The Thinking Space Room Problems
I really think the thinking space room needs to be shut down or heavily monitored, a lot of people or members in there can be rude, abusive, sexual and many more things I won't go into. It is not helping 7 cups spread positivity or support at all. Please do something about it, thanks.
I've ventured into 'Thinking Space' every so often, Confucius, Plato etc, need not worry anytime soon on any level. There's been quite a lot of swearing by passing the 'swear' filter, but I couldn't even give you a context for the 'swearing'. I couldn't say that I've ever seen a paragraph in the room when I've visited. Maybe Admin should go through the last 6 months chat records and make an informed decision, they would find it very interesting.
@rebel11
I agree. I went in there to have a nice conversation but all to be found was harassment and grown adults making people uncomfortable. It's very unfortunate.
@rebel11 - We don't keep transcripts of the chat for confidentiality reasons. However, we are checking in regularly and keeping the room open to monitor what goes on when we are not present. It does make for an interesting read.
I've updated the Group Support Review form to include a section for reporting users with multiple accounts. You can find the form at number 16 in the chat room rules, or right here. Appreciate any help identifying these accounts!
@AffyAvo @Alystem
@Heather
I think it's useful to have this form, but I wonder what will be done with the information when something in the forum appears so clear and someone is allowed to use that current account.
Also, with the rule change, what does that mean for multiple accounts that preceded the rule?
@AffyAvo - Please could you PM me the account name you're referring to? If it's the one I think you mean, it was already dealt with yesterday.
Multiple accounts reported through the form will be deleted and the original account (with the earliest sign up date) left open.
Multiple accounts that have been used to cause harm to the community will be IP banned. In both cases an email will be sent to the account holder. This is something we needed to monitor better, hence the form.
Hope that helps!
@Heather Thank you to the proactive admins of 7 Cups! This seems like a fairly efficient way to get some of these problems under control.
@ladylazarus1971 Agreed!
First off TS is a great place. It is people who are regulars in other rooms that bad mouth it and then pop in to sully the chat in TS. I was always uncomfortable by the way people in other rooms bad mouth TS. I find the level of other rooms to be more or less the same as in TS. I also find the mod baiting here quite irritating, but it happens in most of the rooms that I have been to, TS is no different.
I just wanted to give a shout out to the mods who have been working hard to address issues in TS.Thank you for all your work. And thanks Laura for also popping in alot.
Well, good try with the Compassion Course added, and restriction to the room. I had been cautiously optimistic. Granted, it has been one day since the change; and so far, I'm seeing change, but nothing good. Instead of being confined to 1 room, the virus of TS is now spreading across to every other room available during the peak clique times that had been the stomping grounds of the most vocal opponents in TS to keeping it an open and friendly, as well as truly thoughtful, place in the 7 Cups community.
Maybe it is death throes, and a short-lived temper tantrum. Maybe the excitement of the TS refugees will run its course and they'll become bored with their ill-conceived revolution. But, geez, will someone wake me up when this stupidity nightmare is over?
I'm too old for this crapola.
@ladylazarus1971
"it has been one day since the change; and so far, I'm seeing change, but nothing good. Instead of being confined to 1 room, the virus of TS is now spreading across to every other room available"
Who could've seen that coming?
@ladylazarus1971
Maybe if you tagged the usernames of the persons (or suspected persons) culpable then your accusations might land on the right heads. As it stands though, I'm not sure I know who you are talking about. I don't see how there can be a positive discourse without specifics about who is doing what.
@darkcosmos Yes, I see that you can't. And that is indicative of the problem in general. It does no good to start "witch-hunting" (as you suggest with your engaging photo) and finger-pointing to specific individuals when it is a culture-wide phenomenon for a large sector of the posters in this particular room.
It doesn't make sense to do a run-down of "he-said, she-said" here. The point is that the atmosphere of the room is poisonous, particularly when some members encourage and foster negative behavior in fellow participants. Don't get bogged down by distinctions without a difference. False logic is the same as no logic at all. And calling out individuals who have been encouraged by their brethren to act in a stupid way is simply not helpful to any meaningful conversation here, it just clouds the issues at hand.
@ladylazarus1971
"culture-widephenomenon for a large sector of the posters in this particular room."
When are you in Thinking Space? I don't remember ever seeing you.
@WilleZurMacht I've been in TS multiple times throughout the last few weeks, including last night and tonight when I saw you and several other participants of these forums (although when I write night, it was night for me but I don't want to assume it was night for you and be unnecessarily confusing). I have visited TS on a couple dozen occasions over the last few months, but have rarely actively participated since about December if I recall correctly, because I did not feel it appropriate to interrupt the room's clique flow, which also both rebuffed and alienated the "outsiders" I observed attempting to join into the conversation.
Please don't try to play it off like I'm some kind of busybody who is just being unnecessarily reactive to the TS BS. I have spent plenty of time in many other chat rooms, and have NEVER faced the same level of insular hatred TS shows for anyone outside its known regulars. Sometimes the other rooms have problems with accepting newcomers, but in TS it has been EVERY SINGLE VISIT. And not just me. I'm an old lady with a thick hide and I don't care so much about my own supposedly hurt feelings. But I do worry about the more sensitive members who can't take this kind of rejection without being damaged.
Don't tell them to form a thick skin. That's rude and unsupportive. 7 Cups exists to help people tread water when they are floundering and scared of drowning. You're throwing them into the deep end, then shrugging when they don't float and claiming it's not your fault. If you don't want to be supportive of others, stay the *bleep* away from an emotionally delicate support system.
There's a whole great big internet out there that has sites that cater to all kinds of people. Perhaps (definitely) somewhere out there exists some chat rooms that allow you free rein to be snarky, ironic, and oh-so-snide. But that place is not 7 Cups. Wouldn't you rather be somewhere that supports your philosophies than where you have to p!ss everyone off and swim against the tide? It's gotta be exhausting, and probably only fun if you've got a martyr complex.
@ladylazarus1971
"I'm an old lady with a thick hide and I don't care so much about my own supposedly hurt feelings. But I do worry about the more sensitive members who can't take this kind of rejection without being damaged."
And you calling them refugees is supposed to be a compliment?
@ladylazarus1971
You can't just call a large group of people a virus, poisonous and a stupidity nightmare to dismiss them. How about giving an actual example of an action, even without a name. You don't like the way people were greeted? I don't like trolls or spammers either, but when you create an us vs them mentality you condemn innocent people.
@darkcosmos I have never referred to any 7 Cups member or group of members as poisonous, viral, or stupid. It's the attitude that's the problem, not the people.
@ladylazarus1971 And yet you continue to attack the people.
@Versatchy @ladylazarus1971 can we depolarize this and instead of reinforcing an us vs. them framework try to look for shared or common goals to work on instead?
@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn I would very much like that.
@ladylazarus1971 hello lady, I am a ts regular, it is not cool to call people virus. We are real people.
@Siri14 what should we call you? ive been in that room and tried to play along nicely but was treated like crud... so yea i agree with lady... get rid of the virus at any and all costs... =)
@Hydr0ponicus I don't know, try calling us people or humans, we are real people, just because you think we are less human than you guys, doesn't mean we actually are less human. It's not cool to discriminate or generalize bruh, at least not here :)
@Hydr0ponicus - Please remember to keep this respectful. It's okay to be upset or to disagree with how TS has been, but it's not okay to attack individuals or suggest they don't belong here - 7 Cups can be a place for everyone; we just need to find a path where we can all exist here together.
@Anomalia
cant exist with members who are rude and refuse to help others in pain.... this place is a joke now and isnt safe... too many cliques and stuck up sobs... not to mention the influx of these twenty-something crowd that has just about ruined everything they come in contact with... open your eyes for once and see the truth of it all...
Considering how vehemently the regular or self-identified members of TS have been regarding how passionate they are about keeping the room accessible to themselves, where they had been playing court in a cultic atmosphere, one would imagine they would have jumped at the chance to take the compassion course. And since, as the members vociferously contested, they actually had been exercising compassion all along, it should have been of no concern to take the course and pass with flying colors. They should all already be up and running back at TS headquarters, right?
Not so. Either they are unable to pass the compassion course, or are too undedicated to take it., or simply chose to spread their negative poison across the spectrum of 7 Cups.
Who could have foreseen this? Everyone. But only if they expected the worst from the members who had been using TS to form a nasty little in-group, instead of hoping that they would rise to the challenge of becoming what those folks woundedly claimed to be-- a vital, witty, and welcoming 7 Cups community.
Sometimes it really stinks to be right.
@ladylazarus1971
How does it feel to be 45?
@Versatchy That's a fantastic question, and probably best answered by someone who is 45. However, I am not. You have to be careful when you make assumptions based on incomplete information. Looks like there's a lot of faulty logic running rampant in here.
And, thank you for the question @KrinkTheMellowUnicorn. The asking does seem out of place. I am in no way offended by it, regardless of whatever my age might be. I can only imagine the question was meant to be hurtful in some way; but, if so, it would qualify as an epic fail. No assumption on my part here-- I am merely guessing.
Just another taste of what passes for compassion among some TS acolytes....
@ladylazarus1971 - yes it did come off as a weak form of trolling to me. i've noticed a pattern from some community members of sarcastic, hit-and-run posts that tend to hint at rather than state things outright.
it is a postings style more suited to reddit or other free-for-all sites and doesn't really suit here.
i find it interesting to ask people to unpack, explain, and stand behind their comments, but some just duck and run...
@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn
But yet again you only call out one member and ignore another's unsupportive behavior that doesn't belong on this site.
@House2011 - I'm happy to condemn negativity or hit-and-run posting with no constructive contribution wherever I notice it, but rather than being concerned that everyone is chastised equally, how about seeking positive, constructive solutions instead?
@ladylazarus1971
I'm wondering what members you're seeing. Maybe you've mistaken the regulars in whatever room you frequent for thinking space people. I honestly don't see what people's issues were with the room.
Just seems entirely that certain people can't deal with an opposing opinion and want to silence anything that challenges their delicate world views, because in my time on this site ts remained the friendliest and most likely to welcome new people, whereas several other rooms won't even say a word to you other than to insult you if you're not part of their little cliques.
@ladylazarus1971
I don't like the compassion course because it's as if we have to prove ourselves as members just to stay where we feel we belong. I believe when you aren't feeling well enough to give support on a listener account, you are asked to attend the site on your member account. There's a reason for that. Because the problems could be triggering, and more than likely, you're just not in a state to help others. I believe the thinking space members managed to find a way to support one another without constantly ruminating on the troubles that brought them here in the first place. I find that avoiding those troubles is a better coping mechanism for me, personally. If it's not for other members, I understand. There are other resources for them here on this website. It's not as if the thinking space members purposely ignore newcomers. It's just that it's a busy room and new people are often overlooked as the messages go by fast, or they don't choose to involve themselves in the conversation. If you feel as if you have personally been ignored there, I remember your presence in thinking space on three different occasions. Firstly, I remember seeing you the day David Bowie passed (I believe it was him, it could have been someone else). You were involved in the conversation, and it was quite calm then. The second time I remember seeing you was when the chatroom was really busy. I remember myself and another member greeting you, but your messages, as well as mine, were "buffered out" as you like to say. Which I understand the frustration with this, but it's a busy chatroom and in order for your messages to be seen, yousort of have to comment often. That's how it is with a busy chatroom. And lastly, I believe I remember seeing you the day Jenna's discussion was bumped up to an earlier time. I don't think there were many people in the chatroom at that point, but I remember informing you that the time had changed. If any of these instances were not you, I apologize. But I'm pretty sure I've seen you around, and you weren't completely ignored.
I'd also like to mention, that if we're apparently so bad with treating newcomers, and you're trying to help us be supportive, why make it so that new people find it more difficult to get into thinking space? I love seeing new personalities in there. Thinking space is a diverse chatroom, and I love that. It's upsetting to me that there will be less newer people. I don't know why, but I'm just the kind of person who likes to greet people and answer their questions about the site if they have any. But there will be no need for that anymore, it seems. Also, I feel like thinking space is one of the lesser of the intimidating rooms because the topic is not specified; Therefore, people who are new to the website might feel more comfortable there because they don't feel pressured to talk about their depression or whatever they're dealing with right away. They can ease themselves into the format of an online chatroom by talking about something more tame, such as sports or something. I understand thinking space gets chaotic, so that point might be contradicted, but it's not always like that, and some people might find it amusing. I recall multitudes of people saying that they felt better after being in thinking space because we made them laugh and have a good time. But sure, let's make them take a test in order to get that.
Hmmm. So one person gets four upvotes and another person gets zero votes. There must be something wrong with that room if they took it away and then now you have to pass a test to get in. Hmmm. I could imagine a person saying why did they do that. There's nothing wrong with that room. They see themselves as a nice person. I think that other people might not see it that way. What if they are the problem. What if.
@Fear333
Hmm. [edited for non-supportive content]
@House2011. I was confused? If you want to PM me and talk about anything I'm here for you. I won't censor you :)
@Fear333
Nothing important, just poking at your obvious dig at thinking space regulars. Apparently it's fine to insult us but anything we do is wrong.
Thinking Space is described as a place for thoughtful conversation. We all had a preconceived notion of what thoughtful conversation means based on our own opinions and views. But just because it doesnt measure up to what you personally thought it would be, doesnt mean that its bad and should be removed from the site. Thoughtful is an ambiguous term, but generally it is defined as involving thought. Its a vague definition for a reason. People have different ideas as to what thoughtful means. Im guessing people want conversation that is political, philosophical, and religious in nature as previously described. I agree that would be nice, but every time I have tried to bring up a topic involving one of those categories, a moderator will ask us to move on from that topic. Also, I have experienced other members asking to not talk about it anymore because someone held an opposing view. So these topics are clearly sensitive. Anything is a sensitive topic, and thats why people are here in this forum. They were offended with what they saw, or the room didnt fit their ideals for what a thinking space should be.
I see people are complaining about regular members in this forum. And I also see former regular members complaining, although they partook in the same shenanigans theyre complaining about. Theres a lot of pointing fingers here, which I dont find all that helpful. In reference to the comment about regular members making it difficult for newcomers to join in on conversation, that occurs in every chatroom on this website, so to single out thinking space wouldnt be productive. Even the regulars were new at some point. There is a lot of traffic in thinking space, so the messages do go fast, and its hard to notice every message that is sent. But thats just one of the things that comes with a popular chatroom. Not to mention, I find that thinking space is incredibly welcoming to the newcomers. Just about everyone is greeted there, and if a newcomer wasnt greeted, then its more than likely just because there were too many messages being sent, and theirs was overlooked.
As for moderating the room, there are a few moderators who I absolutely love because they actually come into the room and have a conversation with us members. The other moderators just lurk about and warn people, and never show themselves to explain what the warning is for. This creates a frenzy because the members get upset obviously that them and their friends are being warned and muted, for sometimes seemingly no reason at all, and there is no explanation for this; Additionally, we are urged to report a moderator if this happens, but how can we report a moderator if we dont know who they are in the first place? And if a moderator deletes a message, how are we supposed to even show that they warned/muted unfairly?
Thinking space is a nice place for me to take my mind off of all the things going on in my life. Its the only room I personally have felt comfortable in and welcomed, so its the one I frequent. If I dont like a room, I tend to just avoid it. Its one out of sixteen rooms and all of them have similar dynamics meaning there are regulars in each and even quarrels and trolls. Singling out thinking space is unfair and unproductive.
@kailee316
Hi Kailee..
I understand what you mean and I am sorry.. I am happy TS made you feel so comfortable!
I know this change is sudden and difficult, TS is still TS.. The change is made so no unsupportive can go in and go into TS and it can remain a safe and supportive environment like it almost always has for everyone.
I'm sorry Kailee honey, I know it doesn't seem fair but I think it was meant for the best 
@Jennalovely2
It's alright. I understand the complaints, I just don't know why thinking space was singled out in all of this.
@Jennalovely2
Wow typos galore!! Oops!
I like TS room alot. You all taught me to grow walnuts and get tough skin and to look outside the "specail"box. So I know how it is for change also. But trust me it will be ok.
Please can you all share good positive things about TS that you enjoyed and remembered?? Hearing good things sometimes we lack once in awhile
Why do people have such strong opinions against Thinking Space? If you don't like it, you don't use it. Isn't that simple enough?
I'm new to TS and I must admit that although it can get a little chaotic in there almost everyone I've met there is extremely friendly.
