February 23: Mod Names Being Added To Warnings
Hello all,
In January @Heather announced this update in this thread.
We are please to say this will go live this morning. Every warning sent in group support will now be sent along with the name of the moderator who sent it. Please check out @Heather's post to learn more about the reasons behind why we are making this change!
Thank you!
I think this is a really positive step in transparency and my hope is that contrary to fears about increased mod hate, it will actually help decrease it when people aren't applying anger to 'mods' as a whole and can report specific actions that are concerning without railing against others.
At the end of the day, my priority is always members feeling safe on this site, and I think this is a good step towards that. :)
people who are very upset say hurtful things. That is one way of escaping the pain. Throw it on someone else. I know this because I can be very hateful. Underneath though, I am afraid, and sad and the hate that I express is really for myself, not the person talking. It is very important to understand that hate is a symptom of pain. Someone happy doesn't hate. Someone is pain does. For example, a woman giving birth may cuss out her husband, but does she mean it? Of course not! And when she no longer hurts, she is not hating him anymore. Hate is an emotion. Only you can decide what emotion you will feel, so even if someone in pain is being hateful, if you say only nice things, you'll have some come around, and some run away because the hate is keeping them from hurting more so they hang on for dear life. Don't take hate personally. If you can't do that, don't be a listener because it is inevitable when you are talking to someone in agony. Very few people have been trained by their therapist to realize that they mustn't beat on the person trying to help, no matter how much they hurt, and hate. Also, letting someone hate can be just the help they need at the moment, so don't push haters away immediately. Letting the hate come out may just be what they need to get to a place where they can be nice. Also, if you're a listener, remind the person spewing hate that you are just a person trying to help and that beating on you is painful for you. You are a person too, and you don't deserve to be beat on. Only therapists, people trained to deal with the hate and not have it affect them should be exposed to unrelenting hate.
I am Very pleased to hear this will go into effect
My personal take on this: It would seem... the only Mods who would be opposed to this, are the ones who Warn members without showing themselves. That violates Site Policy. I don't see any way to justify wanting to Hide
@ChromeLotus
Well said!
@Laura @Heather
THANK YOU!!! I've been an advocate of attaching mod names to warnings for a long time!! Moderating should be a supportive postition and not an abuse of power. When I became a mod 2 years ago, I learned that verbal requests for staying supportive etc. are always the first thing that should be handed out (unless someone is spamming) before a warning. I've also been vented to in 1 on 1 because a lurking mod gave a warning and because they aren't seen in the room, I get the blame.
If you are a moderator, please read the manual and be assured that when you make a 'warning' or 'ban' decision, it's something you will own up to because you did the correct thing!
Can I also add that when two mods are in 1 room, please NEVER disagree with each other in the room. If you feel someone was wrongly warned or banned, PM the other mod to discuss it. We are a team, following the same rules and disagreeing in a group room only lends to the stereotype of good mod/bad mod.
THANKS SO MUCH! 
@AutumnLeigh
I totally agree. From what I've experienced in chats elsewhere online making mods accountable for their actions can be subject to hate but can also make one able to be recognised for all the positive things they do. I've also found that the hate often comes from lack of understanding which can often be cleared up through sorting things out in PMs.
I know there are those rare manipulative people who will seek to have others gang up on a mod to get them into trouble out of spite intentionally pressing buttons and such but in those cases it often becomes obvious because they tend to be repeat offenders in that so will be spotted for it eventually.
I would like to add regarding the worry about mod hate - in the forums we have a rule when you edit a post, you have to attach your name to it and it has actually improved people's satisfaction with the mod team overall. There are times someone disagrees with what happens, but having that transparency lets us address things head on when there are issues and causes a lot less upset than when things are edited / deleted without explanation. I'm hopeful a similar result will happen in group support! :)
@Anomalia
Exactly!
I think this will be a step forward
Very pleased with this!
Awesome. Will directly test this new feature! :)
@Laura
Good uptate! Very happy with it!
@Laura I completely get and respect the whole reason behind this, but sometimes it's difficult if you just join a room and happen to witness a rule or two being broken. Because then, you can't really warn or you'll get called out as a "lurker".
Plus, it just adds even more stress and pressure to our roles, feeling even more monitored and judged for any warnings given, even though they would only be justified, it may put others off issuing warnings.
@xDysonx
I think some of the warnings coming from mods just entering are mis-interpreted. I always go back in the chat after I say 'hello' to see what people are talking about and what the circumstances are behind what they are saying to be sure. Then I politely ask for people to be supportive, not mention names, etc. I believe this should always be done before clicking warning buttons. Some people in group rooms are new and have not read the chat room rules. Sometimes just showing up and saying 'hello' and reminding people of the rules is all that is needed for a situation to correct itself.
@xDysonx
Well, as mods we really have to slow down and assess the situation. We can't just come into a room and give out warnings when we see rules being broken because the people doing them have feelings. They may have been provoked, triggered, called names, etc. In their mind you just warn the victim if you do that, which just leads to more bad feelings which causes them to lash out and then they get muted. Once they're muted they feel bad about how they acted, and it's not a "lesson learned" moment. It just makes them feel bad for feeling how they did. Just something I wanted to throw in there.
@Diandra I often do assess the situation first, and I realise that I cannot just enter a room and warn instantly, but I was more so referring to in a situation in which, for example, someone was blatantly causing offence or breaking the rules in terms of repeated spam and disrespect after being asked multiple times by members.
Even if I join and introduce myself when I notice something like that happening, there is always a high chance of "Oh how convenient timing, lurker" or something like that.
@xDysonx
If someone is breaking the rules when you enter, just saying hi can be enough for them to ease up. I usually give a verbal warning within my greeting to the whole room if this is the case. You know you weren't lurking and you don't give out warnings when you're quiet for long periods of time without verbal warnings, so who cares if they're calling you a lurker? As long as you're doing the right thing, let them think what they like.
I love this update! We want to be transparent here on 7 Cups, we are not trying to make members feel like we are hiding things because we aren't. There are rules that must be followed and if they are not followed, then warnings will be issued. Although many mods are concerned about an increase in mod hate, I agree with those who are saying that this will hopefully decrease the mod hate in the rooms!
From my personal experience, as of now, a lot of the mod hate is stemming from previous situations in which the members were left unhappy with the actions of a mod. They then contiune to direct their anger towards all other listeners with the 'mod' badge, because they happened to fit it into the same category as the other mod. In my opinion, as of right now, the mod hate is not directed to people specifically, but more towards the group of people who are mods.
Hopefully this update will help solve this problem, and as @Anomalia mentionned, ensure that our members feel happy and safe. If a member gets warned, they can now chat with the mod who issued the warning to discuss what happened or get any clarifications about the rules and such, and I think that will be an amazing step in the direction of ending mod hate!
Thank you for this update and to those who are concerned about this, just keep in mind that we are only trying to make 7 Cups better than it already is, and safety is extremely important on here! Just because your name is now attached to the warning, that doesn't make it okay for members to bully or harass you for doing your job. This just increases transparency so if this update turns into a problem, it's reassuring to know that we will always work to improve it and keep this community supportive and safe <3
Thank you!
mmm, this pleases me, not that i group chat.
but you do realize that troublemakers like me will be in your hair until mods learn that they have no privileges over normal members, yos? x3
though i suppose they're already in your hair, just harder to get out =o.o=
*ruffles yr hair!* =^-^=
@bunnypants AHAHAHAHA yes 😂
@bunnypants we know we don't have special privledges over you :) well most do I hope. I think both sides can be as bad as eachother at times
@bunnypants
Has a mod specifically said "I am better than you because I'm a mod"? If so, they should've been reported and then have their mod badge removed. If not and if you're only assuming that every single mod is power hungry and think they're better than you, I think it'd best if you tried to rethink that. You can't tarnish everyone with the same brush.
@SilentSerenityy finally someone says it thanks serenity ❤
