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 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.
The only place I go, 35+ and now thats been taken away from a lot of folk in here.
How hard is it to keep a chatroom open considering the website is active and still going and other rooms as kept active.
Pam one of the mods who supported the 35+ room still wishes to support it as Im sure do others, so really what is the issue here with 35+, it was one of the best rooms on the entire network and the most supportive.
Removing it has caused a lot of loss for a lot of people who simply wish to connect with each other everyday.
I simply dont understand at all the reasons behind it.
Taking away one of the primary most supportive rooms on the site is madness.
@An1mal
I know how you feel, I would jump into the LGBTQ+ room, depression support or relationship support from time to time when my mood was low or I needed advice. While I had a mixture of experiences, both good and bad it was still a place to go for me when I needed it.
Now all those rooms are gone too. I can't access anything.
This move will probably kill the website outright.
@An1mal
Listen hate to break to you pal, but you're a part of the community as much as you are in real life. In theory. Your opinions have as much chance to reach the people responsible for this site as they are to reach the president whenever you're from..
At the end of the day all you can do is to move on. Thats the only choice you can make really.
@ArachnoChronos We've been told to voice our opinions in this forum post. If you don't like it you don't have to read it and instructing people to "move on" is being very insensitive.
@fearlessWriter78 Thank you for expressing your opinion and feelings in the appropriate place, it really is appreciated.
@ArachnoChronos
But move on to where? For a lot of people (myself included) 7cups is kind of their only support window for certain things, or perhaps overall.
@TheMadQueen420
If we can't find one.... maybe we should MAKE one?
@HarlequinKiss
These things cost money, and I'm basically putting all of my finances towards saving up for a surgery. This operation and the anxieties surrounding it was something I could talk about in the LGBTQ+ room, which is gone forever now.
@TheMadQueen420
You can gather on any IRC server you want to for free.... you can make the room permanent but you don't HAVE to.... and as long as 1 erson stays... it stays open....
@HarlequinKiss
Problem is getting other people invested in that. What worked for 7cups was the community aspect, and a random chatroom is lost on that.
@TheMadQueen420
True... but if you're going to lose that anyway... what can it hurt? I would think that the bond you have here would transfer over.. but i dunno. Like i said. I've been on this site for about 20 minutes or so now. I'm just offering suggestions... It sucks to lose your friends over some control issues... (I'm not sure at all that this is the case... just how it appears to me)
@HarlequinKiss
By the community aspect I also refer to actually having people in it. Nobody is going to come along to a random chatroom just to hear me talk about what's been eating away at me since Tuesday.
@TheMadQueen420
I am a complete total n00b here and a total stranger as well... but i came here to make friends, talk to people and generally socialize since this is really the only way i can.... i would listen to you rant, rave and generally carry on cranky if that's what you needed me to do. Don't give up on everyone else and don't be mean to (from what i can see so far) is a nice person just looking for an outlet for stress, anxiety and other issues.( That would be you... as far as i can tell)
@ArachnoChronos
Wow... What a decisively dismissive attitude. I've been on this site for all of about 10 minutes and i already can SEE the cognitive dissonance here that is apparently ripping this place apart. I'm not trying to be judgemental or rude or anything else. I'm just telling you how i see this as an outsider. Be kind... everyone here is facing a battle YOU know nothing about....
@ArachnoChronos
you dont have to break anything to me PAL, I figure things out all on my own
@ArachnoChronos While I agree we can only work with what we are presented, and focusing on what we do not have makes for a more negative life. I do feel we are allowed to express our feelings about how the change has affected us. I can also assure you that Glenn and all the admins are keeping up with this thread.
@An1mal The great thing is that because Pam is a chatroom moderator she is still able to support in that room and ask for it to be opened long as she is able to be there to support all the members in it.
Why would you take the best part of the website and throw it away?
It feels like you have lost a lot of trust and let vunerable people down by taking away their ability to socialise and support each other.
Its insane, like if youtube suddenly stopping showing videos, the chat rooms were the whole reason many of us came to this site
@intractable
Exactly! I only came here for the rooms myself, and got a lot of support from them.
I only found out about this awful news, tonight of all nights when I was looking for support in regards to a serious issue.
@TheMadQueen420
Ya know.. If this were a few chatrooms that involved people discussing their favorite movies and stuff that got removed, such changes wouldn't be so bad, but considering they dealt with people that may or may not be near a crisis.
The sheer amount of grace when implementing said changes really shows how much they care about you and your struggles
I mean when someone cares it shows in their actions. Words are wind
@ArachnoChronos
... and sometimes changes are made to benefit those in charge instead of those who need what they were offering at one point...
@ArachnoChronos
So you're saying they don't care about us at all?
I might agree with you there.
@TheMadQueen420
For example.. Just imagine how many people were pushed off the edge maybe even literally by the small fact of shutting down the chats 2 days earlier than planned. Two days that could have been used to inform people of the reforms. Sure they wouldn't be very positive reforms but people would be more understanding at least..
@intractable
That's what i came here for... I had no idea they were gone before i signed up.
@HarlequinKiss
Nobody really knew about it. Even listeners I have talked to tonight had no idea about all this, and were just as shocked and as dissapointed as I am in all this.
They did this without warning, and without consulting the community at all. It's honestly shameful.
I have been gone lately and I come back to this. I understand why it was done but I feel like we should open back lgbtq, anxiety, depression, and disability and tie them to a certain badge to keep out trouble makers
@HopieRemi
@HopieRemi
Sorry, last one was an accidental post.
I agree with you, but it looks like the groups are gone for good and that they don't care much for those that used them.
As such, would anyone know of any places for these people to go? I've had a few hateful listeners speak to me when I was asking about trans issues and stuff and I'd rather not use listeners agan for that reason.
@TheMadQueen420
Maybe an LGTQ specific site?
@HopieRemi
If anyone knows of a good one perhaps they should share it around? I don't know of any myself, sadly.
@HopieRemi
Or we can instead nuke the whole thing because of a few bad apples.
Mind you it is an effective solution, since less people innevitably means less bad apples.
Oh! I also have some questions that I'd love anyone with relevant knowledge to answer.
1. With the room reduction, will the number of Community Moderators drastically decrease?
2. Will volunteer-Moderators (such as myself) keep their positions? I feel that Community Moderators will completely overshadow us, and we do the same work, the only exception is that we do it for free.
Just a random member question. How can I gain compassionate hearts to meet the criteria of the rooms if I'm not able to access any room at all?
Thanks in advance
@chickensalad
That's just one of the many oversights they didn't think through when this was dropped on us out of the blue, I reckon.
@chickensalad
you can message me for a chat if you want to you just get them in chats with listeners
Literally just dealt with a listener who tried to flirt with me instead of listen to my issue. I've reported him and sent an email with screenshots the support team (I will provide if anyone is curious) Yet the admins wonder why people don't use listeners as much.
Removing the groups while allowing listerners like that on the site is the reason this place will fail in the end.
@TheMadQueen420 Sadly there is not mjuch out there. I was a frequent visitor of the LGBTQ rooms and sadly what is out there is not helpful to those in need or talking, help, or who are near crisis.
If you wver need to chat let me know.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao8FIszjKZg
*how I feel without my fam*
I LOVE YOU ALL! AND MISS YOU DEARLY!
I heard that some rooms are up, and that I need certain badges to access them. I have them, if I'm reading my profile right, but still don't see them.
Anyone else having this problem?
@Envisage
Myself and others have it too. This entire thing has been handled awfully.
@Envisage I just took a look at your profile and I cannot see the strong bond badge , which is having 5 chats with 5 different listeners. 1 chat = 30 messages with at least reply from the listener. I hope this makes sense, if you want to message for more clarity you more than welcome to message me.
You can see exactly how many chats you currently have by clicking on my path - my progress on the browser version of the site
I went on strike for 24 hours, I'm back and see the messes they made in just one day. Its sad the leaders think they have power over us the members. They could never have this site without us. Im going on strike another 24 hours. Get it together 7cups!
Members have all the talent, and leaders seem to have gotten to big for their own britches. Be back at 10:30 PM tomorrow.
Best wishes, humorousDay8793
