person's permission if they want to save something they have said. Either way, it could have both of its negatives and positives.

Its great,

Control should be in hands of sharer, to save messages, if they want to, make it only an option for sharer rather than listener to protect sharers?

I really value my interaction.with my therapist. I think it truly has helped me manage my challenges, anxieties, self doubts over these last few days. I often read through the chats, again, so that I can remember what was discussed. What was said. I wish there is a feature wherein I can save, download previous interactions in my own files. There have been some interactions that have been truly impacting. At the same time, I am so appreciative of the anonymity of using the therapy on this site. I love the convenience of unloading and emptying my constantly churning mind ... even if it is 4 in the morning. Now I don't expect my therapist to respond. But what a fantastic feature. The fact that not all messages don't get saved makes this a very sacred place for me. It makes it my protected sanctity.

I mixed ...

@green18doz30 good for u

I would prefer not to have a chat history. This way if anyone has gotten a hold of my phone, they will not be able to read my private thoughts. What if I am having a really bad day with my partner who could be controlling and I vent here to get some clarity, help, and support from a therapist or listener. My partner reads the posts! It could cause me some unnecessary stress.

I find it incredibly valuable to look over past conversations. It provides great context for the listeners and it helps members see their progress.

Of course, everyone should have the option to delete their chats if they so choose, but if space/performance aren't an issue, I'd love to have all my chats saved indefinitely.

I'll also second something others have mentioned. Given that some users go long stretches between sessions, if there has to be some limits on chat storage, I'd rather it be size-based/chronological rather than expire on a time limit.