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Needs Reply Communication Thread (updated)
by bookworm274
Last post
 1 day ago
...See more Hi team, as you hopefully know, we usually communicate via the needs reply communication thread here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/7CupsLeadership_188/TheNeedsReplyTeamProject_781/needsreplyteamcommunicationthread_227761/], but we have decided to create a new communication thread to keep updated, to keep everything in one place and to also remind everyone of expectations of the team. This also allows new members of the team to refer to this original post for the information needed. Bi-weekly check ins are going to be posted in this thread from now on. When these are posted, please do respond as these are posted to make sure that you are okay, and that you're still active. This will also be a reminder to fill out the tracking form (click here) [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ZkxLDwFrEY4RRDDp0cm4_GHpdgkKjpckEFMXyDvxwmE/edit] so that we can ensure activity from team members and to keep track of the Needs Reply teams progress! There is more information about the form here. [https://www.7cups.com/forum/7CupsLeadership_188/TheNeedsReplyTeamProject_781/NeedsReplyTrackingForm_254884/] The monthly quota for those on the NR team is 10 responses to needs reply posts (not forum posts in general) - if you are unclear of what this means then please refer to the needs reply queue here [https://www.7cups.com/home/#needsreply] or you can ask me. As many of you have hopefully seen, changes are being made to the offboarding process which Cheery has made a post about here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/HelpWanted_188/TheNeedsReplyTeamProject_781/NeedsReplyTeamOffboardingPolicy_298409/]- please do make sure to look at this as this is the process we will be following from now on. If you have any questions about it please do write them on the post, message @CheeryMango or myself. It is important to make sure that members of the team respond effectively to the posts. It is important that all members of the team read this post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/7CupsLeadership_188/TheNeedsReplyTeamProject_781/EffectiveReplying_286362/] on effective responding. If you are new to the team please do read and respond, and if you are not new to the team feel free to refresh back whenever you feel you need a refresher on effective responding or to look at it if you haven't yet - thank you! All links in blue are clickable, if you have trouble accessing these please let me know. Taglist: @Asher @anxietywarrior23 @bookworm274 @CosmicMiracle @jennysunrise8 @Juliak1968 @KimByeongin @LunaHere @Markzzmq @MidwesternCalmSeeker @Optimisticempath @pamharley003 @SynSavory @Sunisshiningandsoareyou @CheeryMango
📢 Forum Leader Announcements
by tommy
Last post
 Wednesday
...See more Please join us in congratulating our newest Forum Leaders here! Announcements for Forum Supporters, Community Mentors and Community Mentor Leaders will be posted here once a week. ✔ Want to keep updated? Click here to join the community taglist [https://www.7cups.com/forum/7cupsleadership/SubcommunitiesInformation_2314/SubcommunityLeadershipTaglist_272751/] OR subscribe to the thread (click the bookmark button)! ✔ Want to join our team? Find information about all of our forum roles here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/7cupsleadership/SubcommunitiesInformation_2314/UpdatedSubcommunityTrackLeadershipRolesMasterpost2023_289838/].
7 Cups Leadership Guidelines
by Heather225
Last post
 Wednesday
...See more Thank you for being a leader on 7 Cups! Community leaders are a significant part of our community. In stepping into a leadership role with 7 Cups, you have agreed that you align with our values and wish to uphold our mission. You have the ability to inform and influence our community members. So, it is important to lead by example and be a role model to inspire others to aspire to be someone like you to extend the support to others. In addition to the community guidelines, rules, and policies [https://www.7cups.com/about/communityGuidelines.php] currently in place, we are including a list of reminders, as well as one new rule. ➡ As a community leader, you may be provided with confidential information to perform your work on a team or a project. Use this knowledge for its intended purpose only. In other words, please do not abuse your privileges. We trust you to be responsible and maintain confidentiality. ➡. Refrain from engaging in triangulation. This is a very common mistake people make without even realizing it's happening. Triangulation manifests itself in our community as one person who will not communicate directly with another person, and instead use a third person to relay communication to the second, thus forming a triangle. Triangulation is damaging because it interferes with healthy conflict-resolution and lends itself to rumor spreading by taking a private situation between two users and exposing it to more people. Read more about this and take the Triangulation Pledge. [https://www.7cups.com/forum/ListenerCommunityampSiteUpdates_38/LaurasOffice_169/WhatisTriangulation3StepstoAvoidingStoppingitfromhappeninginthecommunity_35107/1/] ➡. Community leaders must maintain strong boundaries. Being a role model, and a trustworthy and reliable leader, users may become dependent on you. To nurture healthy relationships with the community, it's imperative that you set boundaries for yourself and respect those of others. ➡. Community leaders accept feedback gracefully. Getting feedback can be hard to hear, especially if it's more of a constructive criticism than a praise. Leaders should be able to accept feedback gracefully if given constructively. We all are human and all have things to work on and grow. ➡ Please honor and follow our social media policies (i.e. no off-site contact with community members). 7 Cups is a safe environment for you to build and create connections. We love that you are building supportive relationships with each other and enjoy connecting! In order to preserve this safe space, we ask you not to solicit off-site contact. Also bear in mind, once you take interactions off 7 Cups, we are unable to assist you in the event something happens outside of our site. ➡ Reporting is our responsibility. You are the eyes of our community. We have several ways to report incidents that cover all areas of the site, and we rely on you to direct users to those channels. We also rely on you to use them as well. As the slogan goes: if you see something, say something. ➡ We respect your right to use whatever sites you'd like. However, since we launched, we have discovered that some of our leaders have also been working with non-crisis sites that are similar to 7 Cups. We are all for competition, but we want the intention behind it to be solving broader emotional health challenges. We don't want the competition to be a negative interaction between companies. To protect our community and its ongoing progress, we ask that if you would like to pursue leadership with us that you do not affiliate yourself in leadership positions with non-crisis sites similar to 7 Cups. (When I say similar sites, I am referring to any site that offers the same services as us. This would not include therapists, AA, NAMI, and assistance programs that share our broad goal to provide support in the healthcare industry but are not set up to operate like we do. They all offer different components that work in tandem with us.) Leaders: please reply below if you have read and understood these rules! If you have any questions, you may PM anyone on the community team (@Hope, @ASilentObserver, myself).
Forum Guidelines Expanded: 5. Anonymity
by MonBon
Last post
 August 28th
...See more This post is a part of our series on expanded forum guidelines [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ExpandedForumGuidelinesMasterpost_167937/]to help all users better understand the purpose of each guideline and for forum moderators to understand appropriate behavior and review examples of this rule in action. My post was edited/deleted for anonymity. What does that mean? 4. Personal Contact Information, such as Social Media Handles, Email Accounts, Phone Numbers, or other 7 cups accounts (e.g. posting your listener account name from your member account or vice versa) is not allowed. This includes links to surveys or pages that contain either personal contact information or a private messaging system. Purpose of rule: to protect anonymity and maintain privacy and safety. The purpose of this rule is to help enforce boundaries and maintain a safe space through controlled interactions Examples: what is your insta? my phone number is ####### I do not check 7 cups that often so you should email at email@domain [from member account] Message me on my listener account, @listenername Explanation: Listeners and members on 7 cups are required to follow guidelines to maintain safety and a supportive environment. Offsite interactions are not constrained to the same restrictions, and 7 Cups is unable to ensure your safety offline. Additionally, revealing both a member and listener makes it more difficult to place adequate boundaries for those seeking support and increases the risk of stalking or bullying. Appropriate Action: If at all possible, the forum moderator should remove the offending content while retaining the post. All edits should include the forum moderator's name and the reason for editing (e.g. anonymity). In the event that the post cannot be retained, the forum moderator will delete the whole post. If you believe a forum moderator has edited or deleted your post in error, you can email forum@7cups.com and we will investigate. Clarifications: [from a member account] If you need help with self harm urges, you can pm me on [listener account username] While there is nothing wrong with offering to support those in need, offering 1-on-1 support as a listener should come from your listener account itself. If this is in a group support room or a forum, for instance, you can switch to your listener account and then offer the support from there. This rule excludes posts and links regarding Social Soldiers / 7 Cups blog work. The Social Soldiers or 7 Cups blog are specific teams with very tight restrictions on offsite interactions and more details can be found on their respective team posts. 7 Cups does not control relationships of people who know each other in real life (i.e., met separately from 7 Cups), but 7 Cups interactions should not hint at or discuss an offsite contact relationship and having offsite contact with someone you met through 7 Cups is not permitted. It is permitted to give links to 7 Cups to others (including your 7 Cups referral link, which directs to the main page) and you may discuss 7 cups in your real life (while maintaining confidentiality on member, guest, or listener chats and accounts). Do you have questions about what is or is not okay or need further clarification on examples? Post below and we will problem solve together! Last updated 11/6/18 to clarify language about offsite contact Removed special character "�" by DayDreamWithYou 9/3/2021
Leadership Training- AI Policy
by Heather225
Last post
 June 14th
...See more (If the text does not display properly, you can view it in this document.) [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v8d5gRYDHvPQFx7EfLTRkQyHdhlob44d_f7MBIqBv0o/edit] Hello, leaders! 7Cups is a learning and growth-oriented community with various opportunities to learn and grow in multiple forms. Leadership is one of the forms that we offer individuals to step up and make a difference. There are 10 key domains in which we offer leadership roles [https://www.7cups.com/listener/training/leadership/], and one must undergo specialized training to get into a specific role. The goal of the training is to share much-needed basic information and understanding of the roles, responsibilities, and DOs and DONTs of them. Ultimately, one must take a test to assess knowledge and complete the training process. So, training is the key component to being successful in a role that an applicant has to complete.  However, there is a growing debate about using AI-generated responses for training. While we understand that AI offers the easiest comprehension and various angles to look at the same information, there are reasons to be cautious about its use as the sole response to training. A few to list are: * Critical thinking and creativity: AI models are trained on vast amounts of data, i.e. the responses are often formulaic and lack the depth and nuance of human-created responses. That means one is hindering the development of one’s critical thinking understanding and creative problem-solving skills, which are pivotal aspects to success in any role.  * Understanding and comprehension of the training material: AI responses might generate an acceptable response for the training but it won’t help you comprehend and understand what you learned through the training contents. These tests help you assess your understanding of contents and help you identify areas for improvement instead of   hindering your progress and growth.  * Developing an Authentic Connection to Others: AI is a resource that can quickly assess words and develop a response that can be accurate linguistically but it cannot replace the genuine human connection required to deeply listen, understand, and create a heartfelt response. Our community is built on the foundation of providing human-to-human support with the goal being a connection that conveys compassion, empathy, and relatability. We encourage you to be your authentic self in how you engage with others, train for roles, and co-exist in our mental health support community. AI can never replace the value of that human connection.  AI is a valuable tool and helping hand to learn and grow but not the replacement for one’s ability to comprehend, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. By using a strategic blend of AI and human understanding & experiences, we can create effective, and well-rounded learning experiences. So to ensure the learning and growth culture of our community, we are strict with AI-generated responses for training purposes.  Check out the Human Touch vs. AI on 7 Cups Learning and Development [https://www.7cups.com/forum/7cupsleadership/SafetyGuidelines_1374/HumanTouchvsAIon7CupsLearningandDevelopment_325599/] post.  In some ways, you can utilize AI * To gain more understanding of a specific topic related to training  * To do more research  * To strengthen your vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure, to name a few. What will not be acceptable?  * Using AI-generated responses to submit the training. If we notice this, the test will not be evaluated.  * If the applicant continues to utilize AI responses to submit training in re-attempts of training, you will be disqualified for the role.  The training responses need to be in your own words while AI can be used only for inspiration and suggestions. Rephrasing responses written by AI will still be considered unacceptable. That said, we're here for you every step of the way on your leadership journey. If you need help or accommodations, get in touch with the respective lead overseeing your domain and they will be happy to guide you. Thanks for your understanding! 
Forum Guidelines Expanded: 3. Unsupportive Content
by Mel
Last post
 May 21st
...See more This post is a part of our series on expanded forum guidelines [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ExpandedForumGuidelinesMasterpost_167937/] to help all users better understand the purpose of each guideline and for forum moderators to understand appropriate behavior and review examples of this rule in action. My post was edited/deleted for unsupportive content. What does that mean? 2. Unsupportive content including targeting or attacking other users in the community is not allowed. Disagreements may happen, but always maintain a respectful tone and try to move the conversation forward in an on-topic and constructive way. Sometimes this means agreeing to disagree. Purpose of rule: To facilitate constructive criticism and feedback and maintain a safe and supportive environment for all user. Sweeping generalizations, targeting or insulting users, and baseless accusations weaken your point, even if the point is legitimate, and escalate conflict. Regardless of our feelings toward another person or their viewpoint, we must treat everyone with respect. Examples: all admins are heartless this decision was made with no forethought @username is terrible if you believe that, youre an idiot Ive spoken to several individuals who think this Explanation: Posts that are edited or deleted or violating this guideline generally are unsupportive and unconstructive. Criticism and disagreement: Criticism of the site and its policies is allowed, as is disagreement on other topics, but posts should always be trying to move the conversation forward. Posts that are edited or deleted are moderated for tone and presentation, not content. Generalization: When speaking about experiences, you should never speak for other people. I felt unwelcome is acceptable. I know many individuals who felt unwelcome is not. Triangulation: The forums are a place to have open conversations with people. Similar to group support, as a public forum, we must take care not to promote triangulation or target other users. Constructive posts discussing another users actions should serve to benefit the whole community and as such should not identify an individual (e.g., I have seen a trend of some listeners abandoning chats quickly with no explanation and thats really hurtful as a member). Commentary on a specific individual should be directed to appropriate feedback channels (e.g., listener reviews, mod reviews, etc.) If youre unsure of how to report an issue, check out this subforum [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/7CupsSafetyToolsReportFormsMore_1371/] or feel free to reach out! Appropriate Action: If at all possible, the forum moderator should remove the unsupportive content while retaining the post. All edits should include the forum moderators name and the reason for editing (e.g. unsupportive content). In the event that the post cannot be retained, the forum moderator will delete the whole post. If you believe a forum moderator has edited or deleted your post in error, you can email forum@7cups.com and we will investigate. For Forum Moderators: Grey Areas: - I am unhappy with the decision the site has made. While this does present a negative criticism of the site, it is also free of sweeping generalizations. While to some extent the context on this and the tone will matter significantly, in most cases this is likely fine and should not be edited. - Sometimes I get the impression that mentors do not care about regular listeners. This is a statement that could be read as targeting to a person who is a mentor, but could in other contexts be actually seeking to address a problem as opposed to trying to simply criticize. Again, context matters here! When in doubt, do not edit, but as a forum moderator, you can always seek a second opinion if you are unsure! - I am very upset right now. / I feel really attacked Emotions are normal when conflicts or debates occur. They are okay to have and any feelings are valid. However, if this post had indicated an individual or group they were upset with or turned to attacking another individual, this would dip into targeting and requiring editing. Do you have questions about what is or isnt okay or need further clarification on examples? Post below and we will problem solve together!
Expanded Forum Guidelines Masterpost
by MonBon
Last post
 May 19th
...See more Expanded Forum Guidelines Hi 7 Cups Community! We strive to create a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment for all to participate in. To help us achieve this, we have a set of robust guidelines in which all site users must abide by. You can find these in a number of places: this thread, under the forum section of community guidelines here [https://www.7cups.com/about/communityGuidelines.php#forum], or as a pop-up [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SiteUpdatesInformationFortheCommunity_100/UpdatesinMay2018_1587/ForumPostingGuidelinesPopupNowLive_145520/] when creating new posts. If you notice a post which goes against a forum guideline, please flag it by pressing the flag report button. Any questions or queries relating to the forum guidelines or forum post modifications should be directed to forum@7cups.com.  Guideline 1 - Click here for the expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ExpandedForumGuidlines1OffensiveContent_167938/] Inflammatory, racist, sexist, offensive, homophobic, transphobic, etc. posts are not allowed. Posting about the impacts of abuse, racism, sexism, etc. or seeking support on these topics is allowed.  Guideline 2 - Click here for the expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/7cupsleadership/SafetyGuidelines_1374/ExpandedForumGuidelines2SpeakingEnglish_316649/] For moderation and inclusive participation, we ask you to please use English in the forum space.  Guideline 3 - Click here for the expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ForumGuidelinesExpanded2UnsupportiveContent_169648/] Unsupportive content including targeting or attacking other users in the community is not allowed. Disagreements may happen, but always maintain a respectful tone and try to move the conversation forward in an on-topic and constructive way. Sometimes this means agreeing to disagree.  Guideline 4 - Click here for the expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ForumGuidelinesExpanded3Confidentiality_170949/] Confidential information shared in a one-on-one or group chat is not allowed. This includes negative reviews of listeners or group mods. Ex: If someone can identify who you are referring to, it is probably not a good idea to post it.  Guideline 5 - Click here for the expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ForumGuidelinesExpanded4Anonymity_172424/] Personal Contact Information, such as Social Media Handles, Email Accounts, Phone Numbers, or other 7 cups accounts (e.g. posting your listener account name from your member account or vice versa) is not allowed. This includes links to surveys or pages that contain either personal contact information or a private messaging system.  Guideline 6 - Click here for the expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ForumGuidelinesExpanded5InappropriateContent_174282/] Excessive Inappropriate or Graphic Language is not allowed, including cursing in thread titles, cursing at others, and cursing in excess within a post. Trigger warnings should be included in thread titles or beginning of body content where appropriate.  Guideline 7 - Click here for the expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ForumGuidelinesExpanded6MedicalAdvice_187025/] Giving medical advice is not permitted. Medication and drug names may be shared, but precise dosages or suggestions to take specific medications may not.  Guideline 8 - Click here for the expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ForumGuidelinesExpanded7ListenerBoundaries_175467/] Users are expected to maintain a listener role if on a listener account. This includes not seeking emotional or personal support and following the expectations of a listener outlined in active listening. Please switch to a member account if necessary.  Guideline 9 - Click here the for expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ForumGuidelinesExpanded8DuplicateContent_177747/] Duplicate posts and threads, including posting the same thread in multiple categories, are not allowed. Please reach out to a forum mentor if you accidentally post multiple times or if you are unsure if your thread already exists somewhere else.  Guideline 10 - Click here for the expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ForumGuidelinesExpanded9Spam_179922/] Spam (posting multiple times, mass-tagging, posting about non 7 cups related topics such as surveys or for advertising purposes, making posts that are largely unreadable, etc.) is not allowed.  Guideline 11 - Click here for the expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ForumGuidelinesExpanded10CommunityGuidelines_182406/1/] Refer to any additional guidelines that may apply to specific communities. These can be found by clicking "Guidelines" within a community.  Guideline 12 - Click here for expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/KeepingForumsWelcomingandSupportiveForumGuidelinesUpdate_229098/] In order to maintain a therapeutic space, we delete forum posts that take away from a supportive forum environment. If a forum post is not helpful nor positive then it will be deleted.  Guideline 13 - Click here for the expanded guideline post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/7cupsleadership/SafetyGuidelines_1374/ExpandedForumGuidelines13ArtificialIntelligence_326857/] The excessive use of artificial intelligence when creating forum content is not allowed. This includes the use of other software and using content from other sites without citing the original author or creator.  For information on how guideline violations are processed, please review this post.  [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/BehavioralRatingSystem_2108/2020s7CupsBehaviorReportingProcessTrackingUpdatedVersion_226446/] ------------------------- [MonBon updated to reflect new medication guideline 15Nov2018] [Hope updated to reflect new forum post guideline on Sep 21, 2020] [tommy updated to reflect new guidance #2 on June 4th, 2023] [tommy reformatted and updated on Nov 5, 2023] [tommy updated to reflect new guidance #13 on Apr 6, 2024]
Expanded Forum Guidelines: 13. Artificial Intelligence
by tommy
Last post
 April 12th
...See more This post is a part of our series on expanded forum guidelines [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ExpandedForumGuidelinesMasterpost_167937/] to help all users better understand the purpose of each guideline and for forum moderators to understand appropriate behavior and review examples of this rule in action. My post was edited/deleted for using artificial intelligence. What does that mean? 13. The excessive use of artificial intelligence when creating forum content is not allowed. This includes the use of other software and using content from other sites without citing the original author or creator.  Purpose of rule: to ensure 7 Cups remains authentic and supportive to all users whilst maintaining genuine connection and human touch. Examples: content which is generated, copied and pasted from artificial intelligence software (e.g. chatGPT), content which is copied directly from other sites (e.g. articles), content which has had no input from the poster. Explanation: artificial intelligence can be an excellent supplement to support your forum content but cannot be used as a replacement. Relying on AI to do all the work for you will hinder personal growth, reduce critical thinking skills, and can make information harder to absorb and retain. Appropriate Action: the content will be removed and the poster will be notified via private message. You may decide to repost the thread discussion/topic in your own words. If you believe a forum moderator has edited or deleted your post in error, you can email forum@7cups.com and we will investigate. Clarification / top tips: • Moderators may use AI checking software to check the authenticity of content. If it is found that the content is not authentic, it will be removed.  • Moderators may check all content posted by individuals and compare to determine whether the content being posted is authentic. • Content which lacks human or personal touch may be recommended back to you for editing. • Where AI software or other content is being used to supplement your forum content, please cite the source appropriately. • Community Mentors are available to offer guidance to all community users on using AI to create content.  • Making multiple threads and producing lots of content at once may be a cause for concern. We want to give everyone the same opportunity for their posts to be seen so please focus on one topic at a time. • If you’re making a thread with lots of detailed content, put it all into one thread. This will help greatly with reducing the likelihood of forum flooding and will enable other community users to find and engage with your content easily. You can find some other helpful tips here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/disabilities/CommunitySpace_227/AIGuidelinesforDisabilitySupportCommunity_326180/].
Human Touch vs. AI on 7 Cups Learning and Development
by Heather225
Last post
 March 29th
...See more Here on 7 Cups, we value genuine connection. The human touch is what primarily sets us apart from other platforms. While AI tools are very helpful, it's important to remember the power of expressing ourselves authentically. Your tone and style are uniquely you, and that can be lost through overuse of AI for writing. AI, as a general rule, should be used as a supplement to your writing, not a complete replacement. For example, we offer JIIT (just-in-time training) via Noni tips for chats. We all get stuck sometimes (even me!). People are dynamic, and situations vary. We believe AI can provide helpful nudges and inspiration. I bring this up here in the 7 Cups Leadership community specifically to address concerns about AI use in learning, training, and testing. Relying on AI to do all the work for you will hinder personal growth, reduce critical thinking skills, and can make information harder to absorb and retain. This is true for our Active Listening Tests, the Academy courses, and most of our leadership roles. Cutting corners might be tempting, but it's not beneficial for your long-term development. I've heard some teams encounter instances in which they suspect excessive AI usage at the cost of quality. Team leaders, I advise setting the expectation that applicants use their own words as much as possible. You might even consider establishing this in your training materials.  There's no denying that AI is fast becoming a normalized part of our world, but like anything else, it should be used in moderation, as a tool and not a crutch. Do you have tips for striking a balance with AI to get the most out of it?
Forum Guidelines Expanded: 11. Community Guidelines
by Mel
Last post
 January 16th
...See more This post is a part of our series on expanded forum guidelines [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ExpandedForumGuidelinesMasterpost_167937/] to help all users better understand the purpose of each guideline and for forum moderators to understand appropriate behavior and review examples of this rule in action. My post was edited/deleted for community guidelines. What does that mean? 10. Refer to any additional guidelines that may apply to specific subcommunities or subforums. These can be found by clicking Guidelines within a subcommunity. Purpose of rule: to give people more control over their threads and communities. The purpose of this rule is to be mindful of other spaces. Examples: Weight and calorie amounts are a community specific trigger for ED, only Teens should be posting in a dedicated Teen subforum (within reason) Explanation: Certain subcommunities may have additional rules as well as the general Forum Rules based on community specific triggers, needs, etc. Please be mindful of these and respect the community youre participating in. Appropriate Action: If at all possible, the forum moderator should remove the offending content while retaining the post. All edits should include the forum moderators name and the reason for editing (e.g. community guidelines). In the event that the post cannot be retained, the forum moderator will delete the whole post. If you believe a forum moderator has edited or deleted your post in error, you can email forum@7cups.com and we will investigate. Clarifications: - Refrain from mentioning specific weights or calorie counts to avoid triggering others. - While youre in the Eating Disorders subcommunity please avoid these triggers (calories may be mentioned in other subcommunity if applicable). Found here https://www.7cups.com/home/eds/#guidelines - Cursing not permitted and must be asterisked. It is fine to vent and to express appropriate anger but as curse words have often be used during abusive and traumatic experiences, we ask members and listeners to asterisk abusive/curse words to avoid triggering and upsetting members where possible and to maintain a respectful environment and to encourage positive and healthy expression of anger. - The Trauma Support subcommunity doesnt allow cursing in any of its sections. Found here https://www.7cups.com/home/trauma/#guidelines - Mentioning specific methods of self-harm are appropriate in the following contexts only: 1. Speaking about self-harm in the past tense. Ex: I used to struggle with cutting. 2. When talking about coping mechanisms that are specifically applicable to a specific method of self-harm. Ex: Holding ice is a coping mechanism to cutting. 3. When used in an educational context Ex: Cutting is a common self-harm method for those living with BPD. Ex: Trichotillomania can be a form of self-harm HOWEVER: When possible, the member should replace their specific method with ‘self-harm. - Find more here https://www.7cups.com/forum/SelfHarmRecovery_65/SelfHarmRecoveryCommunityTeam_413/UpdatedSelfHarmRecoveryGuidelines_182199/ Do you have questions about what is or isnt okay or need further clarification on examples? Post below and we will problem solve together!
Forum Moderation: clarification on posting feedback/questions
by tommy
Last post
 November 19th, 2023
...See more Hi everyone, Many community users have shared confusion about the guidance on sharing feedback/questions on the forum so I hope this thread will help clarify any misconceptions. We are devoted to ensuring our communities are safe, inclusive and welcoming and wanted to acknowledge any grey areas in our guidelines to ensure this goal is maintained.  In line with Forum Guideline 3, unsupportive content is not permitted: Unsupportive content including targeting or attacking other users in the community is not allowed. Disagreements may happen, but always maintain a respectful tone and try to move the conversation forward in an on-topic and constructive way. Sometimes this means agreeing to disagree.  We'd like to reiterate that the forum is not a suitable place to discuss the following: • Discussing negative experiences about a listener or member (e.g. why did this listener... or why are members like this?) • Making generalisations about listeners or members (e.g. why are all listeners so...) • Providing negative feedback on moderation or site safety (e.g. questioning the decision of a community mentor, moderator or ambassador/admin) • Providing negative feedback on another element of the site which leads to a negative discussion • Discussing, sharing or asking questions about confidential information (e.g. asking questions about specific incidents/private matters/private discussions) However, the forum can be used for: • Asking generic questions about site operations without specific details/speculation (e.g. where has my post disappeared to?) - as these can be an invaluable learning tool and often allows us to identify bugs/glitches • Offering constructive criticism where it is appropriate (click here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/7cupsleadership/SafetyGuidelines_1374/KeepingForumsWelcomingandSupportiveForumGuidelinesUpdate_229098/] for a post on constructive criticism) - if in doubt please consider contacting the individual project leader instead  • Providing positive (not sarcastic) feedback about a person (such as the peer appreciation [https://www.7cups.com/forum/gratitude/AppreciationProgram_2310/PeerAppreciationProgram_262230/] project) Feedback is what helps us learn and grow as a community. We value your input and strongly encourage you to utilise the constructive feedback form by clicking here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKdc41mqdmvjANHvb-pKr2ec-snE8u9v1YT6tmHmLtNe8owQ/viewform]. This feedback will then be sent directly to the admin team for their consideration.  If you are upset about a forum post removal or modification, please contact us on forum@7cups.com and we can look into this for you.  Resources / where can I provide feedback? • forum@7cups.com - email can be used to ask questions about forum modifications • community@7cups.com - email can be used to ask questions and provide feedback about different site operations • Help Desk [https://help.7cups.com/hc/en-us]- can be used to report a listener or member • Feedback Form [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKdc41mqdmvjANHvb-pKr2ec-snE8u9v1YT6tmHmLtNe8owQ/viewform] - can be used to provide constructive feedback to the admin team • Community Moderator Report form [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScL511VkIa0BQOXnNqbISXcI3V1PhGA4VfBtfz_GUFnwo0FAw/viewform] - used to report community moderators (only for moderators with CommunityMod prefix before their name, otherwise use the help desk)
Expanded Forum Guidelines: 2. Speaking English
by tommy
Last post
 November 5th, 2023
...See more This post is a part of our series on expanded forum guidelines [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ExpandedForumGuidelinesMasterpost_167937/] to help all users better understand the purpose of each guideline and for forum moderators to understand appropriate behaviour and review examples of this rule in action. My post was edited/deleted for not speaking in English. What does that mean? 1. For moderation and inclusive participation, we ask you to please use English in the forum space. Purpose of rule: To create an inclusive and easily accessible space for everyone to participate and understand the discussions that take place in the forums. Examples: Me he sentido deprimido y siento que no hay nadie a quien pueda acudir en busca de apoyo. Explanation: English is commonly used in forums for its global accessibility, ensuring that a diverse audience can participate and understand discussions. It promotes clarity, consistency, and efficient moderation while enhancing searchability on the internet. By using English, the forums maintain a neutral, inclusive platform for users from various linguistic backgrounds, fostering effective and accessible communication. Appropriate Action: The forum moderator should remove the post written in any other language than English. Users can expect to receive a message from the 7CupsForum [http://www.7cups.com/@7cupsforums] account with an explanation as to why their post was removed, as well as information on how to seek support in their native language. For any discrepancies with posts, you can email forum@7cups.com and we will investigate. For Forum Moderators (Grey Areas): Mis amigos me intimidan delante de los demás pero cuando estamos solos son amables conmigo. No sé cómo manejar esto. My friends bully me in front of others but when we are alone they are nice to me. I don't know how to handle this. While this does contain Spanish in the post, it is also clear that the user has provided an English translation. In this case, the post is allowed to stay up and does not need to be deleted since there is an English translation and is easy to understand for both English and Spanish speakers. However, it is important to spontaneously quality check translations to ensure they are accurate and do not have a different meaning to the English.
Forum Guidelines Expanded: 7. Medical Advice
by MonBon
Last post
 July 26th, 2023
...See more This post is a part of our series on expanded forum guidelines [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ExpandedForumGuidelinesMasterpost_167937/] to help all users better understand the purpose of each guideline and for forum moderators to understand appropriate behavior and review examples of this rule in action. My post was edited/deleted for medical advice. What does that mean? 6. Giving medical advice is not permitted. Medication and drug names may be shared, but precise dosages or suggestions to take specific medications may not. Purpose of rule: to prevent diagnosis or self-diagnosis and avoid potentially damaging treatment advice. The purpose of this role is to maintain the boundary between professional and volunteer helps. Even those who are doctors in real life are not doctors while they are on 7 cups. We should not be encouraging people to try medications based on diagnosis or self-diagnosis. Examples: if you have ADHD, taking xx mg of yy medication works wonders i've been taking xx mg of yy medication but it hasn't been helping you need to take more than xx mg of yy medication for it to be effective Explanation: 7 Cups cannot provide professional prescriptions or diagnosis. While 7 Cups can provide users with information about various illnesses and treatments, it should never be used to diagnose or prescribe treatment. Appropriate Action: If at all possible, the forum moderator should remove the offending content while retaining the post. All edits should include the forum moderators name and the reason for editing (e.g. medical advice). In the event that the post cannot be retained, the forum moderator will delete the whole post. If you believe a forum moderator has edited or deleted your post in error, you can email forum@7cups.com and we will investigate. Clarifications: I started taking hormone therapy for my mtf transition last week. In LGBTQ+, it may be useful to mention if you are transitioning. I am transitioning off of an antidepressant. For mental health, it may be useful to mention if you are on a medication/transitioning. Many individuals use XX medication for treating ADHD, but it can have YY, ZZ side effects - it could be good to check with your doctor if you're having any side effects If a medication has known side effects or is known to be used to commonly treat a condition, it can be appropriate to mention the side effects and / or condition it is used for. Be careful to make sure you are not recommending a treatment plan and to encourage others to seek clarification from a professional. Do you have questions about what is or isn't okay or need further clarification on examples? Post below and we will problem solve together!
Are users the ones who need protection from us? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
by AFollowerofPlato
Last post
 May 24th, 2023
...See more Hi everyone. I've been here for over 7 years and usually I only tend to post in the forums when it comes down to important things. As such, by writing these lines I hope to spark a significant debate over something that I consider to be an important, ongoing and still-current issue of supporting users. Essentially, users can block us for just any reason, and that makes it impossible for us to either interact with them, or report their behaviour. At the same time, if we - as supporters - block them, even for what we consider to be completely fair reasons, we ocasionally receive messages from your website stating that we're misuing the feature (and could get in trouble over it). Let me give you two examples of how this is usually misused. Imagine you spot a user with a name such as 'hotdaddy69'. You connect with them, they visit your profile, somehow notice you're a male, and quickly block you... meaning, there's one more pervert in the website, and we cannot do absolutely nothing about it - we can't even report them, which is an issue! Another example - a few hours ago, a user made me a bad request. He, or she, wanted me to pretend I was performing an illegal sexual act with them and tell them how it would go. Naturally, I told them I was uncomfortable with the request, and I was about to report them when the conversation "mysteriously" disappeared. He - or she - had blocked me. Again, this meant one more pervert in the website, and we cannot do anything about it. Now, this is a significant issue. We should be here to present support to those who need it, and instead the website is offering ways for misdeeders to protect themselves from us, while even preventing us from reporting them. This has to be corrected. As Listeners, if someone preemptively blocks us - usually, to prevent us from reporting them - we should still, at the very least, have some way to flag their profile too!
Stereotypes & Stigma - Clarification on Some Forum Guidelines
by theriverissinging
Last post
 June 3rd, 2022
...See more Hello everyone! We have been noticing a significant amount of content and concerns in the forums about matters related to Stereotypes and Stigma and would like to discuss this. Expanding on the same, We do not welcome or tolerate stigma and harmful discrimination of any kind towards people based on their personal/social identities/struggles. ❌ DON'Ts ❌ * Dehumanize – reduce a person of a group solely to labels, including diagnostic or medical ones. * Speak for a group of people without them approving of the statements / the statements being factual. * Use derogatory language or slurs to defame, slander or portray an entire segment of the community or a user based on their identity in a negative light, etc. * Promote stereotypes, prejudices, or discriminate upon baseless claims. Note: This does not mean we ask you to hold compassion towards some person you can't / don't want to, but to not reduce their characteristics as the representative of a whole group (which is often done without a scientific or objective base). ✅ DOs ✅ * See people for what they are – people. Use person-first language where identity-first language is harmful according to the DON'Ts. * It's better to speak for and from your own experiences without overgeneralizing. * We can seek support while also being mindful of how posts impact any community and its members. Seeking support and educational content on stigma is welcome too. * Provide and discuss scientific data. * Recognise that everyone is fundamentally similar and different too. Hence, we can respect that and hold space for subjective experiences and realities without perpetuating stigma. Forum Guidelines [https://www.7cups.com/about/communityGuidelines.php#forum] pertaining to this post, * Offensive Content [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/GeneralConversations_1625/ExpandedForumGuidelines1OffensiveContent_167938/] Inflammatory, racist, sexist, offensive, homophobic, transphobic, etc. posts are not allowed. Posting about the impacts of abuse, racism, sexism, etc. or seeking support on these topics is allowed. * Unsupportive Content [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/GeneralConversations_1625/ForumGuidelinesExpanded2UnsupportiveContent_169648/] Unsupportive content including targeting or attacking other users in the community is not allowed. Disagreements may happen, but always maintain a respectful tone and try to move the conversation forward in an on-topic and constructive way. Sometimes this means agreeing to disagree. * Community Guidelines [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/GeneralConversations_1625/ForumGuidelinesExpanded10CommunityGuidelines_182406/] Refer to any additional guidelines that may apply to specific subcommunities or subforums. These can be found by clicking "Guidelines" within a given subcommunity. * Keeping Forums Welcoming and Supportive [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/KeepingForumsWelcomingandSupportiveForumGuidelinesUpdate_229098/] In order to maintain a therapeutic space, we delete forum posts that take away from a supportive forum environment. If a forum post is not helpful, nor positive, then it will be deleted. Also these Community Guidelines [https://www.7cups.com/about/communityGuidelines.php] which apply everywhere on 7 Cups, * Remain professional, kind, and respectful towards one another. Even if you do not get along with an individual listener, member, or guest it is up to you to act appropriately, step away and not engage. It is up to you to put yourself in situations where you can act in this manner. * Do not engage in hateful behaviors of any kind. Showing hate towards any gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, racial or cultural background or imposing your view point on any of these items on another user is forbidden. Finally, from 7 Cups Culture Guide [https://www.7cups.com/about/culture.php], We Believe in Equality At 7 Cups, we believe that every single person is valuable. In the world of 7 Cups, every person is treated with equal respect, enjoys equal freedom, and equal rights irrespective of the gender orientation, race, religion, or any other difference. We embrace diversity and consider it key in bringing varied perspectives and solutions to difficult problems. and Our Mission [https://www.7cups.com/forum/NewbieHub_27/OurVisionforaBetterWorld_334/OurMission_18219/] posted by @GlenM, 7 Cups is for anyone who wants to live in a world where the human experience is free from stigma and stereotypes and rich with love and support. A world where all 7 billion of us can grow and feel like we truly belong. We believe that each one of us is inherently valuable. We do not measure people based on where they are from, what they look like, or what position they hold. We recognize that people make sense in the larger story of their lives. We understand that people are complicated and that life is not simple or easy. We are all on the same path. Some of us are just starting out. Others are further down the road. No matter where we are, being kind, compassionate, and accepting of one another enables us all to grow. We do not tolerate people being mean, harmful, or rejecting others. We do not judge or look down on people. Although there are forces that tend to disempower and create division, we stand together as we compassionately care for and champion one another. We see our differences as a strength. We are united in our shared goal of creating a place where all can find acceptance and be welcomed to a home where we all belong. For the community – In any event that you find the guidelines being violated, please flag the post. For the forum moderators – If at all possible, the forum moderator should remove the unsupportive content while retaining the post. All edits should generally include the forum moderator's name, date and the reason for editing with a link to the guideline(s). In the event that the post cannot be retained, the forum moderator will delete the whole post. If you believe a forum moderator has edited or deleted your post in error, you can email forum@7cups.com and we will investigate. Big thanks to everyone who brought this up and worked towards it in the past and also the Personality Disorders Support Community Guidelines [https://www.7cups.com/home/personalitydisorders/#guidelines] we used for reference. Thoughts and Feedbacks are welcome. Lastly, I am going to include some academic writing in a reply here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SafetyKnowledgeat7Cups_181/CommunityGuidelines_1374/ClarificationonSomeForumGuidelines_278858/?post=2964040] for anyone who is interested. Thank you!

Hello! Welcome to the community. We are currently restructuring the forums and other aspects of the community - we appreciate your patience and support. ❤️

Community Guidelines

Welcome to the 7cups Leadership Subcommunity. To ensure that the subcommunity is being utilized as it should, please familiarize yourself with the guidelines below:

  1. Please ensure that all of your respective project posts as updated regularly with the requirements, how to contact leaders with questions about your post, the average time to hear back from a role, and how to apply.
  2. Please make posts for your team or projects that you need help with in the Help Wanted Hub. 
  3. For subcommunity-related concerns or questions,  you can contact @CheeryMango.
  4. If there is a project needing help, @SoulfullyAButterfly can be contacted for assistance. 
  5. Please ensure that other projects are able to get a chance to be featured. This is a shared share and everyone's project is just as equal and deserves the same highlight as others. 
  6. For a list of other community-based teams and projects, you can visit the Community Project and Events subcommunity. 
  7. Community leaders are a significant part of our community. In stepping into a leadership role with 7 Cups, you have agreed that you align with our values and wish to uphold our mission. You have the ability to inform and influence our community members. So, it is important to lead by example and be a role model to inspire others to aspire to be someone like you to extend support to others. Please read the 7cups Leadership guidelines that all leaders, irrespective of teams or projects are to follow. 
Read the 7 Cups Guidelines
Community Leaders
Community Mentor Leader
@CheeryMango
@tommy
Project Agent
@Sunisshiningandsoareyou
@audienta
@bookworm274