December 9: Read only Guest Support
Hello all!
As many of you have been following, in this thread, we annonced the closure of the Guest Support room. We are excited to announce that we now have a read-only feature for guests! Any guest who wants in the room will be prompted to create a 7 Cups member account.
Note: The member community is now a read only guest room. The subtext "member / guest" indicates that guests can read the content of the room.
As @Heather explained in this thread:
"We do not wish to completely exclude guests from the rooms and are currently planning a feature that will allow guests to view the conversation in rooms. They will need a member account to actively participate (much like how the forum works), but will still be able to see what is going on and follow support sessions. Many websites do request that users sign up for accounts to use various features. On 7 Cups we do not ask you to provide personal details (e.g. your real name) in order to create an account, so it is absolutely possible to do so and still remain anonymous. Additionally, guests are still able to seek support in 1-1 chats and use the free growth path without an account. "
Over the next few days and weeks, we will continue to experiment with this udpate. This will mean chancing the room names & working with all of you to figure out how to best use the feature. Please follow this thread for updates!
@Laura if they have to make an account then they aren't a guest.
@peachSail9831
You don't have to make an account by any means, as the features of the growth path and connecting 1-on-1 are totally accessible :) You will still be able to view the rooms, just not being able to speak. This is to ensure moderating will be easy :)
@Emily619 then it shouldn't be called guest chat. It is misleading.
@peachSail9831
It's been deleted so no worries! :)
Sounds great! Is this on the Teen side as well? :)
No one comes here to just read what other people are saying lol. They're gonna want to be able to chat. I don't see the point in this other than teasing and taunting.
@Phthalo - I believe the idea is that a ) they can attend discussions that take place in member rooms on topics they are interested in and b ) they can see what they would be signing up for prior to doing it since often a part of not wanting to sign up is not knowing what you're getting into and if it's something you're even interested in. It's by no means a perfect solution, but it's a step.
@Anomalia
thats perfectly explained.
@Anomalia
yeah, its actually a good idea, it helps the guest to know how messed up/empty the rooms can be. :)
I'm not comfortable with a bunch of ppl looming in the shadows, and reading everything I type. I realize the Chats aren't private... but right now we can see who's watching on the participating List. Even a group of ppl don't appreciate there conversation being eavesdroped on 😮
@ChromeLotus I agree. Now it will be like we are being spied on and a show for people to watch. I will no longer go to anyroom that is open to the world to watch for entertainment. It's way to easy for someone to get information on a member and then make a fake account just to harass. If people are going to be able to watch there should be a list that shows the voyeurs. I am very uneasy knowing anyone can just see what everyone is saying and be hiding at the same time.
@Want2StayHappy
Before this, anyone could lurk in the chat room and potentially make an account to harass someone. I don't see why this change is any different.
@SilentSerenityy
I'm glad you don't have a problem with this. But as a member it makes me hesitant to share knowing its now open to just anyone who wants to watch before they had to atleast want to be a member. There should be a "who's here list" acitve or inactive. The lurking without being seen its upsetting as well. If it was just like it was before why change it?
@ChromeLotus hey! I don't disagree with you that it's uncomfortable when people ghost watch the chat rooms. What I would like to point out is that that is already a thing that happens. People can lurk now without being seen as "currently participating"
Members discuss sensitive and personal issues in the Chat Rooms. This will be like attending a group Therapy session, with a bunch of onlookers standing behind a one way mirror 😮
@ChromeLotus and in the meantime, the guests' only help comes from volunteers (who may not be able to help) [Edited for unconstructive criticism by SilentSerenityy]. Apologies for the tone but i want to speak my mind here! Am I not allowed even that?
Update: The following rooms have been made read only for guests:
Anxiety Support, Compassion Corner, Depression Community Room, Disability Support, Family Support, Healthy Living, LGTBQ+, Member comunity, member hangout, Mindfulness, school & college support & share your story!
@Laura I would recommend adding DS2 as well so that guests can view at least some of the depression support guided discussions, unless some are going to switch to DCR.
@Laura Personally I'd feel more comfortable if guests could only access a couple of rooms (like member community or something) at all times and could access other rooms only when there's a guided discussion going on.
@Laura o~o That's a great plan!
I am honestly disappointed to hear about this change. When I first started using 7 Cups, participating in chat rooms, as a guest, showed me that I was truly welcomed and accepted. If I was limited to just reading the interactions of other people, I would have felt as of I still wouldn't be accepted. I want guests to have the same chance I had, but the read only option now in place prevents guests from experiencing the feeling of being embraced before joining.
@AnxiousAceFromOuterSpace
I think it might be a necessary trade off of limiting the number of random people posting false information about 7cups saying it's a scam or making complaints about something they don't fully understand yet before it's been explained to them through the account creation process when they read the terms of service etc. We definitely don't want a random person coming to group chat saying something like, "Why don't you all suck it up and be adults?" (as if any amount of self care means weakness which is totally far from the truth) because that would be very disruptive to the welcoming feeling of accepting new members and they may mistake the statements as being views of 7cups or attitudes of listeners.
@CoinFountain
In my total time on 7 Cups, 2 years, I have never seen this issue. Maybe I was lucky or maybe very few do such things but I can see how that could be a problem. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. However, I still feel as if this was not a wise decision.
@AnxiousAceFromOuterSpace I'm realy glad you've never experienced this in your time here. Unfortunately it happens all to often, and I believe the admins and leadership here are trying to figure out the best way to keep this a safe place for all that spend time here at 7cups. At times it means trying things through trial and error...even if we may not see it as the solution to what is going on, it may perhaps be...or it may be a stepping stone to the solution. 
Spot on!
@CoinFountain
I think that this is an interesting way to try to control the situations. Of course no solution is perfect, but I do really like that a solution is being searched for.
I really hope that this works and I'm very much looking forward to future updates!
I'm glad to see this issue being addressed. I will say, I'm curious to see how it goes. I sincerely hope that people will continue to take part in the group support rooms, and feel comfortable still talking with others, despite others in there "observing".
Like I said in a reply post further up at times when looking for solutions, it means trying things through trial and error...even if some may not see it as the solution to what is going on first off, it may perhaps be...or it may be the stepping stone needed to the end result of a solution.
Thanks for those working to resolve these issues in the group support rooms...I appreciate the dedication you have in creating a safe space for us to interact with one another. 
