MEMBERS/GUESTS: What NOT to do when reviewing us

Good evening, everyone!

Just wanted to jump on the Site Feedback side to make a general thread, based on a recent experience of mine, particularly towards 7 Cups Members/Guests. Some friendly (but important) advice, if you will. Here goes😋

Dear fellow Members,

During or after a chat with a Listener, you will be aware of the Star option on your side of the chat (located in the upper right hand corner) for you to leave a review. It offers you the chance to rate Listeners on their helpfulness, empathy, response time, and overall professionalism. Sometimes, Listeners may even ask you to leave them an honest review of how the chat went and what you thought of them. Of course, I should make it clear that such a request can be made, provided that they maintain necessary chat etiquette and politeness. No Listener should try and insist, force, or harass you to do anything for them, or try to gain appraisal through unfair, prohibited, and unacceptable means.

Now, here's the point I'd like to make.

If you'd like to give your view on how the conversation went, fair enough. If you do not wish to, also fair enough. It's your choice.

But please do not tell a Listener to "write a review about themselves in the chat for you to copy and paste".

As Listeners here, including myself, reviews are an aspect of the role which are taken seriously. Any positive or constructive commentary is necessary to see what we do well and where we need improvement. Although my experience so far in online volunteering has been short-lived, I'm sure I speak for so many Listeners when I say this. As well as members' growth, we also have our personal progress to look into. Some Listeners do this to gain experience in the psychology field. Some have had direct live journeys and want to help anyone else around them who is may have been through similar circumstances. Some just want to support those struggling in this draining pandemic. Others volunteer on the site for their own reasons.

We do not join the volunteering side of 7 Cups for "fun and games", but to offer support in any way we can. Mental health is such a delicate, yet essential aspect to talk about. Most people who come here genuinely require our help and it's a huge responsibility to be there for them! Some circumstances can be more extreme and serious than others; we never know what goes through people's minds behind a computer or phone screen. We may not be paid for this role, compared to mental health professionals within and beyond this website. Nonetheless, it does not make this opportunity less valuable or important. So, making such requests (like the one mentioned above) can be quite belittling and may as well not help us to improve in our roles.

Like I said, it's totally up to you to express your view on a chat. If you're not in the right mindset to do so, feel boredom, or even do not want to review us, that's fine. Either way, your decision will be understood. Still, please bare in mind that YOU are responsible for your views of our efforts in supporting you, and YOU have the right to share your sincere views based on the support you receive, as long as you want to. We cannot provide our perspective of ourselves for you. How well you think a Listener is doing will differ significantly from how we believe we're getting on.

But, all in all—be a little more frank—please acknowledge the efforts of our lovely community of listeners! 🙏

DISCLAIMER: This thread post does not generalise such behaviours to every member. Some individuals on here are lovely to speak to; it's a delight to "accompany" you on your goal to better emotional health.🙏

Hope I've conveyed my message appropriately. Thank you for taking the time to read.

Lilac💜