7 Cups Behavior Reporting Process & Tracking - Updated Version
All,
The post below outlines an updated behavior reporting process! We had originally launched this in 2016 and we are now updating it and re-emphasizing it as we move forward. Our objective to streamline the process and keep you well informed. Not many people struggle with a number of behavior points, but for people that do, we want to ensure that you can take steps to improve your behavior and be part of the community.
We are figuring out the best ways to manage unhelpful & un-supportive behaviors on 7 Cups. Once you have reviewed the entire post, please ask any questions or share your constructive thoughts.
This process is designed to provide you an opportunity to improve. We do not have any intentions to punish anyone but we do need to keep people accountable for their behavior. It is your community and how you behave, impacts it as well. Our purpose is to provide a better help & support and compassionate environment to all.
We all want to be part of a community that fosters high warmth and high expectations. It is the best way to lead a community because everyone deserves support and compassion.
Growing a plant, for example, requires a lot of effort, care, and the right treatment. Not every plant growth is similar but the basic process is somewhat the same. Suitable environment, the right proportion of soil, water, sunlight. Knowing the right conditions is significant for a seed to grow into a beautiful plant.
Similarly for a community:
If you have high warmth but low expectations, then structure or its culture is low.
If you have low warmth and high expectations, then it has a structure, but limited reliability and safety.
If you have low warmth and low expectations, then neither has a structure nor culture.
If you have high warmth and high expectations, it has structure and reliability and safety.
So here we are focused on providing both so that the community can have increased trust, support, culture, safety, and compassion.
A few points to keep in mind when reading the below:
- We believe in second chances. We know and understand no one is perfect and can improve. But, we need to understand when you have an opportunity to improve, you strive to improve and show that you improved. Value the opportunities you have.
- We believe in inclusivity. We welcome all constructive feedback. Because we are also not perfect and striving to improve. Feedback is a two-way process. Ensure to provide feedback in a compassionate, constructive, and respectful manner.
- We believe in accountability. Everyone is responsible and accountable for their actions. Because action has a reaction and impacts someone. We are in a community setup, so how you act impacts community activities. If you are supportive, the activities flow in a positive way. If you act unsupportive, the activity flow gets interrupted.
- We believe transparency is helpful. As a community member, it is your right to know what is happening with the reports and how it gets processed. So, we want to provide better transparency in our actions in this system. However, there are also natural limitations too. We will not be able to share or disclose in detail with the community at large things that are happening on an individual basis. Because a wise person said, Praise in public, criticize in private. We want to give everyone a second chance to improve and feel encouraged to improve.
The below behavior rating system has been specifically designed to meet the community's needs. We considered all inputs and tried to include all that was feasible to add. As you review this post, please remember this is a work in progress and always be updated as per the community's needs.
Please share all constructive feedback, inputs, and ideas on what is missing or what does not make sense and what can be done.
Introduction
The aim of this guide is to provide information and to help you understand how the Behavioral Points System would work.
What is the Behavioral Rating System?
It is a process we would be used to assign points based on the infractions they did in the community at a point in time. Every time, they commit a violation, they will be getting points assigned and informed through email so they know what violations they did, and what points assigned to them for the violations. So they can have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes they made and improve. But if they do not improve and they cross the threshold, they will face consequences.
This is modeled after other point systems like having a driving license in the US. If a person drives in a safe and smart manner (they are a good member), then they will receive no points. If they drive through stop signs, then they get a point. If they drive dangerously, then they get more points. If a person accrues enough points, then they are required to go to driving school. If they still do not improve then they can lose their license and no longer drive.
It is a systematic process where all reports will be included for a user.
How does it work?
- The system will be applicable to both listeners and members.
- Each behavior report or flagged forum thread will be evaluated using the below point criteria. Points are cumulative.
- Each point expires 6 months after it was earned.
- If no reports within three months from the date of action, an 80% reduction in the points. Note: One can be able to apply for a leadership role. This includes Mentor roles, teen star, group mod, peer support, and project agent roles.
- If zero reports within a month from the date of action, 40% reduction in the behavior score.
Applicability of the system:
The process will be applicable moving forward. It won't consider past reports. Except for the reports which are severe. It will be up to the Community Management Teams' decision for those reports.
How reports are filed?
Reports filed via specific behavior reports:
The incoming report will be reviewed by the concerned team. It will be reviewed for accuracy and if one of the below behaviors is identified the following actions will be taken:
The authority sends a warning message to the reported user letting them know about the report. If the user would like to provide their side of the story, they will be invited to do that.
Point(s) will be assigned if the user assumes responsibility for the action and agrees that it happened. The authority will let the user know the point has been assigned.
If the user does not accept responsibility for the behavior and the evidence that the behavior did occur is clear, point(s) will be assigned.
It is requested of all reporters that they submit relevant screenshots to prove their accusations for a user.
All points will be tallied and tracked on the community management team's backend panel. Dates will be logged to monitor the timing.
Please click here for more information on how to provide constructive feedback.
You can learn more about triangulation here
Learn more about rumors spreading here.
Learn what open communication is here.
Important Notes: �
All the behaviors identified above are common behavior identified in the specific areas. Though, if the same behavior is found in other parts of the community as well, the points and consequences will be applicable.
Zero Points Behavior. They are applicable for the first instance only. If the behavior continues, the points will be assigned according to the severity of the reported behavior.
Except for a few specific behaviors that are subjected only to listeners. All other behaviors are subject to both listeners and members of the community.
Adult Teen Listeners- In case of violations, the badge and access will be removed instantly.
Below you will find the corresponding consequences of the above behaviors.
Red Flag Offenses: �
Forum Spam - If you are repeatedly spamming the forums with inappropriate content or advertisements you or your account may be removed
Post inappropriate or graphic pictures, your account will be removed
Sexting and/or repeatedly sexting (after a given warning not to) will result in account removal
Underage or in the wrong age community (you must be 15 to be a listener & 13 to be a member)
Red Flag Consequences: Immediate removal from 7 Cups community
Protocol on Getting Support from a community leader:
If you are having a problem, you may approach a community leader for support on how to manage that situation. However, please refrain from telling them specific details. As a general rule when communicating with community leaders: we should avoid using names and specific details about a person or a given situation. For example, if you are having a conflict with another listener. You could go to the community leader and say I am struggling with a difficult situation. Could you give me some tips on how to use conflict resolution? In this example, no specific details are mentioned, but you are still able to ask for help as you work through a difficult situation.
Footnote:
The protocols are similar to earlier ones and shared from the previous update with few changes.
Updated the constructive feedback point in accordance with the new forum guideline on Sep 23, 2020 - Hope
Link here to Heather's clarification post on BPS https://www.7cups.com/forum/SiteUpdates_100/HsHangout_1970/SomeclarificationonLLReports_230570/
Guidelines with better view available in the Community Guidelines page, Click here
[edited by MistyMagic to remove scripts and add in H's post 30 Oct 2020]
Hi thanks for this post!
I have a question: it is mentioned that feedback should be in a professional and unbiased way. This sounds a little vague to me - could you explain what exactly is expected from a professional and unbiased feedback? Thank you. 
I am glad a tracking system is going through but I do think the details need a lot more thought.
Should listeners and members have the same point system?
Should the rules match up a bit better?
What's the overall purpose? If it truely is safety, 7 Cups needs to toughen up a bit more on critism offered, regardless of the form it comes in.
I do see a need to vary a bit from one area of the site to another, but not to the extent outlined here.
Some specifics:
- confidentiality, at least from the lsitener side should have points connected to it - forums, chat, 1-1s. I thought this was something that 7 Cups valued, and the system should reflect that. There is a safety aspect. Make first offense 0.5 if desired, but after the first offense make it higher. By having that 0.5 initially (and no other half points) it's clear when it's no longer a first offense. I don't trust the zero point for the first time thing to actually happen.
- tone - bringing down an idea is vastly different from a person
And really? Sarcastic humour for bringing an idea down is worth a point?
Feedback - sometimes someone saying I really hate this idea is good feedback. Learn to deal with it, we shouldn't be worried about hurting 7 Cups' feelings, it's not a person. With feedback don't allow for personal insults, that's more damaging to the people.
- inappropriate use of lead discussion - should be automatic loss of the privilege, along with other points (ie. racist content). Luckily I haven't seen this be an issue for a long time.
- Engaging in conflict should be a lesser offense than harassing someone.
- No problem about the points with a listener using their account for member type of purposes, but again, why would this be higher than someone sharing chat details? Values seem off IMO
- Hate speech has different meanings in different places (I think). Racist being listed is good, but what about ablelist, sexist, homophobic, etc. language?
- the comment about perpetuating the problem is based on a listener aspect, it's not worded to apply to members
- I don't understand the offsite group chat thing. I suspect this came from a specific scenario, but it's confusing as is when people are encouraged to promote 7 cups on social media.
- spamming doesn't seem to be mentioned ETA - it is, but way at the bottom, after all the offenses. I don't feel like this is laid out in a logical order.
Look at some of the wording in the community guidelines:
a total ban on stalking and harassment of any kind.
zero tolerance policy for these behaviors
Does the point system match up with "total ban" and "zero tolerance"? If not should they be in line with one another?
How does this work with the chatroom consequences? I do feel like these 2 systems should also align with each other.
@AffyAvo
thanks Affy! A part that I respectfully disagree on is this one "Feedback - sometimes someone saying I really hate this idea is good feedback.". I understand that you are saying 7cups doesn't have feelings, but I think the idea is not about hurting a website's feelings and more about just saying you hate something doesn't give the receiver of the message any additional context or details as to why.
@EvelyneRose I agree adding in why is better. Just knowing that people don't like an idea is helpful though, sometimes someone doesn't even know as to why.
Some ideas can be pretty simple, a colour change for example. If everything on the site that is blue was switched to green and people didn't like it I don't think a why really matters. If the large majority of the feedback was negative I think it would be a simple decision to switch back.
I think as a whole, 7 Cups is better off on being open to hear what people like and dislike, even if no explanation is given.
@AffyAvo Thank you. Those were my same thoughts. I wouldn't have dared post them, because... all that hassle with the sandwiches etc. - who knows, maybe even this is already considered sarcasm. Sarcasm is only what people resort to when open discussion is discouraged (which it seems to be here).
Oh, there also needs to be clarification on the wrong age community. We do have 35+ and 50+ communities. In the chatrooms, anyone 18+ can participate, in the forums/joining the subcommunity anyone with an account that is of age (ie. 13 for members) can.
This is an interesting update. So it would give people the chance to try again and not have it stay on their records ??
@ASilentObserver Does this mean that the points are decreasing over time when the person's behavior becomes appropriate?
@ASilentObserver
Okay so are you saying that 1-mark points earned are no longer considered by this time? Or that past earned points do not apply to this new update or...?
As member I have to say that I understand the need for rules for everyone's safety. In all honesty though all of this makes me nervous to be here. I already feel that there is so much censoring going on. There's already concerns about what to say and how to say it. There will be differences of opinions among such a large group of people. Are we not allowed to have those anymore? Who decides what is sarcastic? Who decides that the tone Is inappropriate? Because despite the best efforts and intentions sometimes there is a language barrier. It does cause ripples at times. Is it all inclusive site wide or are the diary and journal sections exempt? Are we allowed to speak our minds on our own threads at all? I'm worried that in the process of this some of us will slowly lose our ability to speak freely and openly. Especially with this looming in the back of our minds. I apologize, maybe I'm reading this all wrong and taking things out of context.
@ASilentObserver
Thank you for this post, Obs! We appreciate the updation and transparency, in letting us know what the guidelines and processes currently are!
I have some questions regarding the guidelines-mostly clarifications, and I would be greatly indebted if you, or anyone else could offer clarity on them.
I have stated the heading in bold, and a (maybe) hypothetical scenario/question, below it.
1.Making Generalizations:
Recently, we had a Safety Trial (I believe), wherein new members could not access the Browse Listeners page. In raising the issue in a forum post, one would have to make the generalization that "most new members (if not all) are not able to connect to a listener through the Browse Listeners page", especially as this was not a first-hand experience for many of us.
We had only heard about it from (a considerable number of) other members as to their experience and based the post off it.
(i)Would this count as a generalization, and
(ii)Was it not to be made?
2. Breaking Confidentiality:
References ... the specific content of a confidential 1-1 chat.
A considerable number of times, we receive information from an Ambassador or Community Manager through PMs, as a response to specific queries from our side.
For example, there is no official post (that I could find) actually stating that Wiki is outdated-but from a group chat with an Ambassador, I came to know that Wiki was not being updated regularly. Had this information been shared with me in a PM-Would my sharing of this information as, "As I heard from an Ambassador, 7Cups Wiki is not being updated" with another person, count as breaking confidentiality?
3. Spreading Gossip:
This post describes gossip as:
...information about specific people or groups, information about leaders...
(i)To clarify, would "information about specific people" include letting a user know that another user has gone on break/has returned from break, or sharing their post from the Farewell thread?
(Of course, there is no further conversation as to why they went on a break-just the passage of information that a user is no longer active on/has returned to 7Cups)
(ii)"information about leaders"-Does this include information that a leader is no longer heading a specific project, or similar information?
4. Using inappropriate Tone
"Sarcastic humour used in a way to bring...idea down"
I understand @AffyAvo already raised this- but does this apply even if the issue raised (while being sarcastic) is valid? I understand that sarcasm can be provoking at times and is not the best way to get a point across all the time, but if the point raised is valid, and the sarcastic statement does not oppose/hurt a specific individual/group of individuals, does it deserve a point? Anyway, that's only just my question.
5. Sharing Unconstructive Feedback
"Identify a problem using professional, unbiased language. From there present viable solutions to the problem"
If an individual does not agree with the specific objective of an initiative in itself, as they believe accomplishing that objective would create a larger problem-would not their solution essentially be "Don't implement the initiative"? Is this applicable for a point?
(I understand this is hypothetical, but if wished-I can provide some examples).
Thank you in advance, to anyone who could help clarify these questions
@bouncySalamander26 I agree with all of that. For the confdientially, it should be about personal issue related 1-1 chats only, and even then there are some exceptions.
@AffyAvo
Thank you! I found myself nodding along to a number of points you'd raised too!
Limiting confidentiality to personal issues, feels OK to me-but I feel a better way to word it would be that, information regarding roles, projects or functioning of 7Cups, shared in PMs, should be exempt from confidentiality, unless specifically stated otherwise?
I'm curious as to which exceptions you are referring to, though-I would be grateful if you could provide an example!
@bouncySalamander26
Some points that I was not going to post, as I did not feel they were as serious/were subject to differences in opinion:
1. Under "How does it work? "
"If no reports within three months from the date of action, an 80% reduction in the points."
Say, a user had gained 3 points on a single day, and did not receive any further reports for 3 months. Their points at the end of 3 months, would be 20% of 3=0.6.
Say, on the first day of the 4th month, the user gains 2 points. Their current point total is now, 2.6.
The table outlining the consequences has no reference to decimal points, at all! Are we rounding off?
[Significance: Rounding off can make the difference in severity of action]
2. Posting Sexual Content:
I entirely agree with the definition of the guideline, but the example has me a little confused.
"I love you so much & I cannot wait to meet you next week"
A reply to a post in the Farewell thread, indicating a break for a week, could be worded very similarly.
For example:
Love you! [Take care] Can't wait to see you at the end of the week.
(My point being that I have seen users use "love you", "hun", "darling"-with a non-romantic connotation too (I don't use them as much, so-I cannot explain why), and action (if any) should depend a lot on the context. I was assuming that the moderators and managers are aware of this, though-and did not initially raise it.)
3. Sharing Unconstructive feedback-(with a requirement for solutions to problems raised)
I would like to note that while I agree that the problems should be presented in a professional manner, I do not believe that the onus for a solution should fall on the person raising it, or that the post should focus mostly on solving it right away.
For example, with an idea that is implemented-the side effects of the idea should be discussed thoroughly in the thread, before the thread focuses on solutions. This could also help ensure that we have a more comprehensive solution (that could possibly address these side-effects too, rather than band-aids for each of the side-effects). Again, only just my opinion.
I could also-easily (I think), present an unviable solution, just so my post does not get taken down. This rule could be easily circumvented, in my opinion.
P.S: I have attempted my best in not repeating points that have already been raised. If I have, mistakenly, repeated a point-my sincere apologies for it Whoever is answering need not repeat their answer, I'll scroll through the thread anyway!
@bouncySalamander26
How many points do we get if we get censored in chat? I got a blue message saying something in my message violates 7cups policy but pertaining to the chat it wasn't anything that meant to be harmful or mean or anything. So I'm not sure how worried I should be.
@DansLeVide
Exact! Besides, 7cups seems not to be able to handle those things in a foreign language anyway.
@DansLeVide
I had a very similar experience, where I was trying to shorten the word "kilometres"-Alas, I recognized a little too late that the shortened form could mean something else that would violate 7Cups' crisis policy. I have faced the blue-screen censor atleast thrice in the past 2 months, and I haven't been aware as to whether I was awarded points for it. I am not aware of any action being taken against me, in that regard-and I surmised that no action was taken against me for it.
The censor in itself states:
...If I made a mistake, please rephrase your message to continue our conversation.
This suggests that admin/developers are aware that the censor can pop up even when the context does not intend for a word to be violating 7Cups policy.
I am inclined to believe that points aren't awarded simply because of the censor popping up, though I cannot say with certainty (as I am not admin). I would personally, not be too worried about it-though, agreed that it can be a bugger and halt conversation, especially when you do not know which word is causing it's invocation.
Here are some other instances, where the blue screen censor which prevents the message in itself from being sent, is known to pop-up-here and here (they're the same thread). I hope you have a wonderful day!
I notice this thread specifically requests:
Please share all constructive feedback, inputs, and ideas on what is missing or what does not make sense and what can be done.
So I am sharing a couple of ideas about what does not make sense to me, and what I think can be done.
1. I was pleased to see several very positive ideas mentioned at the start of the thread: warmth, expectations, second chances, inclusivity, accountability and transparency. I was confused to see that not one of these ideas made it into the description of the rating system itself. This does not make sense to me.
Suggestion: Redesign the rating system so that it is clear where it incorporates warmth, expectations, second chances, inclusivity, accountability and transparency.
2. There are several well known problems with the wording of the rules that make them very confusing. I notice that other people who have replied in this thread have mentioned some of them. (Oops, is that a generalization based on other people's experiences?)
Another example is that a forum post that "References another user by name" is not allowed. But every reply references another user by name—that's how our forums work. Rules like these do not make sense to me.
Suggestion: Create a short-term working group of members and listeners tasked with clarifying the text of the rules so that everyone can understand exactly what they mean. I volunteer to serve on it.
Charlie
@RarelyCharlie
I definitely like the suggestion! We could also, probably use a series similar to Expanded Forum Guidelines -for some of these guidelines. I believe some of the behaviours in the system are already defined by some posts from the forum guidelines series. However, we have some inclusions-which deserve discussion.
i'm thrilled to see a clarification on behavioral reports here on 7cups and i think this is a very important step! as several people have mentioned earlier, i think my biggest critique of the system as of right now is a lack of specificity on the various offenses. for example, what specifically constitutes an "unsupportive tone", as it's a very subjective criterion? what adjustments should be made to account for language barriers that could affect one's communication in a language they are not as familiar with? what about a miscommunication or misunderstanding? what constitutes "sarcasm" or an "unsupportive critique" when considering the possibility of people fundamentally disagreeing with each other on something, like perhaps the direction a project should take? i'm glad that racism specifically was called out, but what about ableism/sexism/homophobia/transphobia/etc? there are some rules that i would say are reasonable and do not need further clarification, e.g. initiating offsite contact, but a lot of the other less serious offenses are rather generic and i think that increasing the specificity would help clarify a lot of people's questions or concerns regarding this system. thank you so much!!
@aeris156
ooh i also wonder- what about false reports or issues? i've dealt with trolls or had harmful interactions with members in the past, and while i'm grateful that none of them have resulted in a report against me (to my knowledge, at least), what would happen if a report was falsified? are there opportunities for people to contest their report and explain their side of the issue in a constructive manner? otherwise, by not allowing an avenue through which people can express their concern for a problematic report, 7cups won't be able to foster a supportive and honest environment! of course, i don't know the statistics on what percentage of reports are falsified so perhaps this is a negligible or non-issue, however i still believe that it is worth clarifying in order to assuage potential anxiety within the 7cups community. thanks so much!
@aeris156
I believe the first 3 points under "How reports are filed?" address the issue you have raised, to some extent- letting us know that we would be asked for our side of the story.
- The incoming report will be reviewed by the concerned team. It will be reviewed for accuracy and if one of the below behaviors is clearly identified the following actions will be taken:
- Authority sends a warning message to the reported user letting them know about the report. If the user would like to provide their side of the story, they will be invited to do that.
- Point(s) will be assigned if the user assumes responsibility for the action and agrees that it happened. The authority will let the user know the point has been assigned.
However, below that we have a couple more points:
-
- If the user does not accept responsibility for the behavior and the evidence that the behavior did occur is clear, point(s) will be assigned.
- It is requested of all reporters that they submit relevant screenshots to prove their accusations for a user.
I'm a little unclear as to what "clear evidence" is being referred to in this case. If it is screenshots, it would be wise for admin to remember that the text (in almost any website that allows a right click) can be manipulated very easily, for the purpose of a screenshot-and a better way to verify claims would be through server records. Addressing how claims are verified and defining "clear evidence", is definitely important.
@aeris156
I agree! Many among us are doing our best, volunteering with time, reliability and consideration. We then receive chastising emails about vague problems which cannot be fixed. I think that a better way to handle this would be that the emails be specific (so we understand) and that the person who complained be just removed from our discussion list.
*edited by forum mentor @rebecca947 to keep this message supportive to members and listeners alike*
@Fradiga Unhinged?
@mytwistedsoul
"Sometimes", I said.