I have a bit of a concern 💙
Hey everyone 💜 I hope your all doing alright (:
I’ve been thinking about making this post for a long while now. It’s about a concern I have, about the forums/communities.
I have noticed that people can access the forums without having a member/listener account. It looks like anyone can easily browse the forums and see all kinds of information… and I thought this would be unsafe 😞 because anyone, literally anyone can access the forums without an account. Even though they can’t participate/make their own posts, they can still have access to everything in the forums. Even people’s diary forums… vents… and so on.
I understand it might help new members get a better idea of what the forums are like. They can have a look at different communities without having to make an account yet. But we could easily show images of what the communities look like 💙 instead of just… what we have right now. I thought that might be safer for our current members, but it would still be helpful for new users who just want to know what the forums are like.
Of course, this is just my opinion 💜 and you’re free to disagree. I’d love to hear what everyone thinks as well (:
Take care everyone 💙 and stay safe.
🌙 Ni 🌸
@amiableBunny4016 @mytwistedsoul @Bunnylovesyou 💜
@Sunisshiningandsoareyou 💙
@LoveMyMoonflowers Someone had brought this to my attention a while back. It didn't really bother me at first and then there was trouble with someone here and it was realized that they could bookmark any page they wanted and check it whenever they felt like it. They could copy and paste anything they liked and I would never know it. It's supposed to be anonymous for safety but yet anyone can have access to everything and then be able to post it wherever they feel like 😐
@mytwistedsoul
Yes, that’s sadly true 😞 I really hope they’ll look into this and fix it 💙 it’s to keep the users safe.
Tagging @Jon7cups 💙 I hope you’ll consider the suggestion I’ve made here.
@LoveMyMoonflowers
Aww yes, I think some other users mentioned similar concerns recently, specially after the update that allows people to visit threads on our profiles directly, without any hassle or specifically trying to find some thread by us etc. It was genuinely sad when some of them expressed they may not use forums in the same capacity with the increasing threats to their safety and anonymity. :(
Makes sense how the "openness" in the forums can feel really unsafe and a threat to anonymity and comfort of sharing things people usually are vulnerable about. Very valid concerns, Niibuddy! ❤
You mentioned journals and diary threads too and it's where my mind went straight to also, when I was reading this post. I think those are the areas/ forums with users being the most vulnerable and "themself".
I wonder if a temporary something or a "good place to start" with could be to sort of "lock" certain forum (sub) communities or topics within (sub) communities and make them accessible only on a member/ listener account in 7 cups!
Yay for mentioning Jon7cups too, in the replies, hopefully there's some way out of this, to promote an extra sense of safety and comfort in forumland for everyone!
@Sunisshiningandsoareyou
Hehe thank you Sun buddy 🥺💙 Me agrees with everything you’ve written here 🌈 I think the ‘lock’ idea is awesome 🐾 Even if there was a sort of ‘time limit’ for people browsing the forums without an account - that might help a little too 💜 at first.
I hope forum-land can be safer as well 💕 We really need to keep our users safe here. I think ‘locking’ or keeping the forums as a feature for people with accounts only 💙 would be good (: hehe.
@LoveMyMoonflowers
Aww yay I'm happy you think so too, Niibuddy. Setting time limits sound good too. Yay we have already came up with some cool suggestions, I think xD hopefully there's more and something awesome gets implemented for everyone soon.💖
Thankiees for starting this discussion and voicing your concerns, Niibuddy, it's a scary thing to do, ain't it? But heyyy, you've now become a voice of many more people who relate too and that calls for something. Everyone's allowed to share their concerns and offer feedback/ suggestions, yesss! *comfy hugssss* I'm so proud of you!💖
@Sunisshiningandsoareyou
*hugggss you tight* 💕
@LoveMyMoonflowers
I agree wholeheartedly, this seems very very dangerous
@Bunnylovesyou
sending hugs if okay 💜
Forums have always been public (or at least non-badge locked ones). They used to be searchable via Google but that was removed years ago. Some of the chatrooms used to be public as well, I think those are account only now.
I have suggested making diaries and journals account access only. Since it's a separate community and not just a topic that would be easier to do compared to when I first asked
Not sure if they would do so for all the forums. That would make the social media sharing option useless I think.
@AffyAvo
I see :0 I didn’t know about the forums being searchable then 💙 but I’m glad they removed it. I agree with you in that it would be good if they made the diary forum account access only. 💜
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! :3
@LoveMyMoonflowers I actually liked the Google search in terms of finding things, but yes, completely understandable that people were uncomfortable with it! A benefit was more people were aware the forums were public because of that (although not everyone).
I see that as one of the potential benefits of making a community like Journals and Diaries private - the contrast. When there's a private area that anyone with an account has access to we can contrast that for everyone. If there's 1 area that's private and needs an account and that is highlighted - by default what can be assumed about most of the other forums? The biggest problem I see right now with this issue - forums being public takes too many people by surprise. It's not purposely hidden but it's also not immediately obvious.
Might be a good place to note for those unaware TOZ - requires a teen account or an ATL listener account.
Thank you for this post. Many behind the community support you and have been raising concerns about this for years.
It is not obvious that forums are publicly available to members or listeners.
We should at minimum be allowed the autonomy to edit and delete our own posts.
@wontwakewontsleep I know it's not the same as editing and deleting yourself, but there's this form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSePF0i2FXJndT8X0SlZAzqaTawHaBvc_H8yUGeoH4chbm5tPg/viewform
@AffyAvo
ouh thank you for sharing that form! (:
@AffyAvo - It is far from the same. Thank you for sharing, I know you mean well. People need more autonomy.
@CheeryMango you should be tagged into this conversation.
@AffyAvo
thank you for tagging them! 💜
@LoveMyMoonflowers
Hi Nii
You might explain succinctly your concern in the Forum Functionality Thread.
This is a place where people can call attention to issues with the Forums.
The technical team and the Communities team review regularly this thread and the issue gets "officially" recorded.
They might give you an answer to your concern, and if they agree that there is a problem, the issue enters the queue of things to be fixed.
This is the Forum Functionality Thread:
https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/Siteupdatesandchanges_2007/ForumFunctionalityProvideFeedbackHere_274852/?p=16
You might read previous posts to see how it works. Also, bookmark it to tell there about issues you might encounter in the future.
I hope this helps.
Marcelo.
@HealingTalk
hey marcelo! thank you so much for this link 💜 I really appreciate that! (: sending lots of love your way! 💙
@LoveMyMoonflowers
You are welcome, Nii!
Lots of love to you! 💜 💜 💜
@LoveMyMoonflowers Thank you for letting me know that this site is not as safe as I thought it was. I am deactivating my account now. Wishing you all continued courage, strength and growth in your journeys. 💕
@niceSea1350
awwe i’m so sorry to see you go (': i hope your alright. sending best of wishes your way! 💛