Guest accounts are back

I'm not sure what 'originally' the guests had access to, as they were able to access most of the chatrooms for a while. Currently that is NOT an option.

I'm glad that guests are able to chat 1-1 again!

I do agree with some of the others, making member & guest accounts more distinguishable from one another can be useful.

@Jill7cups I take my hat off for all who try and keep the site safe. I respect your choice to bring it back. I think it can help many people without having to create an account. That being said when this was not here I didn't deal with much abuse from members. I do take vhats very seriously which is why I only take them when I am not busy with other things on the site. That being said I really think we all need to brain storm on how to keep this site more safe because now I'm like ah if I take a chat I could be abused. I use abused because it's a better word. Often I get scared because I do my best to "listen " and yet I get treated badly. It burns you out . We can't keep blocking people just because they in a bad space .we need to show love but we also need to be protected.

From when I look at GRs there are not many guest accounts (square colors with sharp corners see above) as there are member accounts with rounded corners. Maybe this is just a deep breath and let it go.

I also think guest accounts does not help much, its gives a easy access to anyone on the web to honest genuine listeners, and can cause grief to genuine volunteers who are here to help.

Anyway whoever is here for help can't just get help in a moment and be alright with a chat, its a continuous process and involves many things interacting with peers and doing growth paths & all. For it there should be member account requirement. I dont think anybody for a momentary mischief will make an account and create trouble here, but with guest account access it gets very easy and it creates trouble to listeners. Surely whoever needs genuine help will create an account I think so.

From my observations, since the guest accounts are back, the GR list consists of 50% guests (name logo with square corners) v. 50% members (name logo with rounded corners) and I login in about 1 to 2 hours a day.

There are trouble makers among both guests and members. From my 50 to 60 chats during the obersvations:

50% of Guests-- 1) Make sexual advances asking me to sleep with them etc, 2) Graphic sexual harassment including detail descriptions of sex acts, 3) List pre conditions that a listener has to BREAK all 7 cups guidelines including sharing personal information before he/she is willing to chat. 4) Trolls who speaks non sense, using emojis, just type "LOL" or quit mid chat. Treating the conversation as a joke.

30% of Members-- 1) Trolls who create arguments, bully, verbally abusive, condensending, 2) Suicidal but refused to be referred and insist that I have to keep on chatting which I refused but that kind of interaction is stres inducing to say the least. 3) Hypersensitive so whatever you say or not say he/she is going to get offended. 4) Mr. or Miss Know-it-all types who are trying to school the listener of what they think you are doing wrong.

So I think Guests' are more egregious in predatory types of behavior treating 7 cups listeners as preys and 7 cups as a sex chatting site. Some members also tried to flirt but they do it in a more crafty manner.

I got to help some geniue guests and members and they gave me postitive feedbacks during the chat and post chat. So there are geniune, respectful people out there. But guest accounts enable more egregious harrassments for listeners because even when I file a report, those guests keep on showing up on the GR list. Maybe eventually that type of guests will be blocked but who knows. So my conclusion is that I will stop chatting to guest, which is a shame but I am not going to sit here and be harrassed by sexual predators online. I need to take care of myself too!

@Jill7cups I was unable to connect as a guest - with anything I did to try to connect I was just prompted to make an account. Is this a bug or have guests lost chatting capabilities?