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7Cups Through the Years

windflowers June 28th, 2018

Hello!

Before 7Cups turns 5 years old tomorrow, I thought it'd be cool to share 7Cups' changes throughout the years and what users thought of them (according to what year they joined). Thank you to @KrinkTheMellowUnicorn for the screenshots and to those of you who gave opinions, it's very much appreciated!

Happy birthday 7Cups, and thank you to the lovely community that makes it the wonderful place that it is. I hope you enjoy this gallery!

[updated by @windflowers, 6/7, to put in the content of this post]

21
windflowers OP July 6th, 2018

The year: 2014

Homepage

Members' dashboard

Users' thoughts

The whole format changed that was a huge thing, the colors and fonts changed over a year ago I believe? It made the site a lot "lighter" kind of, as before the lines were much stronger. The name also changed! Before the link was www.7cupsoftea.com! but that wasn't so long ago. I think the biggest changes were regarding chatrooms though! In June 2014 kind of we didn't even have listener chatrooms! We had our groups over chatzy and it was much more messy than it's now! Later in 2015 kind of, chatrooms for members appeared. I was still a teen listener then and it took longer to appear for us. Teen Support opened from 8pm to 12am EST and it was SUCH messy, so much trouble! & just the teen stars were group mods so we used to stay there all through the nights no stop! It was exhausting and I think that's why I've never been a group support room fan after that. - @MelAllyouneedislove

2 replies
Mel July 6th, 2018

@windflowers okay maybe I was a bit harsh with group supports lol <3 I do enjoy them now (and I've been proved wrong that they do are more helpful than troublesome) but spending hours in a row waiting to be replaced by other person (because the room couldn't go without a mod) was pretty bad at the moment - specially on school nights! I can't even start to count the amount of things that have changed for the better!

1 reply
windflowers OP July 7th, 2018

@MelAllyouneedislove

Glad to hear there's been a positive change cheeky But wow, that sounds really tiring! Kudos to all of you out there.

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windflowers OP July 6th, 2018

The year: 2015

Homepage

Members' dashboard

Users' thoughts

I never cared about most of the information on the dashboards, but it's nice to have I guess? The only thing that really annoyed me or made a difference is the "community" option. I miss being able to go straight to the forums, and as a forum supporter then project agent then forum mentor that has affected me. Also when subcoms became a thing I had no clue to begin with and I was a part of a category that
became a subcom and the new system and stuff took time to adjust to. - @Keanan

I am really proud of some of the changes that we have made in the last 3.5 years that I have been here - particularly the ones that help us support more people in better ways (like adding the feed which I initially was opposed to but was very happy to be proved wrong about, some of the new topics that have been added, the expansion of new forums and group support rooms, etc.) and the ones that have focused on improving quality and safety (like giving more ability to review forum changes and address proactively, some of the updates to block reports and reviews to more quickly address those causing harm, etc.)

Within the forum team, we've made some really big strides in the last year especially and I think that while there is always room for improvement, we are doing better than ever at creating a safe and welcoming space for anyone to connect and continuing to evolve as we find ways to make it even better.

There's always a lot on the table that I think we haven't done yet and want to see, but when I look back 3.5 years, it's pretty phenomenal how some of these changes have come together! - @Anomalia

5 replies
Mel July 6th, 2018

@windflowers this homepage was so pretty! definitely my personal favorite

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Keanan July 6th, 2018

@windflowers

2015 is and was the best

2 replies
windflowers OP July 7th, 2018

@Keanan

2015 sounds like a great year surprise

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windflowers OP July 6th, 2018

The year: 2016

Homepage

Members' dashboard

Users' thoughts

I was actually barely active for a tiny part of 2016 and then forgot cups existed until April 2017 xD as for changes in the site, I think weve definitely become more safety-oriented and community-oriented. I think its been helpful in building up a safe community here and its a journey that Im glad to be a part of c: - @PhoenixAsh

7Cups changed drastically quite soon after I joined, as always changes are not easy to get used to so tbh I was not that happy about seeing so many in such short time at the time but fast forwarding to this day it is clear that many changes end up being a great thing whether they are sub-communities or community centered moderation. I however really like changes in Noni and things like forum posts viewed on profile or listener goals option, overall as a community we have been through many changes and they did end up being positive. - @Hope

7cups was one of the best things i've ever come across in my life. This website taught me so much about the world, different kinds of people and it has really helped me grow as a person and have a better understanding of a lot of things. Over the two years i've been here, i've seen the community grow as a whole! New roles, new employees, new volunteers, everyone working towards making this place a warm and welcoming website for all. Some of the changes in 7cups that I loved were 1. The new group mod training on the basis on rooms (aka community centered moderation). It's great that more training is being given to people on how to efficiently keep rooms safer based on the problems faced by that particular room. 2. 'Chat Support' badge as it made it a lot easier for people to understand who to reach out to for proper help. 3. More and more discussion teams! The new discussion teams like Bipolar support, Compassion Corner etc were a great addition to the range of discussions available! 4. More filters on the browse listeners page! Easier to find suitable listeners! :3 - Anonymous

windflowers OP July 6th, 2018

The year: 2017

Homepage

Members' dashboard

Users' thoughts

I love how 7cups evolved through the years and I still get amazed whenever I see some photos of the old 7cups design and format before I joined. Although, being here for a little over a year, I can say
that 7cups has changed a lot since I joined. Here are some of my favorite ones:
> Noni being in the listener PMs
> Forum notifications link directly to the post you're tagged in or to the newest post
> The improvement of dashboard where you can set achievable goals for yourself and seeing the latest posts in the community both listener and public subcoms
> Adding number of forum upvotes/posts
> gender and when a listener is last active in the user profiles
> Newbie badge showing in the rooms
> Tick for being a VL
> Updated leaderboard and leader titles
> Chat support badge for mentors/teen stars and many more! c: - Anonymous

2 replies
Mel July 6th, 2018

@windflowers I think it was in 2017 that therapists were added? surprise We didn't mention that! I think it was an important change

Also: when the site first started you could take chats by CALL if you were an adult listener! This ended shortly after I joined but I have always wondered how it used to work!

1 reply
windflowers OP July 7th, 2018

@MelAllyouneedislove

I didn't realise that was the year! That's super cool. And wow, taking chats by call? I never knew that that existed.

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windflowers OP July 6th, 2018

Homepage

Members' dashboard

Users' thoughts

I think the biggest chance I've noticed since I joined this community in April 2018 is how more involved members are becoming with different teams and communities. - @blogger123

2 replies
Kate July 6th, 2018

@windflowers

We also launched Community Centered Moderation at the begining of 2018. This was a big change and I think it has been working out well so far!

1 reply
windflowers OP July 7th, 2018

@Kate

Yeah, CCM's been a really cool thing to have for me as well! <3

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Cadence July 6th, 2018

Oh my goodness, the 2014 page is so familiar and home-like to me. Holy cow.

4 replies
windflowers OP July 7th, 2018

@Cadence

Wow, that must mean that you've been here a long time! surprise

2 replies
Cadence July 10th, 2018

@windflowers

Yup! I was June 2014! 7Cups was pretty much an email service kind of thing. You had to refresh your page to see if you got new messages! Totally different. I'm still not super used to the new layout, haha. Most of my prime was in 2015.

@MelAllyouneedislove

Yesss! OGs <3

1 reply
windflowers OP July 11th, 2018

@Cadence

Oh my goodness, wow, that sounds so different from now! I struggle with imagining 7Cups as refreshing to get messages, to be honest.

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Mel July 7th, 2018

@Cadence same! Seems like an entirely different place and a life time ago lol

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