Feature Update: Profile pages
As mentioned, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to update profile pages on the website (coming soon to an app near you!). Profiles are really important, particularly for a mental health community. Its a place to express ourselves and how we form connections with each other - which makes it easier to lift each other up.
7 Cups has evolved a lot over the last few years and our profile pages haven’t kept up with many of the new features. This update is focused on bringing profiles in line with the rest of the site and in harmony with the many different things you can do on 7 Cups. We’ve also received many suggestions and feedback over the years - which we’ve compiled and reviewed, and has influenced how we’ve designed and built the new pages. We hope to do more with profiles in the future 🙏.
So whats in this update?
The layout now reflects the 3 column approach we use for much of the site. The benefit of this is you can see most a of users profile on larger screens without scrolling. The central profile section focuses on your key data - streaks, points and level - and we’ve tried to make it easy and quick to read. The badges section now also includes a counter so you can see how many badges a user has.
The biggest change is when you go to your own profile. There is now a private section that only you can see which is the home for your journal and activity timeline. The activity timeline tracks most of the key therapeutic activities you can do on the site, along with your assessment data (e.g. PHQ9 or flourishing measures) and previous journal entries. Our hope is that with greater visibility of your own data and behaviour, will come greater understanding of what most helps you.
In future updates we would like to add a space for pinning your favourite quote and maybe the ability to customise some of the colour of your profile. Also a little warning that we will eventually need to strip back the coloured text I know many of you love using - it makes profiles hard to read for those with eyesight problems (and it doesn’t translate to the app well) and we want the platform to be inclusive for everyone.
The new profiles should be released this week and we hope you like them!
@Jon7Cups
Thank you for this consolidated post on profile/bio update. I appreciate you and the team for your excellent job on making user experience seamless.
Bio forms an important part indubitably and certain aspects of it, if found appealing, encourage the members to approach the listeners. These include content, an attractive colour scheme, reviews and ratings, pfp, etc. If in future the colour theme would be reduced to neutral shades of course, due to justified reasons, there's also a tinge element of drawback to it. Colours to me portray a bright and cheerful design, it adds personalisation.
The concise information on people helped, number of ratings, languages, etc. seems to cluttered. There is no clear distinction among those. The previous system of spaced information was rather appeasing.
The profile earlier contained the country from which a listener belongs, which is now missing.
I would also request to add the feature of including links or hypertext in the bio just like forums. It is convenient and useful to insert details like the browse listeners, group chatrooms, time zone, etc. which not all are aware of especially, the newbies.
Looking forward to hearing from you! 🙂
@trueconfidant123 Ooh yes, great point about links in bio, also time zone stuff.
@Jon7Cups @Sunisshiningandsoareyou @heathermarie95 @SparkyGizmo @SoulfullyAButterfly @Lou73 @YourCaringConfidant @grimsmark8 @trueconfidant123 @GlenM
Regarding font color, I am one of those born with poor eyesight.
Yellow paragraphs look empty to me. Blank.
Pink is almost impossible to read.
But darker colors are ok (by darkness I mean value in visual arts parlance).
Like dark orange, red, blue, green, violet, etc.
There are accessibility standards for font color on web pages, and I think 7 Cups should adhere to these across all the site. Profiles, posts, everything.
The type color palette should be restricted to medium to dark colors.
According to the World Wide Web Consortium’s “Web Accesibility Initiative” (latest version), there should be a 3:1 contrast ratio (difference in luminance) between text and background: https://www.w3.org/TR/2016/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20161007/G183
WCAG standards also require that the smallest font size is 14 points.
Black over white has a contrast ratio of 21:1
Following this table of most used standard website colors: https://www.computerhope.com/htmcolor.htm
Contrast over white (HTLM color code in parenthesis):
Yellow (#FFFF00): 1.07 [non accesibility compliant]
Pink (#FFC0CB): 1.54 [non accesibility compliant]
Red (#FF0000): 4 [accesibility compliant]
Blue ( #0000FF): 8.6 [accesibility compliant]
You can test the contrast ratio of any color (against any background) here:
https://accessibleweb.com/color-contrast-checker/
@HealingTalk
Thank you for sharing this insightful piece of information with us. I appreciate you clarifying it for all. We would only like to move further in the best interest of everyone. If this is something that improves accessibility and ease of using 7 Cups across diverse users, you have my 👍! Take care.
@trueconfidant123
I have a vision impairment and a learning disability and having this is making everything clumped together and it is not easy for me to see things. I am here for you and I completely understand. For me having it in columns helps my eyes to focus on that one area and I wish they wouldnt have changed it or give options.
@blissfulTouch29
I completely understand your concern. I wish they roll out a feedback form for suggestions regarding the new interface. This manner we can get inputs collaboratively from all groups of users, and no one would feel left out. I wish you good health and happiness! Take care. 💙
@HealingTalk I'm sorry you find certain colors difficult to read. I have bad eyes (probably should say poor eyesight but my eyes are bad, lol) myself and have to wear glasses just to make out certain things. However, I'm a person who loves all colors because together they make something beautiful. Colors in my world bring me happiness and it's a way to express myself. We are already limited as is so that's why it makes me sad, but I understand that too little of fonts or certain lighter colors can make reading things difficult. ♡ Thanks for the tag and the information. Stay amazing. Xoxo.
@YourCaringConfidant
I have a vision impairment and a learning disability and having this is making everything clumped together and it is not easy for me to see things. For me having it in columns helps my eyes to focus on that one area and I wish they wouldn't have changed it or given options to go back to the other way where things were in columns or stay with this way. It has nothing to do with change
@HealingTalk
Hi Healing! 😊 ❤️ Thank you so very much for tagging me! I always love to hear your thoughts!
First, I'd like to say that I am so very sorry that you suffer from a visual impairment. I imagine this can''t be an easy thing for you to have to deal with and on the daily. I send you big *hugs* ❤️ If this effects you, then I'm confident this could be an issue for others, as well, that would like to be a part of our platform.
Thank you for bringing this to the attention of Jon. As you being a listener and a strong leader here in our community, I can think of how you may, possibly be feeling right now. Kind of the like the "help me to help you as I am a volunteer here trying to help others as best I can". 😊❤️
As an aside, I must say, I really like your style around here. I enjoy your thoughtful nature, helpful spirit, your "can do attitude" and your contributions to this thread are yet another example of something that I love seeing in others..."if you aren't part of the solution, then you are only part of the problem".
Wow! Well done my friend. 😊 I really enjoy seeing these qualities in you as well as others, and once again, you have been a great example to all of us for providing others with helpful information as opposed to simply complaining about a situation. I'm not a dev here on the platform however, this information could potentially be very useful to Jon?
You truly are an incredibly knowledgeable person and you bring a great deal to the table here on this platform. Thank you for being such a great teammate!
Moving forward, I imagine me mentioning that we have the option to put text in "bold" if we go to our "settings page" might not be helpful for you. Kind of thinking that if it would have been helpful for you, you would have already thought of that one and would have done so. Might be helpful to someone else reading though? Just make sure to *click on* "save changes" everyone.
Not sure if this would help anyone either? It's a forum post about bright design "dirty fix"?
https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/General_2444/brightdesignquickfix_288132/
Healing, thank you again for all of your contributions on the platform.
*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️
@SparkyGizmo
Thank you so much, Sparky!
You always come with kind and encouraging words!
And yes, I have read many times complaints about light color letters. Yellow letters might not be as invisible to others as to me, but they are difficult to read for many people.
I think that some disagreements are irreducible, but most are the result of misunderstanding or lack of information. So bringing some new element to the table might help find agreements. We all wish to see harmony prevailing, don't we?
Standard typefaces are ok to me. It's more about light colors on white background, and tiny font size.
The app seems great. I will try it!
Anyway, the "colors issue" is not a big deal at all for me. I can continue to work perfectly without any changes.
It's just that the issue was presented as part of upcoming updates, it seemed a dichotomy that could bring some friction, and I wished to give my perspective as someone affected by this issue, that there might be a "middle way" that might make everybody happy.
I hope it might help.
All the best, Sparky!
Thank you again for all your kind words!
See you soon around here!
Marcelo.
@HealingTalk
❤️❤️❤️
@Jon7Cups
Now it's easy for stalkers to stalk listener, all thanks to that daily streak( if it mean number of days a listener is online). Honestly I don't think how adding strek and such options helps in your listening. Usually Listeners don't do it for numbers or badges.
Sometimes I don't want to reply a member and if they see my streak increasing it might tell them I was here and did not replied.
Hope we can get clarified on "streaks".
@DrNinja You should never feel like you have to hide so someone doesn't know you are on. You can be active in lsr, the forums, wherever and that does not mean you have to respond to anyone in 1-1. Trying to hide whether you have been on the platform or not is not ok if you have to feel like you have to do it. If you're not free to respond to someone on their time, that's ok. You are free to respond on your time and if that does not work for the member then it is best that you let them know they would best benefit from connecting with another listener. ♡ I, personally, like the streak thing and if doing anything on the platform contributes to my number increasing then it almost makes me feel like I am being consistent in something in my life. Lol.
@YourCaringConfidant
Different opinions ❤️
@DrNinja You're exactly right and I respect your opinion on how you feel about the streaks. ♡
@DrNinja
@YourCaringConfidant
Hi Ninja! 😊 ❤️ I am so very sorry to hear that you are being the victim of stalking behavior. I send big *hugs* ❤️ Online stalking is real, it's very upsetting and indeed, it happens here on this platform as well 😳 *raises hand*. It unfortunately has happened to me also. Those are never fun moments.
@YourCaringConfidant has given you some really great information in regard to what you can possibly do in situations such as this.❤️
I agree with them that 7 cups does not require us to respond to each and every pm that comes our way. If you feel as if you are being stalked, you don't have to reply to random pm's from random users (screen names) on the platform. You can simply ignore as well as remove them visually from your screen. (Out of sight, out of mind sometimes can help). 😊
If you are not currently showing as online status with the green dot, this will not effect your listener response score by ignoring the random incoming pm's. If you would like to "lay low" yet still listen to members, any of us can still select members from the grs (general request list) at the bottom of our screens as opposed to going online and accepting personal requests.😊 Weeeeeeeeeeee weeeeeeeeeeeeee! 😊
In addition, if you are dealing with a user that is creating multiple accounts in an effort to stalk you, there is the option to request a screen name change so that administration can "hide you" and to not be bothered by someone that has unfortunately become overly fixated on you. The screen name change request can be found on our "settings page" or at least used to be. If it's not there, someone in the LSR (Listener Support Room) probably could find the form for you. 😊 Again, I am most sorry this is happening and I know how it feels to be treated this way. ❤️
I hear what you are saying about the "streak" being visible. Sure, anyone can see how many consecutive days we have contributed here with online activity. In addition to the streak, we have always had the capability for anyone to see our activity here on the platform all along. Stalkers typically are not unintelligent people. What they do is unkind, wrong and we wish they would find better things to do with their lives however, they probably have mastered this as their art form, 😳.
All information is available from our "stats" (statistics), numbers represented on our profile pages. Some like to refer to this as "cheer stalking". Cheers go up by even 1, someone knows you have been here today. If they would like to "drill down" and know exactly how and where, they can look at the rest of the stats to see what numbers increase. For example:
Did you take on a new member? If so, that will increase by 1 for "people helped" if you have had, at least, 30 back and forth interactions betwixt the pair of you, with at least 10 coming from your member as well as number of "chats" will increase. You will be awarded cheers for doing so and this number will reflect that.
Other activities that you contribute to here on the platform can also be seen from your "stats" on your profile page.
Ninja, again, I'm really sorry that you are being treated this way. I'm hoping this information was helpful. Hang in there my friend. ❤️
*high fives* 😊 and big *hugs* ❤️
@DrNinja
You can turn off your availability and the streak was always on the profile though
@Jon7Cups
Why did you do this? This isn't easier for people with disabilities! Can we change it back or voice our concerns, please? This has nothing to do with change
@trueconfidant123 @YourCaringConfidant
Thank you so much!
People who love color could continue to use color.
Most colors are ok to ensure accessibility.
It's not necessarily about "Color vs Monochrome".
There are established guidelines based on research that can be used, and ensure users of this website that limiting some colors is the application of best-practice standards (not a capricious decision).
Tagging also: @Jon7Cups
@HealingTalk
You are welcome!
I'm glad you brought this into perspective. The purpose of cups won't be served in the real sense if we only cater to a section of our users. It has to be a positive experience for all, afterall.
@trueconfidant123
Sure!
I totally agree!
@Jon7Cups
Sorry, but I prefer the previous layout. This one just feels a bit clumsy and hard to read. The older one was more organized and better in my opinion
@patientSky1754
i agree it helped me a lot with my disabilities and now this is triggering it again nad it is so frustrating
@Jon7Cups
This is going back to the old boxed-style from like 10 years ago. My brain is on overload trying to figure out what to look at. It's an excess of information. Very bad approach.
Before it was clean and easy to read.
I get what you are trying to do - 7cups is losing its users and went back to the 2016 traffic levels. I get your desperation, but the problem is not the design.
If you don't figure it out soon, this site/app will lose its relevancy in the near future and something else will replace it. Hence, stop wasting time on the design and start thinking outside the box.
I like the generalized look, but agree with some of the comments.
- the stats should be a bit more organized and consistent. I think the current style could be tweaked slightly to achieve this
- age range should appear right below username, as this is pretty important for a lot of site connections
- daily streak - should be opt in for this to be public, otherwise should be private.
- badges - a better plan for what is shown (ie. which ones actually appear, it isn't even the highest of a set) before clicking see more
- also I wish the links were back with badges (going back to years ago). This was a convenient tool and was often faster than going to the listener reputation page and sorting through the badge list to get all the listeners with a badge
- colours, I actually appreciate this. I have trouble reading yellow, light orange, etc. I hope we can have some options though. Darker red, blue, green are easy to see and allow for the important colour symbols ie red no, green yes. Since many people colour code online, busy, offline also include a dark orange.
- category list - I would actually prefer this to be up higher. I care more about this than reviews or badges when seeking out a listener.
- Online status - I think it's unfortunate the browse listeners and the listener profile are not consistent (upper left vs. lower right). @RarelyCharlie has made excellent suggestions in the past for coding this beyond just colour. Ie. use symptoms or positional changes as well as the colour coding. I do appreciate this not just being the thin ring, I couldn't tell between busy and offline and even online had to squint.
I dunno, I just would like more focus on safety and privacy, rather than more interface changes. *hides*
@wontwakewontsleep
Hides? Certain things were always there like the streaks were always available for people to see.
@blissfulTouch29 Exactly
@wontwakewontsleep
im confused why you said exactly and hides? what kind of privacy and safety do you want? My issue is that the original set up was better because i have some disabilities especially with my eyes and its bring that up if that makes sense
@blissfulTouch29 There used to be a badge for sreaks, but as far as I know, no one else knew where you were on your current streak. That's new.
@AffyAvo
You could see when they were active and how long in the old profile page
@blissfulTouch29 You could only see the month for members when it came to last activity. For example right now mine shows Last activeAugust, 2023
And yes there was online/offline for members and when that was implemented I asked for members to be given control of that status. That was only a real time thing though, it couldn't be tracked over time.
@AffyAvo
you would get to see everything though and i dont see how privacy or safety is involved though? my issue is that it isnt disability friendly
@Jon7Cups
Accesibility: I agree with the accessibility concerns expressed by others (should avoid clumped text, tiny font, text in colors which aren't easy to read etc.).
Privacy & Safety: I believe daily streak showing on public profile is a problem in terms of privacy & safety. In my opinion streak should be private, I don't see why others should be able to see it if not to stalk.
Country flags: Having country flags in browse listeners and not having them on L profiles is inconsistent. It makes you browse for a listener name on browse listeners in order to figure out their country/time zone.
@Jon7Cups
I notice (not just on profiles but also in other parts of the site) the increased use of this Show more v. Is this supposed to be more accessible than scrolling? Like this to read a profile you have to click Show more v several times, and yet there is a lot of blank space in the page.
@Myosotis17
well on the old one we could see when someone was active and how long which isnt a problem though in my opinion because having when the person is active is useful because sometimes the button isnt working when you want to change your availability or seeing when the listener is on can help someone it is not just for stalking.
@blissfulTouch29
Perhaps you mean the Last active stat?
The streak was there before, yes, but it recently changed.
https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/GlensNookCommunity_547/UsetheStreaktoTakeDailySmallStepsTowardsHealingandGrowth_311069/
Before it was reflecting steps taken on the growth path, now it reflects any other onsite activity.
@blissfulTouch29
A listener can be "active" and not set to online. Streak should not be used to determine if a listener is on or taking chats. There is green: busy/yellow light for that.
A members streak doesn't have to be public either, no one needs to know it unless member if they find it useful.
In my opinion streak is a useless gamification feature that is harmful for privacy.
i meant green/orange/red light
@Myosotis17
I just dont see how it is harmful for privacy because we saw how long people were on here with the previous setup. my issue is the clumping for accessibility to be back into columns or have a choice to get the new update or keep it the way it was.
@blissfulTouch29
I don't know how to explain it further.
@blissfulTouch29 The last active status for members shows the calendar month they were active. For listener last active shows the last week, last month, etc. The reasoning for this was so others wouldn't have very specifics what day someone was last on, otherwise it could have stated last active month day year, similar to our join date.
The streak number will show you I was active today, yesterday, the day before yesterday, 3 days ago, 4 days ago, etc.
