Defending Yourself & the Community from Trolling Behavior - We all have the power!
A troll is a bully. It is someone who has the specific intention of annoying, frustrating, disrupting and hurting you.
If you want to learn more about this internet phenomena, you can google the ?psychology of internet trolls.? I encourage you to read more about this topic & educate yourself. With education, you can better understand how you feel about it and manage your fear.
All websites that are open to the public are subject to trolling attacks and inappropriate behavior. It is something that happens all over the internet.
As many of you are aware, 7 Cups of teaisno different. We have been subject to trolling behavior. It's often ugly, triggering, violent and highly unpleasant. Because it is designed to scare you, it often induces you to react in an impulsive way. But, it's time for all of us to face ourfear and educate ourselves on this topic.
------> We have created a variety of ways for all listeners & members to protect themselves in these situations:
1) Block Button - in 1-1 chats. Use this to block a connection between you and another member or listener. Not everyone is going to get along, if you do not get a long with someone, I encourage you to stop chatting with them.
2) Ban Button - In 1-1 chats. Use this when: someone is being highly offensive, abusive or intending to cause harm.
3) Muting - In group support & listener support, use this button to mute people who are making you feel uncomfortable, triggered, unsafe or are being highly offensive and hurtful.
4) Forum Trolling Built In Protection (if you see it, ignore it, it will be removed asap).
All four of these were created for YOU, our community members to protect you!You all have the power to protect yourself and the community when you encounter this terrible behavior.
It is my distinct purpose in this postto encourage you to not be scared, to face these bullies head on and help remove them from the community as soon as possible.
------> Important note: Never click on any links a troll posts in a 1-1 PM or in the forum. These could be unsafe. Additionally, never provide any of your personal information to anyone!
--------> After you take an action on a troll, check-in with yourself.
1) Self-care
2) Take a break from the site for a few hours if you need to
3) If you're up for it, grab another general and try again
4) Remind yourself: ?This is a bully who cannot hurt me, I am in control of my feelings on this topic and I will keep my boundary strong when it comes to not letting this kind behavior upset me?
5) Go over to your member account and talk to a listener, get support and allow yourself to heal from whatever fear or uncomfortable moment they may have caused.
--------> Let me reiterate, we are safe, you are safe. If you see something, do something about it, be proactive to remove it from the communityand take care of yourself. If you are triggered, leave for some time, we will get it weeded out asap and be ready for you to return when you are able.Our community has your back.
This is our space and we must protect and defend it. You all have the tools. Now, lets defend our territory! #7CupsStrong
Group moderation has been fighting very hard to combat these trolls. Want to thank them, and everyone, for not allowing this to belittle our community.
Y'all beautiful.
Thank you for playing a proactive role here, Ej. We're very lucky to have you as a mod :)
informative and helpful
#7CupsStrong
Question: I have been fortunate enough to have not crossed paths with a troll yet. What exactly do they do? Like what are the signs to watch for??
-Cat
Thanks @LauraS for this post! It is definitely needed. It can be something pretty much frustrating sometimes so it is good for everyone to know how they can deal with it and protect themselves/the community from such attacks.
@LauraSA great and much needed post! Thank you to you and @Heather. And to everyone who has worked so hard to remove the forum posts and the general requests when we're ambushed. It's been a great team effort!
For general requests, the list is being spammed. It's rude, but we won't let it get to us.
Ignore users with the same name who have requests multiple times. Pick up the generals that are unique, these are the people who need us. If the list is full of names that are all the same, just let them pass. They will clear shortly. If you accidently pick one up, no big deal. Do a ban & do not click on anything that comes through!
The few "trolls" that I have encountered ended up having severe emotional problems that they ended up talking about. They can often be seeking help or someone to listen, just in a much more negative and defensive manner. I find that remaining calm, cautiously questioning their actions and reaffirming that you're in control of how they make you feel is usually the best first course of action.
Thank you for posting this. 
Very helpful! 
I actually had my first experience with this today and it made many people really uncomfortable. I was glad to find this post and know that this problem is at least being acknowledged. Thank you
What a brilliant post, was very much needed, like you said if you are safe then we are safe. Let's be more proactive guys and protect our home.
Thank you Laura, this is a brilliant post :)