Safe and supportive Group Support rooms.
Hi everyone!
In a continued effort to increase safety in the group support chatrooms and ensure a supportive environment, We wanted to make this post to ensure we as a community are on the same page.
We have picked up a pattern in some of the rooms where users will behave in an unprofessional and unsupportive manner but once they have been given several verbal reminders, they leave and come back later when the moderator is no longer active. This becomes a very unwelcoming atmosphere for users entering the room and looking for support.
To tackle this, the community team is going to take a different approach. If we have users who are continually adding to an unsupportive environment, breaking rules and disregarding community guidelines, we will immediately remove them from the chatrooms. To ensure member safety our volunteer leaders will continue with the 3 verbal reminder policy. If an admin or community moderator comes across this situation they will however take action.
Here are a few reminders we wanted to share:
1. Our volunteer mod team is dedicating their time to support and foster a healthy environment for members to feel safe enough to share their story. They are humans behind their badges who are here with good intentions.
2. Not every topic is going to resonate with everyone. If a discussion is taking place and you do not wish to participate, you are not forced to do so. We do ask however that you allow the community the space to discuss the topic and consider stepping out until it is over. The majority of these are prescheduled. A lot of time and effort is put in by our volunteers to create and share this content. Please be mindful of the things you say.
3. This is a platform that takes pride is volunteerism. The community team is here to facilitate the work our volunteers are doing. If you would like something changed, have an idea or a suggestion, please reach out to the appropriate ambassador or project leader. We want to work together and often would like to see these same changes and updates roll out however do not have the bandwidth to do so.
4. 7 cups is an emotional support platform and should be used as such. Our priority is to provide quality support to those reaching out. While building friendships and connections may be part of that, we ask that you keep in mind that support is priority. Casual discussions are great when appropriate however if there is someone that needs support, please acknowledge them and their struggles. A few kind words can go a long way.
This being said, if you come across a situation that is persistent and ongoing, what should you do?
We are going to be updating the mod review form listed in the chatroom rules section (Rule #25). You can use this form to report anyone you have had an inappropriate encounter with in the group support chatrooms. If you see something that keeps coming up and you feel it needs to be reported, you can do so here (Also found at the bottom of the chat window in the chatroom rules list in any member chatroom.)
We recognise that there are many people who spend time in the rooms and have a very positive impact! We really do appreciate all the effort. We want this to be a community space we can be proud of and one where our users feel safe and supported. I hope that together we can find a way to move forward and improve.
Thank you for the update, Lorraine!
Some very important points brought up, especially the one about casual conversations.
Just pausing a casual chit chat to offer to support to somebody else can make a huge positive impact on how they're feeling as it shows that you're willing to drop what you're currently doing in order to support them, even if you're a member too.
It always makes me happy when I see members supporting other members! <3
Thank you Lor! This is incredibly important and I hope everyone reading it agrees that this is an emotional support site and we have a responsibility to keep it feeling safe.
If you do not like our rules or how we do things that is fine, no one is forcing you to be here. I suggest you find another site that better supports your requirements as we will not be tolerating any harassment or intentional chaos. The end.
@Jill7Cups
Spot-on post! 
@Jill7Cups
Absolutely!!
@Lorraine234
if only community moderators take action and with volunteer mods its just business as usual .... is there a way people in the chatrooms have a visible way to reach the do something effective mods that will help the situation such as at the bottom of the chatroom a link to the community mods on duty i believe theres a thread somewhere listing what days and times the community mods are on duty that could be really useful !
@jennysunrise8 yes! Here we are talking about issues that are constant from the same user and how we will deal with that.
If there is a situation in the chatrooms you can do two things.
1. Fill in a mod emergency request in the form that can be found in the chatroom rules section , Rule #22. This will notify the community mod on duty of the situation and allow them to respond and act accordingly. You can find the schedule here There may be times when shifts change last minute so to ensure you get a response to your request in a timely manner I would advise using the emergency request form.
2. You can also report the user as mentioned above.
Hope this answers your question!
@Lorraine234
yes that was my concern that people contacting a mod are contacting a community mod and not accidentally contacting a volunteer mod but someone who can help the situation im not sure why volunteer mods are not doing something different also if its a way thats shown to not be effective but if only community mods are notified from within the chat when reports are made thats good its a good change im glad this is being worked on and i hope it doesnt stop until all the chatrooms are really supportive and no bullying at all in any of them dont give up trying because thats so hurtful to people i know
@jennysunrise8 There is a community mod on duty at all times. This has been happening for a while. Form to call them - rule #22.
@AffyAvo
i dont really go in chatrooms i just talk to very upset people after theyve had very bad experiences in the chatrooms that are supposed to be supportive and are more like left alone high school cliques and bullying that people are scared to report for fear of nothing happening and it just getting worse if they do so im glad to see some things are changing - having something within the chat that people can choose to contact a community mod or a volunteer mod with a short explanation about what the different kinds of mods will do when contacted and an easy and visible way to contact if that doesnt exist it should i think
Thanks Lorraine this is awesome!
This sounds like a great way to deal with some of the baiting behaviour that occurs - users disappearing so they don't get in trouble when a mods around but others who were fine do.
@Lorraine234 sounds like a great idea. I hope there is more discussion how to implement this.
@soulsings we can discuss this at the open house this week! As a reminder nothing will change for volunteers and this is just about what approach the staff will take to back you up in the rooms.
@Lorraine234
Thank you it has come across when I mod a room the bulliness I receive from some people. When in a PM with them it get's worse
@Lorraine234 Thanks for the lovely updates! I'm glad to hear of these new changes, and major kudos to all the group mods.
@Lorraine234 Thank you for this, it was very imformative!
@Lorraine234 Great, thank you for the information!