Listeners: when do you need help with the chat from fellow listeners the most?

@Adelaide765 A good question!

I once tracked the number of listeners online or busy over a 24-hour period. The minimum was just under 100 listeners at about 3 a.m. Eastern Time. I have never seen the number of requests in the queue get anywhere near 100. So I think there are always far more listeners than requests.

Right now as I type this there are 29 requests in the queue and the maximum waiting time is 16 minutes. The Browse Listeners page shows me 101 listeners who are online (with a green blob and a Chat Now button). It looks like a lot of listeners are hoping for personal requests, and they don't respond to general requests.

I started to count the number of unanswered threads in the forum's Needs Reply view, and I stopped counting when I got to 100. There are many more than 100 in all.

So it seems to me that listeners can be helpful by responding to general requests quickly at most times of the day, and by replying to new threads in the forum at all times of the day.

Charlie

@Adelaide765

Hi there! Welcome new friend! I think you have a great question. I'm new here also. Hopefully someone else will come along and see your post and respond. In the mean time, what I know is that there is a general request list at the bottom of the screen. Sometimes it's blue. More requests equals orange. We also have what is called a Bat Call for when the grs gets really high and the site is asking for anyone who can, to pick up a chat from the grs. You receive a badge for being helpful.

I've been trying to read about things around here as best I can. I noticed under the badge area that badges can be earned by contributing on holidays (takes a certain amount of responses) so I can only deduce from that, that more listeners are needed on holidays. Hopefully that is enough to get your started until someone more knowledgeable comes along! Happy listening!

@Adelaide765

Two other things to consider regarding Listener demand variations:

1) MANY MORE LISTENERS ARE ACTUALLY AVAILABLE BUT SHOWING THEMSELVES AS "OFF-LINE":

To add to what RarelyCharlie said, there are also probably even many more Listeners available at any given time that seem off-line (red dot next to name) because they do not want to not appear as on-line on purpose. For example, Listeners listing themselves as off-line may not want to get chat requests from people looking at the Browse Listeners page. Or they may not want people they chatted with in the past to see them logged in and ping them to chat at that moment. So overall, there are probably many more Listeners available at any given moment, but they are just being selective and "hiding" by showing themselves as "off-line".

2) THE WAITING LIST MAY BE LONG BECAUSE LISTENERS ARE WAITING IN OFF-LINE FOR A REQUEST THAT IS SUITABLE FOR THEM:

Another reason for long wait times is Listeners might be available but selective is because at peak times, like when school lets out, there are many Members that seem to be rotating over and over on the General Request list without listing any Problem or Reason for getting on the list. That seems to indicate that many Members are just here for really short chats and then get back on the list again and again for even more short chats. Some of those Members may be cycling repeatedly due to anxiety, depression, loneliness, wanting to socialize, flirt, or some playing pranks. How to tell what type of Member is on the list? You can sometimes tell by the names the Members give themselves and the pictures they use if they are here for fun or to flirt or others here for real long term support for anxiety or depression. So overall, many Listeners probably want to avoid certain types of General Request Member chats. So the wait time may be high for good reasons even though many more Listeners are available.

If 7Cups forced Members to list their Problem in order to get on the General Request list, then Listeners might be more willing to select the Members on the list that they feel comfortable to handle. Otherwise, many Listeners may just be watching the General Request list in off-line status mode until a Member finally lists themselves as having a Problem they can deal with due to training or experience or sensitivity issues.

*OFF-TOPIC:

Since you just joined, you may want to see a handy 7 Cups of Tea Listener Starter Pack guide put together by a Listener named ItsDev here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18tEg_nNOLqw4slfe6DwXk0OXFpjJph1zRM3poxDfRwU/preview