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manner but once they have been given several verbal reminders, they leave and come back later when the moderator is no longer active.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.