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
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.
@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 😳😢😢
@Figgy50
They don't care because money rules over all... So no time for the members to adjust, nope, "Rooms are closing today and y'all just have to get used to it! I mean we are for support BUT the money is such an important issue that it trumps members concerns. Suck it up, lol."
I don't know that's what it feels like to me after reading Glens post.
Well now Im sad... I was looking forward to a planned event for anxiety and the grounding techniques they would show us. This is all pretty unprofessional and rushed in my opinion.
You've devastated a ton of struggling people...
Sickening...
I cant stand opening up to a person 1-1, especially when we have no clue if the listener were connecting with is going to make things better or worse. In 1-1, theres no one to counter the listeners speech and theres only two people who can report things if stuff goes haywire. Although I rarely use 7cups, the group chat is the only thing Ive really utilized due to the fact that it gives me immediate socialization and I dont have to initiate the conversation. I can feel like crap and just try to distract myself by throwing myself into worrying about others. I know that Im talking with people who are in roughly the same boat as me.
I understand why you guys decided to do this, as having a completely open chat room leads to abuse, but I feel like theres other things that could have been done before essentially removing them completely for people who dont wish to use every aspect of 7cups.
@GlenM
This is mostly from the perspective of a long term member. Seen as most replys are listeners or group supporters and this change is focused on group chats.
Positives:
It will filter out any trolls, hateful or toxic people. Keeping them restricted to two rooms will discourage them from using the site maliciously. I have confidence in Lorraine that she will be watching over all of us and keeping track of every single person's 'Positive chats', all 5 before we get our badge. Seen as there's only two rooms with everyone in them.
It will encourage members to pay and talk to the therapists for emotional support. Which will help fund the website. Seen as alot of members will be in two chatrooms and might not be able to be vent in group chats. The paid therapists can be seen as an ideal option for guaranteed 1 on 1 support. In case, the listeners have a busy schedule.
Shrinking all the rooms into only two before being granted access will mean alot of people in one space. This did happen with Depression support and Depression chat. But combining those two unpopulated rooms with not that many people worked out brilliantly and allowed more connections and friendships to be made between users who might've never met, seen as they were in seperate chatrooms. Based on this amazing decision, combining all the rooms will mean everyone will be able to connect with everyone.
Negatives:
I don't really see any negatives. Other than being a bit unsure on what a positive chat exactly is. But we're only in the early stages and Lorraine's amazing commitment and principles will be able to ensure that we're all monitored and behaving appropriately before being handed our badge.
Also posting this on week days seemed a bit odd. Should've posted it on the weekend so more people could see and discuss their thoughts on the bright future for cups because of this change.
If u have any feedback or disagree let me know
@TidyLuca first alot of us cant afford cups therapist, 2nd to many people in 1 room will result in fewer people being helped. I already get drowned out. And I can't keep up when 20 people Trying to talk at once, and I'm a slow typer so by the time I can reply umpteen messages have gone by and I've missed them, then Trying reread those while new messages are coming in. I have yet to see anything "bad" in group. I just feel that this is a bad idea, especially badge locked rooms.
@TidyLuca Did Glen or Lorraine pay you for these comments? lol.
1. Yes, it will be easier to manage trolls, but trolls will still keep popping around and rooms can still get busy and messy.
2. I can't afford a therapist on here.
3. Yes, more people can meet, but people have lost their friend or group of friends they used to meet regularly in the rooms that have been deleted.
@TidyLuca 50 people in one chat room trying to get support is a negative. 2 rooms is not enough.
Hey just a suggestion, but can we make the LTBTQ Room 24/7. Based on the observation in the room, other members are already uncomfortable with the topic and the topics dominating one of the member room. i hope this is heard 😟
@AddictedTealover98
Hiya Im also sad about losing our room. Lots of 7cups users are feeling uncomfortable, myself included. But your hope is not going to get fulfilled. suggestions arent listened to. the community is not listened to.
@LovingSparkle
I'm sad about losing the rooms but I understand the changes needed. But some topics like disability and lgbtq needs a separate space to not offend each other is my opinion
@AddictedTealover98
Lgbt+ people struggle from homophobia, biphobia and transphobia too much. Now they take this accepting place from us?!
@LovingSparkle not being listened to story of my life
This is the worst idea ever for this site! Not only we don't have the feed, but now we're not able to talk in chat rooms. Most of us don't feel like opening up and speaking about our problems and give information about ourselves in a chat room with other 50 unknown people who might just troll around and mock us. Some of us ust can't, plus the chat moves on so fast, that no one even reads most messages. How can we can support there anymore?
I think most rooms were safe, except for Depression rooms which were full of trolls. I don;t think that closingl the rest of the chat rooms is a fair, logical, useful, supportive and responsible. Basically, we're having problems in chatting with our friends no feed, no chat rooms, but closing the chat rooms was the last straw for most of us.
Closing the chat rooms was a horrible decision for most of us. If it was for financial reasons, please give up on something else on the site, but not the chat rooms....
.If it was because of safety reasons, i don't think that stopping many people from getting support in chat rooms is worth it...i genuinely think that most rooms were safe and we could always call a mod. It's extremely unfair for most of us to suffer these horrible consequences only because some mean people hurt others in chat rooms. Maybe implementing more harsh actions on trolls and ban them easier helps more than closing rooms, totally unfair for the rest of us. Now we'll have to deal with trolls from depression room in both rooms, how "fair". How can it it be "safer" when so many people here don't agree with the "safety" reason behind this?People can;t get any support in chat rooms anymore, how better than before is this?
No matter which reason is stronger, please give us back the chat rooms...don't leave us supportless. So many of us have been relying on them.
Sadly, all these changes and how they were implemented, so fast, overnight definitely proved how disposable we all are and how less we are cared about, how little our voice matters...
Wish you all the best, soon I will be leaving this site for real.