Room Announcement

@snowneoonbluez43553 and if people, for example in LGBTQ, who are coming out, or confused or scared about how they can come out or exploring something they do not fully understand having a room that is dedicated and filled with people in that community helps them feel safe asking or talking about it because everyone there is part of it with them.

People are not going to feel closer, better, stronger, or more empowered coming out in a mashed room of everything to get help. For some this is a very intimate and personal thing they are processing.

Also, FYI people do talk in the rooms. They ask a lot of questions, they get lots of answers and help.

They do not know where to start and these rooms gave them the courage to start that process. To learn where to go... to know where to look, and how to get as you put it "real" help.

That said there are a lot of people who cannot afford the professional care... shit is the United States health care is ridiculously over priced. For those who cannot afford it 7Cups offers a fall back that gets them through or at least connect with people that can listen and share their expereinces enough to help those who need it and direct those in crisis how to get that immediate help.

@Vrsyrenmy point was just many people are too over over dependent and just stay in their computers without doing something physical. Over dependent was my word. However i am just saying to set some BOUNDARIES as well. :) hugs to you all.

@snowneoonbluez43553 and what I am saying is this safety net of commnunity rooms helped the most vulnerable or in need. Those who;

1) Are minors or children living in ultra or very conservative families or areas where to seek out such help in reality would cause get distress or even result in people being thrown out with no way to survive. Adding to the stress and potential increase in suicides.

2) Are unable to afford proper care due to limited healthcare or lack of healthcare coverage due to employment status or available money.

3) Are scared, confused, or lost about what they are feeling, experiencing, or trying to understand and do not know who to talk to about it or what they are experiences. The LGBTQ for example gave a place for them to go where everyone was like them. They were not weird or different, they were not a sin or bad or ugly. They were like us and us like them. They could feel safe talking to us and finding some sort of help or answers to their questions.

Those are just some examples as to why the safety net here is so important. A lot of people are not over dependant on this system, it is simply the only system they can take advantage of for the time being.

@snowneoonbluez43553 When someone is bedbound, how do they go out and talk to people face to face?

@snowneoonbluez43553 I hardly go anywhere and hardly talk to anyone except for 6 people irl. So the group chat is my socialize time now I'm shut out and no one to talk to,. No offense but finding a listener hasn't really gone well, and there not available 24 7.. To many people in 1 room gets overwhelming not to mention starts making my phone lag.

Heye guys i truly understand your points and i do agree with all. I also do the same, whenever i need someone to talk to, groups are good for me. But we can still talk in groups? However for safety reasons they just needed to restrict it. I am glad i have you all as 7cups buddies. And dear 7cups, i also hope you guys will implement stricter training for listeners as some are really bad and do not reply and stricter privacy policies for members who just want sexual chats.

@snowneoonbluez43553 my point was just many people are too over over dependent and just stay in their computers without doing something physical. Over dependent was my word. However i am just saying to set some BOUNDARIES as well. :) hugs to you all.

@snowneoonbluez43553 how is this going to be safer Exactly?

@Fireskye13 my point was just many people are too over over dependent and just stay in their computers without doing something physical. Over dependent was my word. However i am just saying to set some BOUNDARIES as well. :) hugs to you all.

@snowneoonbluez43553 I get that, I spend alot of time here, this is the 2nd or third post I've seen saying that it'll be safer, I don't see how. Less rooms means more people in 1 room, that's a bad thing imo, I just think this whole thing wasn't planned well. And I'm really not great.

@Fireskye13 i agree with your point and snow's point. You are all on point.

@snowneoonbluez43553 I totally agree. Hopefully they can proviide stricter training for listeners and stricter rules for members. We are all here together to help ourselves and others. Just have respect. Roms are still freakin open but moderated. We all need to act and set boundaries with computers as we are missing out realistic life

@orangeturquioseteal678 I don't have a life. Outside my house and yard I rarely go anywhere, for the most part I talk to 6 people irl that's it, I don't sleep Well so I'm awake alot early morning and being 13 couldn't go anywhere anyway at that time, so having the rooms close is a very bad thing for me.

@snowneoonbluez43553

I'm disabled and have anxiety that is made worse because of my particular disability. How do you suggest I rely less on a place like this when I cannot get out and do the things others do?

Your comment is really insensitive to people with disabilities. Too bad I don't have a room to go to to get away from people who think like you do. Not everyone can get out of the house more and have face-to-face interaction.

@GlenM I think I am happy with this change. As a top fan of 7cups, i really do think that this is a great way to aid people. However, some people here are over dependent and they go here most of the time which i think is fine and not good in some ways. Some people must face reality and face tough situations and make a change for themselves such as talking to people face to face. I just think some people are over dependent. Although I am a big fan here and I am glad you created this site. I couldnt be more happier talking to people, helping them, being heard and understood.

people should realize to see 7cups as a good aid which it is and its resources. However, we need to have boundaries. You also must not become overly dependant here and should act to yourself as well.

@snowneoonbluez43553 hopefully u can also encourage something or make amendments to encourage people to act on their own whilst 7cups is a great aid. I am truly happy here on 7cups. And i think people become sad about these changes when they dont think of my point. It's true right. That we should all see this site as an aid and it really does however must face realistic challenging situations on your own rather than becoming too dependent. Seek people face to face as well as here.

@snowneoonbluez43553

We can't know everything about people that come on 7Cups and what they really need. It's true that it's easy to become dependent on something that we like and think helps us. As I understand your point, not everyone is ready to just go out and handle tough situations and face to face connections (yet). Some people are still recovering from traumas and other hardships and they may not be ready for that, so having a supporting community can help towards handling reality better.

I don't think it's very kind to label people here as "overdependent' or assume they don't do anything physical...we must have empathy for everyone. Some people are very lonely, they don't have friends or anyone. or they are really struggling with depresion, anxeiety etc and they are doing all they can.

@ImaginaryPainting i understand. And i apologize if i have hurt anyones feelings. We are entitled to our own opinion. And i truly rspect others opinion.

The main issue was apparently in group chats some people are trolling and being a bully to others which isnt nice because everyone is encouraged to support and respect here. And the groups must have moderators now to see and control if ever such conflict arise as we all want this to be safe for us and not to get hurt. <3

I can't get any none rooms on both accounts please give me a straight answer and no links thanks

@GlenM

This announcement seemed to go out only 7 hours ago. I'm not dependant on this site, nor am I such an introvert that I don't have friends to rely on for support. However, there are certainly people out there that I am now legit concerned about that rely on this support system. Yes, of course they should all seek out professional help or other avenues of real world support. But to not give them enough time to seek out alternate routes to connect with each other seems pretty short sighted and I'm sorry to say but borders on irresponsibility in regards to those with real mental health issues. Anyone with an actual understanding of mental health issues would not make the choice to force individuals to go cold turkey with their support system. I think this was handled very badly, just as I think that the listener system was also irresponsibly handled. If you choose to engage a community dealing with mental health issues then you also have a responsibility to that community. It's pretty clear that this was a hastily made financial decision, and did not have the interest of the people you are serving in mind. Anyone in the mental health field would realize that. You can make the argument that "it was free so you should stop complaining" But where is the accountability on this site? And what is the actual motivation? I have had this feeling for some time. It's not just about "one on one chat sucks" You may actually be hurting people more than helping if you don't properly vet the so called "listeners" in some capacity, and somewhat dubiously present them as being qualified through your badge system.

@FallingIn Thank you for your comments. They are really spot on. You comments also make me think that people are so dedicated to the site, if there was more advance notice or a call for donations, people would likely step up just to keep the chats open for a day or two, for people to gather once more to talk the transition through and have some meaningful closure that would benefit us.

@FallingIn totally agree. Listiner vetting appentley not a big concern.

@FallingIn

I couldn't agree with you more.

this is actually very sad, as I was literally talking on the group chats TODAY about "what would happen if they removed group chats" and how a lot of us would be very distraught if we lost them, and here we are..... almost removing group chats, you guys already removed the lgbt+ and now restricting access... its sad

@myrra all got removed. We were chaatting and started getting pink msgs saying it didn't exist.

@caringPanda45 I was in group talking to people having a good day actually had a great supportive day going then bam!!! No rooms.

@GlenM

As a new Room Supporter, this really does seem drastic to me. Even as a listener, the rooms are very important to me and all of the members who frequent them. I feel this is an irresponsible change to make within the extremely short timeframe, especially given that this is an emotional support site. To make such a huge, drastic change to our community will not only affect the members and their support systems, but it will make things more difficult for us listeners as well. This really is putting a sour taste in my mouth, especially since I'm not seeing any real reason for these changes.

This is only constructive criticism. I feel that while it's the admin team's responsibility to make the best decisions for the community, it is the community's right to have somewhat of a say in those decisions. I wish you would've taken our opinions into account first, before deciding outright to change something so huge.

@sisterdj

@LovingSparkle

Im a RS for little longer but I lost my lgbt+ community. I cant support those lgbt+ members in a cozy place anymore...

@sisterdj the reasoning behind the change is that the rooms were not aways safe and supportive. We need to ensure that when a member goes into the room, they re guarenteed a safe space to share. These rooms are able to be open at any point a moderator can be there and for as long as they would like to. I understand that this isnt easy and I hear you that it isnt ideal. We are a team in group support need to do the best we can to open the rooms and offer the support people deserve. I hope that eventhough this is a difficult change the team will stand with us in trying to better the quality we can offer and support members when the rooms are open. I know we have amazing volunteers and i trust that we will be able to make good things happen.

@Lorraine234

You talk about safety yet there are plenty of Listeners who are abusive, bigoted and use their position to take advantage of the people here.

If the admins really cared about user safety they would be tackling that.

To the Admins:

Why did you announce room closings and then close them on the same day? How come you didnt give the members I thought you cared about enough time to process the changes? How about saying "we will be closing the room in a couple of days.. we will give our members time to process this." Now many members who needed the rooms for support are probably in shock now.

You might want to read this.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-practice/201803/what-is-psychological-shock-and-5-tips-coping

@Figgy50

I agree with you. All the major changes made lately were announced and implemented on the day, which really affected members of this site. We didn't get any chance to "prepare"/process things, nor did we have a say in all this...whatever the reasons behind these changes were. Some people didn't even see the announcements that feed or the chat rooms will be shut down etc, they only saw that they were not available anymore, when it was too late. All this considering that many of us are struggling. Maybe if you presented all the reasons behind these changes, we could have contributed to finding other solutions.

Having only 2 chat rooms for ALL the members is terrible. Shy people will never talk and the chat will moev too fast etc, many many negative effects...I understand that safety is important, but from what i;ve seen lately, besides Depression room, most chat rooms were civil and friendly, and people can always call a moderator if the chat in a room get ugly. I think that most chat rooms can be safe even if they are not moderated 24/7. It's basically almost impossible for people/friends to chat now..no feed, no chat rooms, L to L seems the only way now...WHat is this site going to be if most people will leave it due to all the changes to which they had no saying and they are told they are free to leave if they don't like the changes...

@ImaginaryPainting

*on the SAME day- in the first sentence

@ImaginaryPainting. I really don't see how it help safety, if it that big of a deal ask for volunteer mods fot each room I'm sure a number of people here would be excited to help.

@Figgy50 They did say two days and did it same day

@caringPanda45 you're right! I heard "few days" :( I was thinking we had at least 3 days or so.

@Figgy50 Hm that's funny, I had similar symptoms today. Thanks Glen!

@fearlessWriter78 I probably have an ulcer 😳😢😢