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]
@GlenM dry but I don't understand what happened. One minute I'm in the chatrooms next minute there is no rooms. Could you please explain what's going on.
@Fireskye13
same skye, why are all the chatrooms gone?.. these people in these chats helped me so much.. and without them i would not be the person i am right now..
my only worry is about new members (since it will be badge locked, then closed to them).
1. not everybody is ready for 1-on-1 chat right away.
2. the purpose of rooms initialy was to give a place while waiting for a listener. if its too long while they wait, what will they do? go on an other site or talk to noni? since they will not can wait in the rooms. Will we have a big increase in ghost chats?
otherwise i think the change was needed and will be a positive thing.
I am a Mod in 35+ what happens to my mod status that should not be taken from me because of closing rooms. I know some in 35+ are upset highly with the sudden changes and need that room for support. I do my best to keep that chat room supportive.
@You did a great job. It was a very supportive room. I don't think it should have closed. Especially without warning. pamharley003
@pamharley003 I agree what does happen to us now?
@caringPanda45 I would assume you and Pam would keep 35+ mod status if they make 35+ and 50+ pop up rooms?
@Figgy50 yes only there. But my work schedule makes it hard to set a time atm
@caringPanda45 as you are moderators of that community you are able to open the room any time.It doesnt always have to be scheduled. As long as you are there, it can be open.
@pamharley003 Today came for 35+ room which helped me to get by last Spring. Life kept me away and now I need support...where would I go??? I'm so so so upset.
35+ was wonderful place for me as 24h meant that I can go there anytime (especially I live GMT timezone) and find someone to talk.
I feel so gutted.
I would have been willing to volunteer as a mod and pay a monthly fee to continue the group chat rooms. After a talk about loneliness and social isolation the chat rooms suddenly disappear. Ironic.
@Palliser
Indeed. People would do so much. But no, they arent asked. They arent listened to.
@GlenM do we need to have one or both the roles? i'm confused
and the one role seems a little bit much because i, as an example, a lotta times will feel like i'm just gonna waste their time and ik i'm not the only one. i feel like we should have a role for talking/leaving a review for one listener instead of 5
you can come up with a better solution than this ,shutting all the rooms is absolutely stupid ,theres other ways to change things here ,i used to suggest things that might work ,nobody once ever listened to me on this site ,even though ive been here probably longer than anybody .
Doing this youre letting the trolls win ,theres a tonne of nice people come on here ,and youre punishing them because of trolls who just make accounts to be stupid on here ,hope you read this Glen ,youre better than that to let the trolls win ,theres other ways to stop them without shutting the rooms down .
@GlenM So all rooms have been closed 2 days early?
@GlenM I have both badges; Strong Bond 1 and Helpful heart and I can't join any room, is that normal??
@TortueDesBois The same has happened to me. I suppose it's a transitioning phase. You do have the badges, and I do have the same issue, so it's the site, not a glitch with your profile :).
@OpenWindow
No biggie, they just decided to shut everything down before everything's ready.
@ArachnoChronos all the updates creates bugs, its just normal for all the sites. the difference is that 7cups doesnt close some time every night for the updates and stay open 24/7 even during the updates; so we experience the bugs a lot more. but its not any bad intention from them.
@OpenWindow
hi! are you still eunable to see the member rooms?
@Heather225 exactly. still no access the rooms
LETS ALL GO ON STRIKE
TAKE 24 HOURS OFF?
@humorousDay8793 its cold outside, i will stay here bugging the admins to give me access back to the rooms :P
@TortueDesBois
Thank you, this is bringing many.people closer 💖
I am told everyone in 35+ is sharing offline infor to keep in touch.
@pamharley003
Hi Pam. Are the rooms gone for you as well?
@Samisfree They're all gone for me at the moment, too. I suppose I will check in again tomorrow.
@OpenWindow
on the listener side, you can see only two member rooms. I have noticed though lots of members dont have access to group chats at all
@pamharley003 good for them
@pamharley003 how
@pamharley003 Im not sharing my info, but I feel bad for all of the lost connections we all made. I cant get into any rooms and I have the badges. This all very confusing to me :(
@Figgy50
You can still pm me when you need me
@pamharley003
i allreafy know no one wanted my info
@HappyDucky8 I think you'll find the closing of the rooms 2 days early stopped it becoming widely known. I very much doubt it was personal.
@Figgy50
Yo Figgy! <3
@LessMusical Hii Less!! I just saw your post.. 20 days later!! 😬😬😬
@pamharley003 Well I was late to that party, it would be nice to still connect
