Guest Support Update (Adults)
UPDATE: The Guest Support rooms will remain closed.
Hey! Quick update to let you all know that we have temporarily closed the Guest Support room for 24 hours. This is because the room was not functioning as the helpful, welcoming space for guests that it was intended to be.
Please post here if you have any issues/concerns. I will update you all tomorrow on GS plans moving forward!
Thank you :)
People will continue to do what the site tolerates. People will always test boundaries, and even struggle with them at times when they are struggling themself or feeling unheard or unsupported, in fact we even have a rule for that about them needing to go to a 1-1 chat as they are not well enough or able to follow the rules in the room. It is ok to have a bad day or difficult time and we have a system in place that acknowleges that may be the case. I too, have days where I struggle and have been muted. We have implemented a warning system where mods are meant to give a general reminder of the rules (though majority of the issues are about people who are rule hoping and know the rules well or who are being outright abusive). If someone is having a bad day, it is understandable, rules still need to be followed and being muted, when they are still not following them after a general reminder as well as 3 warnings is more than fair. Being muted in the rooms also still allowes them to use 1-1 chats. If they are not in a way they can follow very basic rules of conduct in the rooms, thats ok, they can use 1-1 and come back 24 hours later and try again. I have used many support sites. 7cups is one who gives lots of chances, and also tolerated this behavior on a regular basis. I feel no matter how many rooms we close, the issue will continue to bounce from one room to the next, as it has for the past couple years I have been here, as long as we tolerate the behavior on site.
@Heather The main objective of the support rooms on 7 Cups is that people who have genuine issues get supported in a safe environment. As moderators, our job is to ensure such an environment. That was not possible with Guest Support anymore. What I see in this thread are opinions of some people who have either never been in the room or only have heard about it through hearsay. We want to be able to support everyone, but that room was not used for support anymore. Most of the participants in the room were either on their 100th account, they were complaining about 7 Cups, about moderators, or they were hitting on other participants in the room. I have modded the room extensively. I have been a moderator for two years, I have seen and heard everything. And I don't think I am a bad moderator either (although that might be a subjective opinion). Even I couldn't handle the room at times. The room was fast, 80% of the messages were inappropriate, and guests looking for support? Maybe 5% were genuinely looking to get support, but they got put off by what was going on in the room. This issue has been going on for months. The room was never used for its purpose. And guests coming to 7 Cups for the first time did not get a positive impression of what 7 Cups is.
And for me personally, I am glad that the room got closed. The abuse and the threats towards me as a person were appalling. I was objectified, threatened with rape, with murder, was told what they would do to me sexually (in detail), I got harrassed in PMs, being called all the names in the book. I am used to abuse, because not everyone likes being told they are doing something wrong and a lot of people coming here are vulnerable and might not always have their emotions and reactions in control. But those things were not okay, and were dehumanizing me.
There are still ways for guests to get support. And most who come to 7 Cups first want to connect to a listener in a 1 on 1 anyway. The support that they have gotten in the GS would have not been good. We have tried everything to keep the room safe and supportive, it did not work. Not because our moderating team is weak, but because there are vile and abusive people out there who do not come here for support but deliberately want to make it harder for people to get support. That is not okay. Now we have taken one of the tools they used on that mean mission away from them. I for one am glad that we did.
@MissZ
youre an amazing mod!
@MissZ Except for the part about first-timers wanting to have a 1-on1 chat first. I didn't have my first one for a long time because I didn't want to feel put on the spot. And I imagine there are others who have felt the same way.
@MissZ
I understand your concern. While I am putting forward my opinion, I am not supporting the attacks against you. Even I have witnessed the trolls and abusive guests in the GS. But once when I complained about them and called them troll, I was told that those who appear to be trolling or abusive are seeking support in their own way. If you close down the GS, one of the principles of 7cups vanishes along with it -"treat everyone as genuine". Every distressed person may not be comfortable typing in and creating an account. The home page of the website was made horrible to begin with and now this. Nobody is going to care about signing up. Please check the members room. I have been there today and I found most of the regular GS crowd in the members room. They were ruining those rooms in groups. You are simply shifting a group of abusive guests (as you call it) to the members area. Trolling is cancerous. Guest Support was the Chemotherapy which prevented the cancer from spreading. Stop the chemotherapy and let the cancer spread. MissZ, I think you are unaware of this.
Edited by Eunoia to remove unsupportive Information
@LunchTheRealKiwi Turned down a better banning method you day? Citations please.
@Phthalo
I can't reveal the sources. If I do, people here may get banned for sharing it with me. I'll let you experience it. What you could do is...Message Glen and ask him about it. If he denies it, simply suggest him the system. Just like a fresh suggestion. And see what happens. Glen is available on 7cups :) Heather knows about this for sure. And that's the reason why posts wdre deleted and I wad banned from the forums.
@LunchTheRealKiwi Well I'm not very conspiratorial and I don't even know what the thing that was suggested is called so...
If someone actually did suggest to him before then they can just keep suggest it. The squeaky wheel gets the oil or whatever the saying is.ensued
@Phthalo
It was turned down even when it was being forced on him. He even takes down negative comments on 7cups Facebook Page. Tried to take down articles with content not favourable for 7cups. He must have started it for earning money. We all need money so that's not a problem. But he should be spending a bit on maintaining the website and also improve the security based on improvement in technology. I don't even think this site could handle a basic brute force attack. It's all so vurnable. It's not secure at all.
@LunchTheRealKiwi
Hey,
I understand you're frustrated, but please remember to not attack an individual here. No one is forced to stay here.
@LunchTheRealKiwi They do need more security but idk we'll just have to wait and see what they do, as I said I don't think there's some conspiracy going on...I think in general the admin do care about it, they just perhaps are a bit reluctant to implement something new so they just stick to the comfortable old quick fix tactics.
@LunchTheRealKiwi
We are always open to new & innovative ways to problem solve. However, we have never chatted with you about your ideas. Thanks for your feedback. All the best.
@Laura
I got loads to say about guest room
@MissZ
*_*
@MissZ
Sorry about the nasty things that have been said to you by the malcontents, I hope your o.k.. It must be very upsetting for you, but the malcontents are mouthing off, it is very hurtful and disturbing that those threats and nasty comments have been made towards you. I very much doubt the malcontents know who you are in the real world, you are safe. It is very easy to say things sitting behind a keyboard, if they were standing in front of you, it would be a different story, they would run a mile through their cowardice. All threats can be reported to the police and have consequences, i.e. prosecution in the UK - https://www.bullying.co.uk/cyberbullying/what-is-cyberbullying/.
@MissZ you are an amazing moderator, one of the best this site ever had and ever will have! I hope you stay here for as long as possible, you have helped so many people! I wish we could do something back! MISSZ WE LOVE YOU
@MissZ
"I was objectified, threatened with rape, with murder, was told what they would do to me sexually (in detail)" I had the same treatment as well as other listeners. :( There's no excuse for that treatment and those people who said those things are never welcome here.
@Heather
I have spent the day offering support to others in this forum and haven't yet shared my own experiences or comments about the guest support room closure. so I would like to share my own view and experience and insight as a moderator and listeners,
"I have been a listener in the community for about a year and a half, and a couple of months ago I became a group mod, this was a proud moment for me, and I decided to focus on the guest support room.
Since then I have seen the appalling things that have been said to other guests but to members, listeners and mods. (Not all of this has been from guests)
My experience hasn't been dissimilar, sadly I have received insults, threats, and abuse for just being a moderator. Although for me I have never taken it personally, I can understand why it makes people very uncomfortable to be on the receiving end of this type of harassment.
Having spent a large part of the day reading through the forum feed (I must say how sorry I am to other listeners and mods hearing what an awful time you have had in the GS room)
I can see I'm not the only person who feels that the room has been abused by the minority. But I have to agree with the other moderators who have said that its unfair to receive insults and abuse for just wanting to help people, it's not because of weakness this has been done but for protection and to support the community.
I personally hope that we can find some sort of median between so that guests can receive support and mods can do their role without harassment.
I would also remind everyone we are all here to support each other, we should share in kindness, empathy, support and care, and build our home stronger as a team and a community."
I hope people reading this can understand why listeners, moderators and members feel frustrated by the guest support room, and why for us the room closure is important and supported by us. always remember that guests can join as members and can be part if the community support rooms.
Kind regards
Always25
@Always25
Nice one see someone understand members !!!
I request everyone participating in this discussion to please be mindful of what they're saying and the community guidelines. I understand everyone is frustrated, but generalising and accusing is not very fruitful and will not solve problems. As per forum guidelines, please don't mention specific usernames or directly attack someone. We all have different opinions and we need to respect them.
Thanks.
@Eunoia
Is calling guests abusive in general..allowed?
@LunchTheRealKiwi "not all guests"
Oh god is this becoming what I think it's becoming
@Phthalo
I think it is becoming what you think it is becoming. Some kind of petition is on the way. :)
@Phthalo
While I appreciate the anxiety and the fears many are expressing in the thread, it is often prudent to take a step back. Giving oneself space to process things is far more productive than "reacting". If you really take in the comments, it is relatively easy to see that "reacting" creates chaos and for some is extremely unhealthy.
Granted, some play into the drama and others will continue to promote negative behavior. However, those who took time to process responded in an articulate, genuine manner. This promotes healing, problem solving and builds confidence.
Paying attention to our own and group patterns displayed as a result of the temporary closure is actually a very good opportunity to experience growth.
It is also an opportunity to try to feel a sense of hope. People have been heard and their feelings appropriately acknowledged. We don't exist in a perfect world. This type of acceptance is not something to
@Compassionatelistener108
* ignore.
Hi everyone,
Thanks for your feedback on this announcement. We have known about safety concerns in guest support for some time. We did not want to close the room for reasons outlined by many of you in this thread. Namely, making sure guests had a place on 7 Cups to get & give support. We had a solution planned for the guest rooms but it has not been implemented yet. While we wait for this fix, we wanted to experiment with closing down of the guest rooms. Our main concern is the safety of interactions. We will continue to keep a close eye on the group rooms till we are able to implement our planned fix.
@Laura
Hear me out right
Laura this been happening since day one (don't care u can ban me if u want) as I see it their has been proplams is that y mod always gets called because their one stupid person to be breaking the rules yes. U shouldn't punish the ones are not in the wrong. It should be look at and ban the people that carsing the proplams instead of punishing the wrong ones. Ye I respect mods get disrespected and could call another mod to go in they can have a break ye they don't Desive to get disrespected at all and people just egnour them. I one of the members in guest room and what I see members do try their best to support them and ask them if they need support u cont prove it unless u or heather goes in see for urself so no one can talk unless u seen it yourself some members go in their for support when they not ment to. There been really bad laugue (swearing) and been auguring. No one can go round saying thing about people that are trying to help. Members shouldn't get treated any diffrant to the guests we human too u know and we all have diffrant appins and exprance. (Plus their been times where mod have been saying if members need support to move to members room they say that plenty of times) by punishing people not the way to go now they getting punished by guest room being open. U look at how many mods and times they been in that room loads then look at the how many times they been in members hardly none (bar sessions) how long does it take to get a mod
We have run round the other rooms to find them to tell them it is needed. When people put the form in for emergency and no one come to that room yet then we have to run in other rooms to find them and say look ur needed. One mod I had to get in that room (not saying who) they said in a minute how good is that as a mod not. This website was buzzing and now look at it it gone down hill.
My ideas
Need to be more things for the guests. Like members has like quiz nights (I know they can join as a member but u got to think they might not be ready to join as a member. We got respect that.
And guest come on adults and they ment to be on the teen side and need to be more hoist with us. Their been a few of them.
We cont fault with how much the mods do for us which I find awsame and trying to keep us safe ect .
I don't want any nagive things with what I put and respect what my appion I got
Thanks
@Laura
Please open the room.
@Laura what happened to 24 hours?
I know that there's a deliberate attempt to close down GS because the moderators are not able to handle it well. I know a few mods who does it well because they don't warn the guest but they make them understand. These are the mods we need. There's no pointing in muting people if the system is not efficient enough to stop them from circumventing mutes. Stop muting and be gentle or make the system more efficient.
I am not talking against the mods. I respect them but I have seen some of them showing off their powers. I assume it's some kind of super power. I know a few of them who don't misuse the power (power..lol) but I can't name them on posts. I respect them and admire their patience.
I am not supporting the attacks against mods. But if you are planning to mess with a group of wild tigers, better carry guns with bullets. And current mute system ain't got any bullets.
One last thing and I am serious about this: If moderators are ashamed to enter GS, make me the moderator for GS. I'll show you how to handle the room efficiently. I cannot promise my presence 24/7 but I promise service without complaints.
To the admins and mods who think they have super powers (especially the ones with a 'tone of command' while replying to my posts):
I don't see how mods are elected on 7cups. If you expect people to respect mods, let them elect the mods. Design a reputation system or let the members elect based on their membership period.
I am an elected moderator of one of the Stack Exchange websites. The moderators are not permanent on these sites. The members elected me because they found me efficient. And stack exchange sites are one of the best moderated sites on the Internet. The moderating duty is distributed among the members as well. It is not concentrated within the hands of a group of people.
Make me the mod and Feel the Difference.
I have also seen certain mods being too cool with a few members. Now there's a regular member in GS who comes in only for abusing others. His usernames are similar and he is famous on 7cups. I know that you all are aware of him. I have seen him circumventing the mutes several times and some times he is not muted at all. Now, this is a member and not a guest.
Why blame it on guests? Members are part of it too. So will you now..shut down all the rooms?
@LunchTheSignatureKiwi - Specifically, the problem with Guest Support was a mismatch between the intended purpose of the room (to welcome and support guests, in particular those visiting 7 Cups for the first time) and the way the room was ultimately used, which was very different. We have learned that having a room like this open to guests and members is not the most effective way to support newcomers. If you have any ideas on how we can ensure a welcoming environment for guests, I'd be happy to hear them. In the meantime, regular members from Guest Support can use Member Hangout, which was designed specifically for this purpose.
You've mentioned you would like us to make you a moderator. Moderators are not elected on 7 Cups. Listeners apply to become moderators, they must then meet certain criteria (e.g. being a verified listener, having zero behaviour reports) and go through a training process before receiving the mod badge.
@LunchTheRealKiwi
mods aren't ashamed to enter GS. They don't want to experience the abuse that happened in there and they shouldn't have to. But You mentioned some good suggestions and you should put them in the suggestion box.
Courtesy tag
@Anomalia
Im not sure if this is the appropriate place to put this, but it does have to do with guest support.. Is there any way to enforce the "I am not suicidal" part of the disclaimer when guests first enter? I know they do need help but I am not qualified to help, and it is very triggery for me and others (>
@Figgy50 (pressed post too soon.) it is very triggery for me (and possibly) others who try to help. we can only send them referals and try to get them to call the suicide prevenion hotlines..
@Figgy50
mute them after that.
@Figgy50 - I'm sorry this is triggering for you and others. I would recommend personally muting the member. There is also chat room rule for those refusing to use crisis resources provided, so yes, there is a way for this to be enforced. You can use the emergency form to request a moderator in this situation.
I don't understand why people are saying that potential "guests" may not want to make a member account:-
#1 it takes less than a minute give or take for a first time user
#2 How accurate the info provided is entirely at the users discretion, so the security threat if any is quite negligable...
Regarding the topic of 'Trolls' even if they infiltrate other room/s it's not necessarily a bad thing imo bc:-
#1 They are forced to move into unfamiliar surroundings, this coupled with the dispersion arising from the lockdown will isolate them from their "colleagues"to a large extent , and their unsupportive posts will no longer be presented to an audience of like-minded individuals.
#2 There is a reason they all gravitated to GS , it wasn't a mere coincidence so many 'trolls' ended up as GS regulars , because the general chat in that room sparked their interest & aroused them from which I infer this room was no longer "safe" or "supportive". Hence, making it an especially toxicenvironment for guests to be exposed to rather than regulars who are better equipped at handling trolls by virtue of experience & training.
@mullahMOOLAH another reason is some people do not have emails and are just looking for a quick and easy way to get help fast
@mullahMOOLAH
"
I don't understand why people are saying that potential "guests" may not want to make a member account:-
#1 it takes less than a minute give or take for a first time user
#2 How accurate the info provided is entirely at the users discretion, so the security threat if any is quite negligable..."
This is what we've been saying. Member accounts can be deleted by the user, they can use a false email, it's free, it's anonymous, takes a matter of minutes, they get more access to things, they can give as much or as little information as they want, yet they don't want to make one for some reason.
@Heather
Why have you deleted three posts on this thread?
@rebel11 They were deleted to fit the 7cups narrative of never being a negative place where even critical criticism is accepted.
@ArmoredPersonnelCrusher unaccepted*
@Heather 24 hours ?
@TortueDesBois
To be honest, I fear the worst, Heather has been corralled into the new shop, she's manufacturing mugs etc.
That's quite an onerous task.
