Keeping Support Rooms Supportive: Chatroom Guidelines Announcement
All,
We hope you all are doing well and taking good care of yourselves. I'd like to first express my gratitude for all the time and effort the community has put in to keep our chat rooms a supportive and safe space to talk.
We have been listening to you, and we heard from the community about some ongoing issues in the Support Room 24/7. So this post will be addressing those concerns to ensure this room is not being misused.
First, let's understand: what is the Support Room 24/7?
Support Room is a general support room available to talk and get support 24/7. As the name suggests, it is a room for support purposes only.
That means ALL casual conversations need to be moved to the Member Community Room, which is dedicated to lighthearted chats.
We ask you to read the chatroom guidelines and strictly adhere to them. You will find the guidelines at the bottom of each chatroom labeled, Please read the Chatroom Rules
All participants are expected to be aware of the rules of engagement. This means that if you are found to be violating any rules, you will be responsible for the consequences.
Consequences of violations:
- Community Moderators can instantly mute you if you are found to be violating any chat room rules after one verbal reminder. Volunteer moderators will be sending 3 warnings to mute you after 2 verbal reminders.
- If you repeatedly and knowingly violate chat room rules, you will be muted instantly without any verbal reminder by community moderators. Also, if needed, your account can be suspended.
- Both or all parties engaging in an argument or conflict will be instantly muted. You have a personal mute button for a reason. It is your decision not to use personal mute and engage in conflict.
- If you have a question or disagreement about a rule, a topic with a listener, or a moderator, please take the issue to PMs immediately. If you continue to argue and disrupt the flow of the room, you can be instantly muted.
- You are welcome to submit a review for the Chat Room Moderators, Room Supporters, Listeners here! For members here!
We are taking these measures to ensure the Support Room facilitates helping and healing. We would appreciate everyone using it appropriately and being mindful and compassionate of one another.
Keeping chat rooms safe, respectful, compassionate, supportive, and inclusive is everyone's responsibility. Let's continue to work together to give our community our best.
Edit: Applicable for all the chat rooms w.e.f July 01, 2020
A few resources you can bookmark and find helpful! The texts are hyperlinked and clickable!
Badges Required to Unlock Support Rooms!
Frequently Asked Questions - Group Support
(Badge access link updated by Sunisshiningandsoareyou on 9/25/22)
@ASilentObserver
Thank you for this, it's a really good reminder!
@ASilentObserver Much as I love what this announcement is trying to do, just telling people to move to the MC room does nothing. Think maybe it would be smart to have a mod keeping the support room actually supportive if that's what it's supposed to be...Makes sense not to necessarily have a mod in MC because that's casual conversation, but for a room meant for support I always see people getting ignored who need support and the casual conversation being favoured over the potential for helping others in their moment of need...
@ASilentObserver it lets a LOT place to abuse from community moderators who, for most, have no experience in active listening and dont know how deescalate a situation, redirect the chat or use active listening to handle a situation. Moderators are supposed be listeners first, with additional tools to help to keep the room safe. Not to create fear, anxiety and panic in members at the point to make their experience of 7cups traumatic. They should rely on active listening and not on their power to get the rooms SAFE and supportive. Safe also means safe from abuse from inexperienced moderators.
@TortueDesBois
seconded
@TortueDesBois yes I'm starting to worry about what I say now in case I get banished. And I don't say outlandish things.
@ASilentObserver Thank you for this reminder. I had a recent incident where I needed some guidance on a very serious chat I was having with a member. Thankfully, one person acknowledged my message, but right after my SOS for help a small group of people began bantering back and forth with some inside joke between themselves and my message got lost in their banter. So thank you for clarifying appropriate use of this space.
@KindnessMatters2020
The support room is a designed space for members who are seeking support;
Of course I hear and understand your need guidance with some chats and I'm very happy you do seek guidance when some chats are harder to handle. that's not ok from them to joke around as they did and I'm sorry it's happened.
Luckilly for you, there is a specific room for listeners only where they can go specifically to get help with ongoing chats, including to find a mentor or resources.
Maybe @ASilentObserver or a listener / mentor may help you to find this space, because as a member I can't even see, I only heard of it .
Thank you for your dedication to help members in need emotional support and caring enough for seeking help with the chat when you are unsure how best support them.
@TortueDesBois
@KindnessMatters2020 yes?
@TortueDesBois
Hi there - sorry earlier I was having internet issues, but the support chat I was referring to was the one for listeners. I have used it before so I know where to find it, my comment was in support of taking casual convos to the non-support chat to distinguish it between a place to seek guidance vs a place to chit chat. But thank you for your feedback
@KindnessMatters2020
I've had the same happen many times when I've been seeking support. In all the rooms.
@ASilentObserver
Thank you very much for the reminder !
I appreciate your effort to share such important and valuable informations .
@ASilentObserver
Thank you for posting this. I am glad to see this issue addressed openly.
My suggestion would be to have a banner on the drop down menu stating 24/7 Support room is for support only and another banner on the Community room stating it is for Social and Support.
@affectionateNorth4018 Good idea north! thank you!
Added description of them and now can appear in the left-hand side pane like this- 
@ASilentObserver
Glad it was helpful! 🙂
@ASilentObserver finally!! I requested a better description right after they deleted the access to "guests", and finally got it today.. lol
I like some of this.
It's a bit confusing though what else this changes from before.
Warnings used to expire after 6 hours, how does this now work?
What about the mutes? Do they end after 24 hours?
For the volunteer mods does this mean that things which used to be automatic mutes cannot be anymore?
@AffyAvo
- no change in the warnings from the volunteer mods. warnings still expire after 6 hours if you dont receive a second one, if you receive a second within the 6 hours, then the time is reset, 6 hours from your second warnings for a third (then mute) warning.
- from the community mods, its an instant mute, with no popup saying that you are muted, why and by who.
only warnings and mutes from volunteers mods show the popup with the reason and the name of mod.
- first and second mutes are for 24h, even those instant mutes from community mods are 24h, the third mute is 1 year.
source: I receive an instant 24h mute from a community mod without any popup showing the reason
@TortueDesBois Thanks!
@Obs - I do think people should be informed. If people aren't aware it's hard for them to change behaviours (spamming may be an exception).
@TortueDesBois Also sorry to hear you were muted 
@TortueDesBois I do think the insta mute and ban is a bad idea. I agree with affy people need to know what they allegedly did wrong so it doesn't happen again or if it was justified (not always)
Personally I don't have a problem with the way the room has been,. I haven't seen an issue. To me it seems to be useful less than the others. Its annoying having to switch rooms because you want to talk about a certain topic.
@ASilentObserver there has been general conflicts a lot in the teen rooms but a lot of the time it's a general thing someone is saying like please don't use that term when talking to me and I have asked before this and you said no and that person attacks the other and they are just defending themselves. I think a moderater should always read up and figure things out or be there before muting since sometimes as of the other day someone was telling people to hurt themselves and do other things that would need a crisis line for... in this situation we needed to say something or other things we had a wonderful mod handling it as it went on 💜 but if a mod has entered a bit later they would not have seen the reson and muted both parties so I really think mods must be on at all time to see this not just imiditly mute both parties. Thank you for reading my concerns