Room Announcement
Hello everyone! I have an important update to make on group rooms.
Did you know that the first room opened at 7 Cups was a waiting room for members to wait for an available listener? Things have come a long way since then. Just as we did then we are always looking for ways to improve the support we provide. We have been investigating what parts of the group support model works and what does not through usage, moderation statistics, and general room health. What weve found is that having moderated discussions and open chats are the most supportive and safe opportunities, while unmoderated 24/7 chatting results in increased safety and experience issues.
As we move forward as a company with a free emotional support service we have decided on some big changes to elevate our group support experience for everyone who wants a safe and kind experience. Our intention is to do a few things well and focus on emotional support.
Member rooms:
We will have two adult member rooms and two teen member rooms open 24/7 for moderated support. One general support room and one community room. All other rooms will be pop-up discussion rooms. These rooms will all be badge locked to both listeners and members.
Listener badges: Tick Tock ( For reaching Ten 1-1 chats), Thankful Heart (For receiving 5 positive text reviews)
Member badges: Strong Bond 1 (5 chats with 5 Listeners, i.e. 1 chat per listener, 5 total chats), Helpful heart ( 50 Compassion Hearts)
Listener rooms:
In the adult listener community we will continue to have two rooms, Listener Support Room and Listener Community Room. Teens will have Teen Listener Room. The adult Listener Community Room will require the Verified Listener badge. The Listener Support Rooms will be open to all listeners, but will only be used for active chat support.
Timeline:
This change is anticipated to happen in the next couple of days. However if some rooms become unsafe and volatile we may choose to close them early or remove them all together.
Our goal is to focus on emotional support. We are aligning our community features to help us better achieve this. We realize this is a big change that may not suit your preferences. We know you may have questions, especially if you are on a volunteer support team (group support teams read more here). We understand if you decide our free services no longer fit your needs and we wish you the best. However you are feeling please keep our Community Guidelines in mind as you process and move forward with your day. While we always welcome feedback, we expect discussions to not only be civil but also on-topic.
I know dealing with change can be challenging. I appreciate the flexibility as we move things forward. As a quick aside, Im visiting my grandmother (she has been ill) so Ill respond, but might be a bit delayed. The community team will chime in and answer questions as well.
Thank you!
[MonBon added link]
[Jill replaced badge name for members- it is Strong Bond 1 and not 7 day streak)
[Lorraine added badge requirements]
[Tazzie replaced the second badge name for members. It is Helpful Heart]
[MonBon replaced badge name for Listeners. It is Thankful Heart]
[7CupsCommunity modified description of Strong Bond 1 for clarity]
I need to say this I am devastated st the loss of 35+ it's not perfect now where is but the ppl there saved me. I am not exaggerating. I stood up to my husband in court because I had support. I can't tell ppl irl this but I have friends here and ppl I care deeply about. This is a tragic loss to ppl that can't take more loss.
@energeticDime8483
Im also extremly worried about the 35+ community (though Im a way younger person). Just 35+ is a very kind and loving place, filled by amazing people.Im so sad that this "change" will destroy so many lives and hurt so many people.
@energeticDime8483The main issue was apparently in groupchats some people are trolling and being a bully to others which isnt nice. The main purpose of this is for everyone to be supportive. We can adapt to this change and we will all work together <3
@GlenM
Honestly this is fukin bollox mate
Please don't close 35+ it's the first place I ever wasn't conttolled I was me. The ppl there saved my life and I am not exaggerating. I am devastated and can't take more loss
@energeticDime8483 It's gone now. :(
@energeticDime8483 The idea is not to close it and I know this community has a strong team behind it who will ensure that the room is open as much as possible. I understand that this is difficult and I know that this means a lot to many of us <3
I am confused as at this moment I cannot enter any group chats at all... How can I solve this?
@OpenWindow
Maybe message the admins?
I'm traveling back home now from seeing my grandmother. Thanks for all the well wishes. I think she is going to pull through! Appreciate the beams!
I was able to quickly read through the comments here and a few reactions:
-I appreciate that this is a change and that change can be challenging. Thank you for expressing your concerns, understanding things, and being willing to be flexible and supportive as we tighten things up.
-99.8% of what we do is at no cost. Only a very small portion 0.2% sign up for therapy. We are in this for the mission of scaling compassion and are always committed to all we can do for free.
-I just made another post that I worked on today that provides more context titled "update"
-Thank you for hanging in there as we figure things out. This is a step in the process. We listen and iterate based on data. This will continue to evolve as we learn.
A reminder - we are all in this together and we weill continue to figure it out. I know there are challenges we have to solve along the way. I firmly believe that we get stronger through those challenges.
Thank you!
@GlenM "We listen and iterate based on data."
How about also listening to the community members and listeners along with data?
@GlenM
Perhaps an innovative solution is to
HOURLY ROTATE THE TOPICS COVERED IN THE NEW REDUCED SET OF ROOMS
(SO HAVE REGULARLY SCHEDULED TOPICS, NOT RANDOM POP-UP).
That way you give people what they had before,
except they wouldn't get full-time rooms.
Instead they would get part-time rooms at set times in the day, multiple times per day.
All will have to share the new fewer rooms during the day
per a rotating schedule.
So if the new situation is:
"Member rooms:
We will have two adult member rooms and two teen member rooms open 24/7 for moderated support.
One general support room and one community room.
All other rooms will be pop-up discussion rooms.
These rooms will all be badge locked to both listeners and members."
Then for example, create a schedule so
the eliminated 35+Community Room would be covered by one of the rooms every 3 hours for 1 hour,
and so on and so on, to cover the other eliminated rooms.
Post the schedule so people know when to join.
The moderator controls the topic of the room for the hour.
Then after the hour is over,
the room topic changes,
and other people join like LGBT+ next,
then Depression next, etc..
repeat.
Maybe people could be happy with that solution rather than losing what they had ocmpletely.
Is my rotating scheule idea sort of like what you had in mind for the Pop-Up rooms?
@7motivation Each community schedules when and where they will have their events/discussions and lists it on our community calendar. Many of these are the same time and day every week. allowing members to attend. The hope is that we can build strong support teams to have these rooms and topics available as much as possible but still ensuring they are safe. Does that make sense?
@Lorraine234
Thank you for helping me understand better (I'm new here).
You explained it nicely above.
I also understand it much better after seeing your other great detailed explanation here
(that I had overlooked in GlenM's original first message on page 1).
@7motivation Glad I could help. Here if you need anything else, my PMs are always open. Welcome to the community!
@GlenM I understand that changes need to be made within our community in order to grow. 7 Cups is my home and family and I am with you on whatever changes need to be made for the greater good of the website. 7 Cups has absolutely changed my life and is helping me turn into the person I was always meant to be... so thank you so much for everything you've helped me with. I appreciate you more than you realize!
I really like Glen's way with words. He comes off as genuine as all my corporate collegues. Its really refreshing to hear one speak to us in a way thats relatable and doesnt put us at edge
The 35 plus room is already gone. Such an abrupt change! Communities of people being torn apart without warning. If more moderators is the issue I am sure a call for more volunteers would have yielded results.
@Palliser
Lets not mention that abrupt changes can push already fragile people off the edge, but those are details... What are a few lives if all the changes are for the better ? I will light a candle in their memory
@ArachnoChronos
As they drop one by one, Will you raise yur cup?
What's a few souls lost if we fill the coffers up?
Sorry folks to drop the ball and it lands on yur head.
I'll count my money, while members count the dead!
😲
@ArachnoChronos
My condolences... I literally cant sleep because Im so sad about so many members and listeners, mainly members though getting hurt very badly
How will I know if a chat room is open? I feel like I cant go in when I need help like I could before... It feels so abrupt. Are there any alternative websites like 7cups?
@chillingwave01
I dont think so.
@chillingwave01 You can check out the community calendar to know when a specific room will be open. Our support teams will update that soon with planned events I am sure. I know this isnt easy or ideal and feel you on that.
@Lorraine234
Horrible idea. People have jobs, families (ect) outside of the website. What do you expect us to do, schedule when we need support or something?
@chillingwave01 - yes, google "free mental support chat" and a bunch of alternatives show up, varying degrees of good, might also look into it again and see what's new out there .. just in case (:
"This change is anticipated to happen in the next couple of days. However if some rooms become unsafe and volatile we may choose to close them early or remove them all together."
So much for the next couple of days. Apparently our questioning the reasons behind this change means we were being volatile. Damn the man!
@Mystrife Haha not really teh questioning. It was probably more "Ok where is everyone else going to now? We could go to this site, that site, we have group chats here and there" and everyone pretty much ignored people who needed support.
