Room Announcement

@Cerberus28 Im unsure what the question is here but happy to clarify whatever you need

@Lorraine234

Well, my first question is why? Why exactly is this going on? What prompted you to do this? Was there a problem? And if so, what was the problem?

@Cerberus28 Wheres your answer?

@Cerberus28 As Glen stated in this post , we observed that rooms were at their safest and support based when a open chat was happening or a discussion with a moderator present. This is what prompted the decision.

@fluffyUnicorns84 35+ was safest and best room. We are adults and we modded the room ourselves when our mods weren't in.

I take it as a personal insult that certain people think we 35+ didnt care about keeping the room safe, and the room was safer during discussions. Guess what!! We DID have trolls during moderated discussions.

@Lorraine234

Please understand that i see this a little differently than most because i am (for the moment) an outsider looking in. I'm not trying to bully, insult or put ANYONE down.

~Sometimes these tough calls need to be made to make sure that when someone goes into a community space they are safe and guarenteed quality support. ~

First off... How does THAT work? You pulled the rug out from under these people's feet and expect them to just get over it? These tough calls weren't made to benefit anyone other than the people that don't want to deal with any potential backlash. It's pretty obvious from that statement.

Second... THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES IN LIFE!!!! Taking away a person's sole support system is not the way to go about ensuring ANYTHING!

Third... I came here for exactly what you have taken away. Thanks.

@HarlequinKiss you are valued and I want you to know your feelings are indeed valid. Thank you for being here and I appreciate you. <3

@Lorraine234 Sorry but I find that answer to be total BS. Yes when a mod entered a room and guided the convo it inspired more chatter AT TIMES, but those rooms when they were NOT around still fufilled an important role and acted as a safety net on focused issues.

The decision to make the changes was stupid and the excuses being sold to the users here is BS. You cut support to a lot of people and clearly give two squats.

As for your rooms and them helping people, they dont. IF you can get in, because your new requirements are wack, you are drowned out with several different conversations and quickly see there is no point in trying. So exactly how the a room dedicated to 35+ goingto help and address the spectrum of issues that were previously supported?

@Vrsyren I understand that this is frustrating and that it takes away from the way some of us have used the site in the past. The 24/7 chatrooms are not intended to replace topic based support rooms. They are not intended to be the only channel for people to get group support. We have topic based support room that our volunteers have been doing an amazing job of keeping open as much as possible to allow support on specific topics and build community in specific rooms.

I fully agree that moderators are not the only aspect to safety. I think we as a community have a responsibility to keep the rooms safe and supportive. Unfortunately though in the past, with anyone being able to return into the rooms after being moderated this has not been possible. The requirements are kept low enough that once someone has found their way around the community they will gain access. 1-1s are our main support channel on this platform. Once someone has had a few chats (depending on if they are a member or listener) they will be able to participate in the rooms and join in on topic based events like Depression or Anxiety.

The difference here is that once we have removed someone from the rooms, they will no longer be able to come back within seconds. This allows the space to stay safe from trouble and people who are here for the wrong reasons.

I do understand this is not ideal, as stated in the original post. We are trying to offer the support we can within the limits of our resources and abilities. I understand if this is not what you are looking to get out of the platform and respect that. I hope that in the future we will be able to provide a wider range of topics more regularly than we can now. I am fully confident in the volunteer team we have and know they will do the best they can to work with us in order to see that in the future.

@Figgy50 I encourage you to join the open chats, which will offering times for seeking support, but in a supervised environment so much safer and supportive for you

How about the listeners quality on here? Don't get me wrong, some listeners are professional and good, while some are not. I feel that's the reason why members chose to get support from those retired support chat rooms. Some members are clearly better than the listeners on here. I would love to see what strategy you have to improve listener's quality on here. It seems to me that 7cups prefer "quantity over quality" when it comes to participation as a listener on the site.

@Sleeplesssleepy

well then tell your beloved "members" to become listeners.

@planedark72111 Someone does not has to be a listener to listen on here. I was just trying to pin point a major issue here on 7cups. :) Chill there.

@Sleeplesssleepy

i agree listeners should be vetted but all a member has to do to talk to any member who is supportive privately is for one of you to get on a listener account each person can have one of each a listener and member account

@Sleeplesssleepy Amen!!!!!!

@Sleeplesssleepy

Yes, i agree. There was major change to the rooms due to "ensuring quality support", but nothing was done to prevent liteners blocking members for starting totally appropriate chats on appropriate topics for which listener maybe doesn't feel comfortable to listen to. If listener isn't comfortable with topic or can't listen at the moment (maybe they picked chat by accident? Ok) they can just say that they don't feel comfortable with the topic and refer me to another listener (link to browse listener isn't needed, needed is just some kindness and basic politeness - blocking is everything else than polite). When will it be fixed? When member is blocked they can't do anything about it anymore. No possibility to give a review to listener who blocked member for no reason or due to totally appropriate chat with which listener isn't comfortable.

@Sleeplesssleepy I dont know if this will help or not <3 But I can promise that this is being worked on too , 1-1 quality fix isnt as straight forward.

As a listener, I'm raelly upset with these changes because I know of many members who won't touch the general member chat with a 6 foot long pole. Do you know how crowded this is going to be? How are anyone even going to get a word in when there's only two chats now instead of specialised ones. Yes, we get the point that it's getting difficult to moderate a large amount of rooms, but do you all really thing it's going to be any easier moderating a high traffic room?

I was a room supporter for the Depression and Student Support Group Chats and honestly, having chatrooms for these topics instead of forcing people to use the forums to talk about things was really great! You had some people jus ttalking about their day, some asking for help, some just there because they want the company, but the point is the group rooms worked. Yes, we had trolls and whatnot every once in a while but for the most part, the system worked.

With this change, all I can see is less persons using the site. Now with all the chats being condensed, some groups will feel alientated not being able to be apart of the general discussion (take 35+ and disability for example) and those who come for genuine support won't get noticed through the wall of text, or are too overwhelmed to even enter the chat.

What's next? Removing DM ability between listeners because they don't have the Peer Support Badge? Increased restrictions on members before they talk to a listener? Locking down the forums?

For a group of administrators who continue to say 'we care about our members', you guys are doing a pretty poor job at that lately with the kind of changes that are being made on this site. With each update, I feel more disconnected from the site and it doesn't feel like it will be long now before I just up and go with the way things are being done...

@mySong I feel you, its a shock to have this happen when it happened so quickly. However I am thankful that we have been able get development team dedication on this though and make the changes so we can work on making the rooms more support based and safe. The group support team really appreciate your time you put in as room supporter for these rooms. I am wondering if you be interested to build on this and become chatroom moderator so you can make this rooms available for the members for that extra time you can spend in there?.

You can find the information on being a chatroom moderator here: https://www.7cups.com/forum/GroupSupport_168/GroupModApplicationsProjectInformation_1242/HowToApplyForGroupModInformationonCommCenteredGlobal_112280/

Also 1-1 support would never be taken away, as that is the sites primary source of supporting both our members and listeners.

@mySong Hammer. Hit. Nail. On. Head.

MySong, I *WAS* part of the LGTBQ chat room and like you the conversation flowed but we also helped a lot of people learning to come out, trying to fight off negative feelings, or not knowing where to go or start. As we were all part of the community they felt safer opening upto us and without the wall of text they were able to actually been seen and helped.

The fact that the site expects those same people to open up in a general room is ABSURD.

I know from the few I keep in contact with that nearly ALL have significantly decreased usage of the site and none use the general rooms. I wont touch the general rooms because I know what a S-Show that will be. All this site did in the name of quality was slam the door on people and push them away.

Okay, so what I'm reading is that we have to have a certin thing to get into any of the rooms? That's some bull crap (no offense). There are people that need the rooms to talk about what their feeling.

@KelciH Hey there! Yes, there are certain requirements however they are kept low to ensure people can get access. This is to ensure that people cannot just reenter once they have been removed and hopefully and extra step in the process will make this a safer and more supportive space.

@Lorraine234 i meet all the requirements and I'm unable to see the rooms

@ElectrolytesSmell have you got this sorted now?

@fluffyUnicorns84 nope, no one is replying properly. they all keep asking me to pOsT iN tHe fOrUm

@ElectrolytesSmell

are you able to get into the chatrooms yet i see you posted thia a week ago with no response yet

@jennysunrise8 oh yeah i can access the rooms now

@ElectrolytesSmell

ok good glad your getting support in the chatrooms again

@Lorraine234 FYI it can actually take a while to get 50 compassion hearts now with less rooms

Alrighty, time for me to "throw my 2 cents in" as someone who is approaching their 2 Year Cupsiversary this month and has seen a lot of changes since I've been here and grown into my leadership positions within the community.

I would like to share both the positives and the negatives that this change could have and to write a conclusion at the end.

Note - These are simply my own, personal, thoughts and I mean no ill-intent other than to voice my opinions respectfully and maturely. I trust that the 7Cups Administration are doing what they, personally, feel is in the best interests of the community.

Positives of this change

1. Moderation

On one hand, as a Group Mod and Support Team Mentor myself, I can entirely see the reasons for wanting to close some rooms as it means that Group Mods and Community Moderators (Interns) don't have to spread themselves out across a diverse range of rooms and monitor numerous environments at once.

2. Empty Rooms

This change will also help to solve the problem of having empty chatrooms as there has always been a very well-known issue of people entering certain chatrooms, hoping to seek support, just for them to be the only person there, most likely due to time differences and topic popularity. By grouping people together, there will be a lot more people available to listen.

Negatives of this change

1. Topic Overcrowding and Triggers

On the other hand, by closing rooms such as "Depression Support", "Student Support", "LGBTQ/MOGII Support", etc. you are forcing people to all group into one major room for support (the other, being a "Community" room, I presume is simply for casual communication, but even still, two isn't much better) and many people might not be comfortable discussing certain topics, but may still wish to share their own. Moreso, if someone wanted to discuss something such as an LGBTQ+ related issue but had a trigger for the topic of depression, by forcing them in with people who wish to discuss that topic, it could be very damaging.

2. Overcrowding and Need For Support

By forcing everyone into only two rooms, or even less; one for support, it is likely that a lot of people are going to be seeking support and speaking over each other which will make it very difficult for people to get the support they need via the Group Support Rooms, especially as some Members feel more comfortable sharing with their peers instead of contacting a Listener 1-1.

3. Short-Notice Change

There's also the matter that this change was done within such a short time period with little to no notice which can be very overwhelming for those dealing with anxiety or, like myself, autism and who may not be able to handle change as easily as other people are able to.

4. Group Mod Irrelevancy

As a Group Mod, I actually really enjoy(ed) the implementation of the Community Moderators (Interns) as it meant that they will be able to assist when the volunteers (Group Mods) weren't available, and when we were available, they could let us take priority but still give us the backup we needed; if needed.

Now, however, with only having two Member chatrooms, there's obviously going to be a lot more Global Mods in there which can seem quite overwhelming for some Members and it also means that with Community Moderators (Interns) having access to the Group Mod Emergency Responses and one always being available, there's not really as much need for Group Mods anymore.

As I said at the start, these are just my own, personal views on the matter but I'm sure they will be treating this somewhat as a trial and will choose to revert the decision back to how it was if this doesn't work out.

As always, I appreciate the efforts of the 7Cups Administrative team.

@ItsDev

You said everything that is in my head.
Couldn't of said it any better. ❤️

@ItsDev Love you Dev bae 🧡

@ItsDev oops! Thought you were someone else. But I DO love what you said! Very eloquently said! Thank you!

@GlenM

How can I be a mod in the support room. I am a mod for a room closed and feel that I am being punished for this new change.

@pamharley003 the support room is not linked to any subcommunity. If you do however want to moderate you are able to request any room to be opened for you whenever you are available! The community mods will always be around so if you cant find a doorkeeper they are there and can open the room for you.

@pamharley003

*calls from the back* we love you Pam!

Also, I wanted to say goodbye to you Pam. I'll be leaving 7cups in a couple of days and I'm trying to reach out and say my goodbyes to all. Take care of yourself.

@exuberantocean5576

goodbye ocean I'll miss you

@pamharley003 Everyone room supporter and Community centreered mods are in the same position <3 No one is punishing anyone. We want our amazing volunteers moderators in the topic support rooms to ensure that our members get the support they deserve in those rooms. If you are available to mod a room you can find and ask the community mod that is on duty by checking their timetable and messaging them to open the room<<click here: >>

@fluffyUnicorns84

Okay I will begin supporting the support rooms and help the best I can

I was wondering what on Earth was happening, as to why myself and a listener I talked to tonight couldn't access the rooms at all. I've had mixed experiences with listeners and have always felt that talking to two or more people on an issue allowed us to find the solutuon together.

I think I'll be leaving 7Cups for good unless I can somehow access the rooms. I really don't have anywhere else to go, but if I'm cut off from the rooms I needed for support then there is no point in sticking around.