General Request Request
Hey guys, so Im Lizi…this is my first forum post so I hope people actually read it lol…
Anyway, I just wanted to put one thing out there for the members that would be extremely helpful for listeners if you could do it. It would actually also be helpful for the members too haha.
Anyway, Ive been a listener here for a few months now and Ive always been kind of uneasy about taking general requests. The reason for that is I never know what Im getting in to.
Sometimes it works out, and I am able to help the member, but other times, I don
Hello! Thanks for this helpful post & sharing your ideas on how to improve this process.
Right now, we do have topic tags. Are you saying you'd like to see more specific topics listed/ written by the individual posting the request?
@Krinkthemellowunicorn may be able to offer further insight into this idea. :)
@Laura - I think it wouldn't be too hard to have a fill-in-the-blank option, or to encourage more people to choose a topic, or even require it, although that last approach risks denying people care who aren't capable of saying what the problem is up-front.
@Laura @krinkthemellowunicorn I actually meant it would be helpful if more members used the topic tags because a lot of the time people don't choose what they want talk about and it is like we go in blind and hope that we are experienced with the topic
@heyworlditsok @Krinkthemellowunicorn
Sounds like requiring members to select a tag is the idea. For those who cannot clarify into a specific category, maybe we could add "Not sure" or some other general tag language.
@Laura, an "other" option with the opportunity to specify would work as well!
@RebeccaEmily @laura @heyworlditsok - how do people feel about allowing people to pass as well? should we just make it easier to supply something but or should we go as far as making it a requirement?
Others' opinions welcome as well, of course!
@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn
Just wanted to add my random 2 cents but if I was to log in as a guest or member and had an issue about parenting for example asdisabled parent do I click on disability or parenting?
I am not technically gifted but is it possible to choose multiple tags to get someone who could manage disabilty and parenting or anxiety and depression rather than 'risk' selecting the wrong one?
@Rycochet - great question!
it's not possible right now the way we are doing it, but we could set it up so that it would be possible.
Getting people to choose even one thing is hard. It would be interesting to see if the ability to combine things made it more complex or easier to feel like you can be accurate?
@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn
As a guest on the one occasion I did try I didn't choose any option as like I said I didn't know what to pick. My example isn't stand alone in that you could be facing a family issue while experiencing depression etc.
For me I personally was worried about choosing the wrong option when multiple ones applied so perhaps adding a box for keywords? or even a box which says multiple would be easier than limiting the choice to one and making people feel pressure to pick the 'right' one. I'm not sure I really have a solution but I know having taken chats with no topic given that it is often the case that multiple options applied - I self harm as a symptom of depression or I need relationship support because of depression etc
@Rycochet - yes, I hear you. There are things called "the paradox of choice" and "analysis paralysis" where fear of making the wrong choice prevents any choice, so we could give some guidance too that there are no wrong answers and we could make it more flexible.
One fear of too many options is it can increase the paralysis (that's the paradox).
@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn I think being able to pick multiple would be very beneficial, since, as @Rycochet pointed out, people can easily experience our tagged topics at the same time, and it can be hard to discuss one without discussing the other. Not only would this make members feel like they're giving a more accurate description of what they need to chat about, but this would also improve what @heyworlditsok was originally concerned about, because more qualified listeners will be able to pick up those more specific topics.
I think that many members would in the end appreciate it if the tags were required, because while it does mean one more step between coming on site and connecting with a listener, it also improves the chances of them talking to a listener who can help them. This step adds less than 30 seconds between them coming on 7 cups and them connecting with a listener, and I personally think those 30 seconds are well worth it! 
@RebeccaEmily @Rycochet @Krinkthemellowunicorn @laura
Well said @rebeccaemily it would pretty much boost the efficiency of members finding listeners that are right for them faster, and maybe if they could pick multiple topics it would make them more comfortable because they would be getting a listener who is most likely able to help with not only one topic. For example, if someone with an eating disorder and anxiety put the topic as anxiety, the listener they get may have no experience with eating disorders. and maybe an "other" box could be beneficial to some people because Im sure people come on here wanting to talk about something but maybe feel turned away or that we cant help them when what they are looking for is not available.The only problem I can see with this right now is that when they put out a general request, it brings them to noni where nothing is really required there. Everybody sees it as optional and after requesting so many times, they may not even read it anymore, so how would they know that it is required? would the whole format of that have to be changed? And if they dont fill it out, what happens? Is their request not put through to us or something because that seems unfair if they dont know its required.
@heyworlditsok - we would never require it without telling people, and yes we can change anything about the sequence if we want to (the app still doesn't have Noni yet...), but these are tricky questions for sure.
Thanks to @RebeccaEmlily and@Rycochet and others for sharing your thoughts on this.