Open Discussion on Muting!
Hi everyone!
As muting is a hot topic around here, I wanted to start an open conversation about it!
You all have been using the mute button to better curate your experience at 7 Cups! That is what the mute button was designed for. HOORAY :)
--------> Our team of dedicated mentors and moderators have the ability to execute a "moderator mute." When you receive a moderator mute, this is what should happen:
1) User is violating one of the community/chatroom guidelines
2) Depending on the nature of the comment, a moderator will give a warning to the individual. A warning should look like this:
?Hey XX, your behavior is currently in violation of chat room guidelines number X, could you go review this guideline??
3) The warning should be professional and kind.
If you are the recipient of a warning, no worries. It happens. It's all about how you react. It is okay to receive a warning, to learn from it and to grow. If you receive a warning, no big deal! Go take a look at the guidelines and come back to the chat room to continue the conversation. Accept it as a moment of growth!
4) If you continue to engage in the behavior, another warning may be given. If the behavior continues, you will be moderator muted.
5) A moderator mute will last 24 hours. Once 24 hours passes, you will be free to enter the chat rooms again.
6) You can receive up to 3 moderator mutes. Once you receive 3, you will receive a global mute, which can last up to one year.
@heather & I are constantly reviewing the mute reports & here are some helpful things you should know:
- There is no such thing as a ?hacker or troll mute?
- If a mute is unfair, we can release it.
- Overwhelmingly, our moderators are very careful with the moderator mute and use it sparingly. Incoming reports are fair.
------> What should you do if you receive a mute?
If you are muted, no big deal. It happens. Feel fortunate for the opportunity to grow and learn from your behavior. Take some time to review the chat room guidelines and try to better understand how to improve behavior in this space.
------->Moderator muting also helps to remove trolls quickly and protect the space. We are very very luck to have such a wonderful group of moderators. Please join me in thanking them for helping to keep our space safe!
------->Let's all take ownership of our own mutes and use them as personal growth moments! A mute is reflection of your personal behavior and only you are in control of that. Let's change the culture of muting.
hallo
I have a question?
Let's say "Susie123321" is being rude and unsupportivein the chat. She has gotten into a disagreement with another member and can't seem to let it go. I give the three warnings and she continues the disruptive behavior. I then muteher account. A few minutes later a guest enters the chat and says "Hey it's Susie123321the mod muted me." From that point on they are no longerdisruptive and continue to chat with other regulars that are theirfriends.
Are you allowed to mute if they come back on a guest account? Are you suppose to wait till they break the rules again?
Many, many, people know how to get around a mute (it isn't very hard). I feel like when people do this they are being manipulative and not taking responsibility for their actions. They think "Hey if I get muted, I can just do xyz and come on again."
I feel like muting isn't very effective. It just makes members/guests bitter with the mods.
@JustOlivia, if you have given them fair amount of warnings it is ok to mute them. If they return on a guest account and behave in a proper way, then you can let them talk in the room. However this is not the reason for unmuting their member/listener accounts.
If the mute was done by mistake or without warnings then you can unmute them.
Hey, I don't think it's possible to undo a mute once it has been done my a mod.
@JustOlivia: re: "Many, many, people know how to get around a mute (it isn't very hard)." ... I watched a guy in chat the other day do this. He got muted by members, created a guest account, came back and complained more violently than before. When a mod showed up and started talking to him, he became passive and actually chilish in his pleading ... "please, no-one listenes to me, Mr Mod... please defend me, everyone is angry at me for no reason, please listen to me Mr Mod, no-one will let me speak"... things like that.
Mutes need to be based on the user's IP address, NOT just a screen name. Or, better still, they could be EITHER a screen name / login... OR an IP address. Mute an IP address, and you've solved a problem for quite awhile. Some people can get around that... but not as easily as creating a guest account.
@Regnkongen agree with you on using the IP or login for muting. I have personally seen listeners/members login as guest (how I know is because they know all members and thier names,what they did etc, to top it they say I am a listener here or I am a member here) and indulge in inappropriate talks. This is safe for them as they always have their L or M account to sign back with. I had a heated argument with a listener for requesting a member in the room NOT to use caps in the chat room as not many do not take it well. I was accused of "throwing weight being a mod" .
Here are a few things I usually ask people to go easy with/drop the topic:
1 - Using censored words or just typing in asterisks (like **** ***** ********* for the sake of it). This triggers others in the room as they assume it is something bad
2- Using caps. It could be a person is emphasising on something (if it is a few words I go easy. If the entire sentence is in caps, I request them to lose it
3 - Picking on other members/guests just because one does not get along well or their friends do not like them (ganging up)
4- Topics that can lead the conversation to something that isnt apt for the site/users
Question for all :
How do you deal with people when they resort to innuendoconversations? Especially if it gets sexual? The context and the exchange of lines is obvious, but when told they dust it off saying, it was an innocent line, it depends on how you take it
Thinkin aloud ( not related to topic though)
-Does it make sense to have the user names and pics(both L and M accounts) revisited?
look enjoy what you have to day to day all we have to do all of us is "we" have one positive thing to enjoy or place per day. go to that spot daily to get your self out of the bad place sending love to all enjoy
i love coming up here to help people, and to learn more about helping. There are a lot of different kind of people to help with, thanks for setting up a site like this!
Thank you for your words and ideas on mute/blocking! It's important for us to understand this function! I do have a question: we're getting into a lot of situations lately where mods are choosing not to moderate chats because we are losing access to our accounts. The first act of someone who has been disruptive in a chat is always to lash out at the person who took away their "stage". If they report you enough times, you lose access to your account. I can't speak for everyone but I know that many of us are choosing not to go into the rooms when we see arguments erupting because whatever side we take, we'll be blamed. What is the process for suspending a moderator's account and where can I review the complaints to better understand how I can proceed in future? I don't wish to stop moderating the chats, but at this point I feel it's a double-edged sword: one person reports me for muting them after they start trying to sex-chat to another member in the room; the next day I take it easy and another person reports me for NOT muting someone who started trying to sex-chat to another member in the room. In my opinion, all of the reports/mutes should be reviewed and since "the buck stops here" mods should be able to review and respond to member feedback, rather than losing access to our accounts. Most mods are long-term listeners with many people we are helping on our profiles. I have been banned from the site for two days in the past: in that time, I received over 2 dozen messages from 7 cups saying members had messaged me asking for help. It was killing me that I couldn't even sign in to tell them I hadn't abandoned them. It has certainly discouraged me from continuing to act as a moderator, particularly since it is a volunteer role. I don't have to be here, I choose to come here to help, because i think this really is a great idea!
One thing that might be helpful would be if there was a way to somehow send a 1:1 popup reply to a chat message that would pop up as a private warning for only the person breaking the rules to be able to see. That way they are sure to see the warning and know why they are being muted. If we can fix the problem with chats getting flooded by spammers, then something like that could be mandatory before a mute could be done, thereby removing the mystery. Not sure if it would be at all feasible but just an idea.
I appreciate hearing your stories and insights. It's very helpful for me and makes me feel less alone in my struggles as a mod and listener. Thank you!
@YouCanHas
Excuse me, but what is a mute like?
Not the mute each member has the power to wield, but the muting power of the moderator? I'm only asking because I think I've been muted from the group support chats, but I'm unable to know why. No one has of yet told me or chooses to inform me of my situation.
Do you have any recommendations I should take to figure out this problem I'm facing? If it be a mute, what did I do to receive it? How long does it take? Will I be able to go back to the group support chat? Or am I banned from such a place indefinatly?
@Naraku
I'm not the best person to ask, as I quit modding and going to the group rooms awhile ago. If it's still how it used to be, being muted means that you can see what others say but they can't see what you say. If muted by mods, then no one can see what you say. If muted by an individual member/guest, only that person can't see what you say. If you are muted by a mod (unless they've changed things), you will be muted for 24 hours then be able to chat again like normal. I could be wrong but I believe that people can get banned/suspended for longer amounts of times when they have been repeatedly muted and possibly when some of the more severe problems occur (threatening another member, for instance).
It may be good for you to take a look at the chat room rules as far as figuring out why you were muted (if you were muted). Sometimes people might, for instance, bring up a triggering topic or be talking about things like which meds or drugs they take and not realize that those are not appropriate topics for group chats. Sometimes people get so stuck on questioning why that is not appropriate that they end up not realizing the damage being done to another member. And sometimes (unless they have changed it), mutes can happen by mistake too. I think the mods are now required to check a box as to which rule was broken or something like that, so accidental mutes are probably less likely now than they used to be.
If you're not sure if people are just ignoring you rather than that you are muted, just ask the people in the room "I believe I might be muted--can anyone see this?" If they heart your post or respond, you'll know you are not muted. You could also send a private message to an active mod and ask if they can see what you've been saying in chat. Good luck!
@SidheKate there are forums on the Listener only side that talk about this exactly.
I don't like muting people but sometimes it is necessary
I think a problem I've seen is that when someone comes in to Spam it's harder to warn them if they're spamming really fast, and then that member will get upset when their mute is up because they didn't get a warning. Well it's kind of hard to send a warning while I can't even delete messages fast enough before they're back :P Just adding in my two cents but I love this post and I think a lot of mods are very good with giving three poliete warnings
what's with all the unreasonable muting lately?
I think adding an anonymous message explaining why the heck you were muted would be really helpful can't really learn from your mistakes if you don't know what you did lol
@theMadCat
agreed!
Hi, I have been doing a great 1to1. But one thing that frustrates me is the Group support chat. I have tried several methods but I'm unable to do group chat. Once it was OK when I cleared the browser cookies but since next time all was same. Moderators notice that someone entered the room and they say hi divine but my comments are not seen by anybody. I haven't been muted neither I received any warnings. I also submitted a ticket on support page and one listener even helped me by sending mail to administrative team.Thank you in Good Faith.
Clearly One thing is true, if it is not happening with me then I will just leave this thing forever. Many people were doing joke and even used some bad words using * and so on but they were not muted. Once only I saw someone gave warning. What is this then?? I haven't seen dayy/night I was just here and taking the requests. If someone has problem regarding me then Think this too. I haven't broken any rule. BYE!