10/24/18: Guest Accounts Update
Hello Community!
Throughout the past year, we have taken measures to improve the safety of 7 Cups by requiring email verification for any member or listener to participate in the forums or in the group support rooms.
In an effort to continue to make 7 Cups as safe as possible, we would like to discuss the removal of guest accounts from the site. We have many guests using the site in hurtful and unsupportive ways and moving forward we would like everyone to verify their emails in order to participate in any area of 7 Cups.
We need to tighten this last piece of the puzzle up to ensure the safety of our listeners and members in 1-1 chats. The timeline for this update is TBA. But we wanted to share this update with you now to give you the chance to share feedback.
Thank you!
@Laura @jill7cups @Power @Heather225
@Kate
I believe only having member accounts will keep everyone safe. Some guests have used 7 cups as a fun for all, and as a Listener I think some come here to provoke or mock why we are actually here.
@Kate
"We have many guests using the site in hurtful and unsupportive ways."
"We need to tighten this last piece of the puzzle"
That sums it ALL up. 
While granted, elimininating/removal of Guest accounts is not a 100% cure-all of [specific] problems on 7 Cups, it's a HUGE step in the right direction in making this site the GREAT site it was destined to be. 
- - -
Here's a totally-random l@@k at other sites removing Guest accounts and how that benefits the particular site.
(info provided by one of my lovely bros)
Pertinent excerpt:
Hey Developers,
Some of you may have already noticed that we recently removed
@BeautifulBreeze Interesting to see what other sites are doing too! Thanks for sharing and thanks for your support!
@Kate
Please don't forget that 7Cups is (at least, used to be) a website like no other.
"Purchase items in your games".
Interesting.
i like this update because as long as you don't share personal details with other people and don't reveal your L account from your M account or other way around then it's still always pretty annonymous
@Kate
I feel like a way to deal with this issue could be to make everyone create an account, however provide the option to join a chat as annonymous, so the member would be given a randomly generated username in the each time, so that the member can still feel comfortable remiaing annonymous in chats if they'd like, however we could still track them through their account?
Not sure if this would work but, i thought i'd put it out there
@Kate
If I may suggest, a better alternative would be to mark the kind of account in the general request as they're marked under conversations (with a m and a g).
The listener can then speak with a guest at their own discretion, eliminating the safety issues relating to guest account as there isn't much more they can do besides talk to listeners.
I believe this is a much better solution because having guest accounts is a great asset for this site.
@KatRebane Is that not an option already? I know in the chatrooms one could determine a member account from a guest account when the chatrooms were open to guests. I thought they looked different for 1-1s as well.
@AffyAvo
I got confused for a moment and had to check it out - seems that they're not marked on the GR list after all. I was almost certain that was the case. Wondering why - wouldn't that make sense in the context of this discussion?
@Sealionman I took a look on a listener account. I can determine a difference, but it's subtle. Sharp corners vs. rounded corners. Maybe creating a bigger difference would help. Pointless if guests do lose access soon though.
In the past, guests could only request chats with listeners online. I think it would be easy to end personal requests completely for guests if that's the biggest problem - I'm not sure if it's coming from personal requests, general requests or if they are equal.
@AffyAvo no, taking away the option for guests to initiate a chat with offline listeners is not good. It would limit our ability to refer chats.
We could give listeners the option to be available for guest accounts or not. :)
@kindSoul10
Guests have never been allowed to send offline messages to listeners whose status is orange or red since I've been on the site (July 2016) a guest can pm an offline listener if they have already spoken and started a convo with that listener before so the chat would always remain open until it was blocked by one person. Every since I have been on the site, guest accounts could only pm listeners with a green online status. When you accept a referred chat you should ask the listener who is referring it if you need to turn your status online for the guest or ask if it is a member account
@summertimeSamness yes I know. Unfortunately some people feel safe with guest accounts and some don't. With the option to choose to be available for guests too would help not to be forced to avoid status green for blocking guests. It would also help to hide guest accounts in general request queue.
@KatRebane great idea!
@KatRebane
interesting idea
@Kate
Thanks for the thread, Kate.
I have read all of the replies and it just makes me happy to see that so many people are strongly defending their opinions and all of them regarldess of the site of the topic, think about what is best for all members/guests on the site.
It gives me a sense of stability and safety seeing how many people strive to make sure that 7cups will remain a safe place for its users.
I would like to state a few things on the topic that, to me, are of big importance.
From what I know, member accounts are completely anonymous, too. It is up to the member to keep their confidentiality and anonimity while communicating with people on the site. Should their anonimity be compromised, they could always request for either a name change or a complete account deletion and come back.
Guests are completely anonimous, yes. The accounts are disposable, though, which opens a very large field for all people will malicious intentions to cause harm on the site. Yes, I completely agree that there are guests who genuinely seek support, too and I know a lot would worry about anonimity, price ( some might thing being a member is a paid service ) etc.
Perhaps shooting notifications to all new members with the most frequently asked questions and voiced concerns, would reduce their hesitation ( or even a way to deliver this information prior to members becoming guests ).
I think it is altogether a great improvement towards the safety of the site. I know there is a pinch of negatives about it but I think the positives for sure outweigh them.
And let me point out that 7cups is not a hotline. In case of the issue being urgent and the member needing urgent support, they should be seeking the support of a hotline or the emergerncy services, so the 2 minutes they would spend to create an account would not impact them in any way.
@Ayla If I were to delete my account though and start over that also removes many of the volunteer roles that I do.
@AffyAvo
I agree, that's a very valid concern. It was just an option. I can see that many members are also involved in different projects and would not want to lose their progress.
@Ayla yes, it's a great community where people discuss together how to make it a safe place. :) It makes me happy and I'm glad you feel safer!
I understand where you are coming from and what you say makes sense. I still like to give you something to think about regarding the time and effort argument:
User experience designers are aware of the fact that you can loose a site visitor in a split second, don't mentioning minutes now. Usually sites try to minimize the effort and time it takes for visitors to start doing what they came for in the first place.
@Kate @Laura
So here are a few links that might be helpful in formulating a strategy to deal with trolls:
This BBC article talks about how Twitter used bots to combat trolls, plus other solutions. (Maybe here's a useful outlet for Noni?)
This Forbes article is "10 Tips for Dealing With Trolls". I am a fan of #6 "Use Moderators and Online Tools", but the other suggestions have merit as well.
Here's an article written about a troll who reformed and is now advising how to deal with trolls.
Here's kind of a scary one , "The Subtle Art of Trolling" written by a troller himself.
Hope this helps in some way.
@Laura @kate Worst update ever!! I loved 7cups way back then things were not updated just for "money". You now do not listen to the volunteers and members who are actually running this site, and do what you just wish to do
This is a very much needed solution to an important safety problem. While I know that for some, the thought of removing guest accounts is unsettling for anonymity reasons, it is important to remember that you may request a member username change as needed! I think that guest accounts had a good intention behind them, but I am starting to think that the bad outweighs the good in this situation, since there has been a lot of trolling lately.
That being said, I know that there has also been a lot of trolling and multiple account harassment through member and even listener accounts as well, but I believe that having that email verification is one step closer to making this a safer platform.
I also feel pride about the fact that I can vouch for how safe 7 Cups is, and how hard our admins work to keep it that way!
@AnyaS Name changes still carry all the history with the account. My husband has never used the site, I bet he could easily figure out who I am within an hour of being here.
@AffyAvo
I can agree... There are limitations to the anonymity provided by a name change because coming all your chats and followers badges and feeds etc remain unchanged...I found that out the hard way and regretted it...
@IntrovertedDreamer73409 I removed your double post and fixed the typo.
@AffyAvo
Thanks. :) (My auto-correct is not very friendly today)
@AnyaS
what about the many different groups of people who cannot give their email for real safety reasons or have anxiety about giving out their email there should be some way for people to get help here without having to give an email an aternative way to sign up without having to give an email some other way to have an account and login there are very good reasons why people cannot give an email in many situations it could actually be dangerous for them to do that most abusive situations involve the abuser monitoring outside contact and internet and phone people in domestic violence situations and people in different situations who cannot give an email for very good reasons there should at least be an aternative way to sign up i am all for getting rid of people who spam or want to be abusive to people on here
I don't feel good about this idea at all. Mostly because of the following reasons:-
1. When a chat with a Guest Account goes well. It's through this medium that people actually join the site as members. So I think it will lead to a loss of audience.
2. I think that as a listener when things get too overwhelming, we have that option of seeking support as a guest if we wanted to. This also gave us a chance of observing how someone else listens so as to Improve upon ourselves and helped us feel better. The anonymity of the whole thing was a reason why it was a comfortable option
3. I also feel that as listeners it is important for us to maintain boundaries and protect ourselves from harrassing/trolling chats. I think it was good that we learnt that (because we knew that we could receive such chats, guest account or otherwise.
4. In my personal experience, I have received trolling messages from member accounts as well. So I think even if the guest account is eliminated, someone could easily just have a fake email ID and multiple member accounts. I don't think eliminating guest accounts solves this problem.
@whimsicalHope I agree, I had the frustrating experience of encountering twice the same mysonic person , as he opened a new guest access
@MarcelK are u in favour of eliminating them? That was not my point. I don't think guest accounts should be eliminated, simply coz that does not really stop the possibility of being trolled.
