Anyone else wish for a member pm? What are your thoughts & experiences on this?
I understand that there's no member pms due to safety reasons. However, I'd really like it if there could be something of the sort. I find the forum format ineffective and overwhelming.
Like some others I've seen, the forum format makes it hard to open up about stuff, regardless of anonymity. And on the overwhelming note, it's rather hard to follow through on such a huge wall of text. In addition, here's maybe a bit too many people. This makes it hard to give the personal, undivided attention, support and care people are looking for.
I have some minor experience of both sides of the forum format. As someone reading and listening, I don't know if they will welcome a random stranger talking to them. But as someone posting and talking, I don't want to because I don't want to pour my heart out and get ignored, you know? It really gets me down.
One of my ideas was maybe something similar to a group therapy in real life? With more options, though. Like if someone wants one-on-one, that would be possible. But there's a moderator for safety concerns, maybe?
And same for a group chat.
Granted, I understand there are monetary costs and safety risks. I believe those are valid and important to talk about, too. At the moment, I'm not sure exactly of all the details. As a new member, I find the current 7 cups somewhat inflexible to my need? I just don't like the forum type interaction. It's very unnatural and difficult to initiate in my experience.
For clarification, my reason for joining was to find others to talk to and support, and vice versa.
This just doesn't mesh very well with the current 7 cups.
I think I'd like something similar to group therapy, at least? But online, as the wall of anonymity helps me significantly.
If anyone would like to add their experiences, thoughts, or emotions/feelings on this, please feel free!! 
To be honest I've been struggling finding a way to initiate talking with people, so I'd actually really appreciate it. I would like very much to hear what you say!
∘ Apologies for lengthiness! I aim to be as clear as possible, but it can be a mouthful. And an eye-ful.
@0820170719105 I don't think "safety reasons" can really explain why member PMs are not supported. Becoming a listener only takes a member maybe half an hour. Getting access to the group chats now takes much longer. Becoming a listener is so easy that we've even had spammers and trolls with listener accounts.
I don't think cost can be a significant factor either.
But I do think that half hour of training probably does help to ensure that members' experience at 7 Cups is a little better, on average, than if we just made PMs open to everyone. It's well known that with the current amount of training some 1-to-1 chats are problematic, but I think with no training at all things would only be worse.
I agree with you that the forum is a different kind of interaction that doesn't suit everyone, and I agree that something more like group therapy could be useful and also not too difficult technically.
To initiate talking to people, you only have to go to Browse Listeners and click on any Chat Now button. That should get you straight into a chat. If you don't like that chat, try someone else. It's helpful to other members if you report any listener who behaves badly, but you don't have to. It's also open to you to become a listener yourself so that other members can start chats with you.
Charlie
@RarelyCharlie
Oh wow, I totally didn't know some of this. I'm kinda new so I'm still learning, but thanks for telling me. In that case it'd be really great if they could add pm/chats for members then.
Also, I had no idea that anyone could be a Listener. I mean I heard someone mention it, but I didn't think so literally? That makes a lot of sense though 
