Follow Up to Rooms Closing Announcement
We have received lots of feedback regarding this post announcing the transitioning of several rooms from 24/7 to pop-ups. We appreciate those of you who took the time to provide thoughtful feedback in a respectful way. Some of you have made helpful points that the community management team has taken the time to discuss and consider. As always, nothing is set in stone and we all reserve right to pivot on a plan as needed.
Our goal in the group support rooms (and on 7 Cups as a whole) is to provide support and a safe space to those living with mental health conditions and other disabilities. We make conscious efforts to offer support while also working to ensure that all interactions on 7 Cups are safe and appropriate. This is a balance and one we are continuing to work on every day.
It has become clear that members of the Disability Community need a slower paced room in order to feel comfortable and safe. We want to be accommodating of users living with a variety of conditions and disabilities and have decided to keep the Disability Support Room open 24/7 as a space for those living with disabilities to seek and share support.
With that being said, to keep this space open, we all need to step up as a team and work together. With our new Volunteer Tracking System, we are all able to more closely track activity and engagement. Use this update as an opportunity to show how much you value your teams and communities. Participate in the rooms, host open chats, pop-ups and discussions. The chatrooms are meant to be a place for support. A new user entering the room, should be welcoming and invited to participate. Joining an empty room doesnt feel welcoming or supportive so lets change this.
Moving forward, we expect you to share your feedback and thoughts in a respectful way, even if you disagree. Insulting the community management team or other leaders is not tolerated and is not the way to get your point across. Bullying, using an inappropriate tone and threats are all violations of our Community Guidelines and not helpful to sharing your opinions. Every member of our team joined 7 Cups because we have a passion for mental health and community. We will listen to constructive feedback and we will brainstorm solutions and problem solve with you when controversy arises. But it must be said how genuinely disappointed we are in the abusive language and actions that have been taken this week. That is not what 7 Cups is about. It took away our focus from coming to the decision to keep the disability room open 24/7. This should be a safe place for everyone.
We are open to feedback about the renaming or rebranding of 24/7 rooms and pop-ups to help better reflect their purpose. Our goal is for all rooms to be a place where members can come for support and understand that there is confusion regarding rooms that are support rooms vs. light-hearted chat or community rooms. Please let us know your feedback and ideas with this regarding the LGBTQ+/MOGII and Depression Rooms.
Again, thank you to those of you who providing thoughtful and professional feedback on this update.
@Laura @Jill7Cups @Power @Heather225
AMAZING!!! Thank you so much!!!! We appreciate this so much
I don't know how it is decided to close or make certain rooms pop up only but what I do know is that Nothing around here is permant and it can always be changed again. It is okay to speak how you feel but do so with kind words and compassionate heart. Remember that everyone here is human and just as you have feelings they too have them. We want this community to be a place where everyone can feel safe and that is the intent, Please keep leaving feedback it does make a difference!
It made my day to hear disibility room is to be kept open i know some members will be very grateful. Thank you
@Kate
Thank you for addressing this. Really appreciate it :)
@Kate
I have made use of both the Depression support room and the LGBTQ room, and though I think the latter can easily be productive being a pop-up room, I don't think the Depression support room should disappear. I've noticed that some people feel the need (me included) to get into that room when we feel down, and just chat about whatever, not necessarily our problems. This is why I prefer the Depression support room over, for example, my listener. My listener is there to talk about my problems, but sometimes I'm not ready for that yet. That's when I feel like going into a public chat room.
That's my 2 cents for this discussion, good luck and know that no matter what you guys choose, I think it's the right decission, because you guys never do something without serious consideration.
Since I'm a newbie and just reading some of the comments, having a Town Hall Meeting about the Community Rooms is a good start. Especially to see which ones could remain and those that would bebconsbe con as a pop-up.
@Kate I am grateful that you are keeping Disability Support open. To show my gratitude I will start supporting 7 cups with a monthly donation.
My
@tidyTriangle2919
hey! This thread is to discuss an update. You might have better luck in making a thread in 7cups.com/home/students :)
@tidyTriangle2919
It might not be true but maybe they aren't really your friends then. It sounds like they wanna pretend to be nice to you but avoid you at the same time. Maybe just start avoiding them too and hang out with other people. If they care they'll come to you rather than you always going to them. If they don't, well, then you might have your answer as to why they don't invite you. If they don't find you then you should find some other people to hang out with. It's not worth it of you always keep questioning your importance. :) You are important and don't let other people take you otherwise.
@Kate
I currently take part in the depression, anxiety, and lgbtq+ chat room thing (I don
@Kate, I feel like the rooms that have been closed should stay open.
I meant " feel, " sorry, didn't notice my mistake.
@DisabledGayGuy
fixed it for you
Idk how u did that, but thanks!