March 7: Age Categories!
Hello all!
I am excited to make this announcement! You all have been asking for MANY months... for better age identifiers!
We are excited to announce that by the end of this week, this will become a reality.
The age categories will be:
- Teen (under 18)
- 18 - 35
- Above 35
The updates you can expect:
1) A group support chat room for 35+ community members
2) On browse listeners the ability to search by age. You will be able to search for a listener by one of the age categories listed above. You will be listed within a specific category depending on the DOB you entered on 7 Cups when you signed up!
This is a suggestion box success! Big thank you to everyone who has left a suggestion! Keep them coming! We are excited about this!
cc @Anomalia @heather @iara @krinkthemellowunicorn
UPDATE:
If you are a listener, and you would like to not be included in the age categories, please just fill out this form to opt out.
Those who submit, will have their ages nulled and not be part of the age sorting update. We hope to accomodate everyone by providing this option.
Thank you!
If I am understanding correctly there are going to be age categories to select a listener I think that would be fantastic I remember chatting with several listeners and when they felt uncomfortable they would simply hang up or not respond I felt humiliated if I could choose the age of The Listener closest to where I am they could relate better if this is the new changes coming I welcome it congratulations
UPDATED UPDATE:
After further discussion with @laura and @devTeam we think we have a solution that will satisfy as many people as possible:
1. Laura will post a form where people who do not wish to show up in browse listener results filtered by age range can say so.
2. We will opt those users out of the search
3. Then we'll add the filter so that people who want to look for listeners in age ranges can do so and people who don't wish to be found this way can also have their needs met.
How does this sound to all?
@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn After reading this I saw that the staff for 7 cups truly cares about all of the users. Thanks for all that everyone on this site does.❤️
@NoGenderRoles - glad we found a happy medium!
@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn Beyond great! As always, thanks for all the contemplation and consideration you and the entire 7 Cups team put into the thoughtful decisions that are enacted on the site. I sighed earlier, not bemoaning a presumed tragic death of the idea, but just as a measure of impatient patience, Ya'll always git r done!
@ladylazarus1971 - i almost gave up but then we figured it out :)
@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn Works for me. However, I wonder if there's a way to make it part of the settings page so that instead of bombarding you with forms, it's more like a checkbox that automatically changes the coding to null. This way, new listeners could have the choice right there and not have to dig around the forums for a form link or to even know they can opt out.
@YouCanHas - yes, i believe we can do this
UPDATE
@Krinkthemellowunicorn & I have been working to figure out the best way to accomodate everyone.
If you are a listener, and you would like to not be included in the age categories, please fill out this form.
Those who submit, will have their ages nulled and not be part of the age sorting update. We hope to accomodate everyone by providing this option.
Thank you!
@Laura
It may be useful to include this in the first post of the thread too so that the form won't be lost in too many replies.
@cristiana33 - good idea. I will update it!
@Laura @Anomalia
Teeny little observation on the form - it says "Personal perference" and not "Personal preference". :)
Also can these be checkboxes rather than radio buttons (ie more than one reason)?
And finally thank you to everyone who came up with a viable workaround for those of us who prefer not to have our ages (or age ranges) publicly accessible by any means. :)
@soothingpurrr
Form updated!!
My eyes don't see typos sometimes... forgive me? :)
@Laura that's what kitty eyes are for ;)
About the age issue, I really wish the "adult" caterogory would be more evenly divided, cause a single 21 year old listener might not understand the problems of a married 30+. :/ Just my feelings.
@anonyLake4298 - thanks! we'll try to get as much input as we can. We can always adjust the age ranges. This is just a first try.
CLARIFICATIONS / FAQ
What is the rationale for this? - This came from the suggestion box and forums, where MANY members and listeners have been requesting the ability to filter on age or have a space for older members/listeners to gather. While we firmly believe that your age does not impact your ability to be a good listener, nor do you need to have any particular experience to be supportive and helpful for someone going through something, many members feel more comfortable when they can connect to someone closer to their age. Additionally, some younger members may wish to get a perspective from someone a bit older, or vice versa, depending on what they are coming to talk about. No one will be limited in who they can talk to, but for those who are seeking a particular type of listener, they will have a bit more flexibility to search for one.
How did you decide on 35+ as the split point? - There were suggestions varying in what age range was preferred, from having several options by decade, to having 30+ or 50+, etc. Ultimately, the decision was made to begin with just one additional age range because the majority of listeners still sit within the 18-34 group and we didn't want to make any one group too small. While there's no 'perfect' place to make the split, 35 seemed to sit fairly close to what the majority of people requested. With time, if there is demand, these distinctions could be changed or more could be added, but we will begin with the 35+ as a starting point.
Won't this just segregate the community? - This change will not segregate listeners by age. Adults of any age can still mingle on the site all the same ways as usual (aside from access to the > 35 chat room), and that the selection of listeners by age is optional. In other words, people from the 18-34 group will still be able to chat with people from the 35+ group and vice versa. This merely adds one additional way to search for listeners, just like being able to search for listeners in a particular country does not limit you to speaking only with those in your country.
Am I now limited in which Group Support rooms I can be in? - This will not be locked to anyone, but is meant to be a space where those who are 35+ can meet and support each other if they are interested. They will still be welcome in all other rooms!
What if I have confidentiality concerns and don't want my age shared? - No birthdate information will be shared. Age ranges will not even appear on profiles. The only place this will be used is if you browse listeners for a particular age group, your results will filter to those folks. If you click on a profile you saw in the forums, group support, etc., there will be no information showing which age group they were in.
Can I opt out of this? - For those who do not feel comfortable being listed in an age specific browse listeners search, you can fill out this form to have your age set to NULL and not appear in those searches.
What if my birthdate is wrong on my account? - If your birthdate is incorrect and you need it adjusted, you can submit a support ticket here.
Can we search by gender, too? - This is another request that is often submitted to the suggestion box. Gender is a more complicated piece, both because there are many gender identities and because revealing gender may open people up to increased harassment. There are also many reasons, however, why someone may want to speak with someone of a particular gender, for comfort, for a particular perspective, etc. We will continue to discuss how to make this possible eventually in a way that allows for the flexibility requested by those who want this, while protecting all members and listeners, allowing opt outs for those not comfortable, and being inclusive. So this will not be happening now, but it's still very much in consideration, once all the nuances can be worked out.
Tagging in some people who may not have seen the latest updates and/or expressed concerns: @anonylake4298 @LadyLazarus1971 @CyanPlatypus6370 @SoulSings @Cristiana33 @Scribblez @Moj @SoothingPurrr @LilyListens @Azak @ProfessorExMachina @KatherineKitten @YouCanHas
@Anomalia Loving you so much right now for this very forthright clarification, and all the time and effort you have placed into making this change a reality. Can't say thank you enough for your tenacity, support, and wisdom!
@ladylazarus1971 - *blushes* awww, thanks! Krink and the Dev team did the heavy lifting, I just pester away until I get an answer. :)
@Anomalia:
don't under ester-
mate the power of pester-
ing
@ladylazarus1971
+1 thanks Anomlia!
Thank you @Anomalia for tagging me to this FAQ update. Very useful.
@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn the form idea sounds alright. It's a start for sure and hopefully we will soon see if it's a step forward for things to be better in terms of support or not. However, I do not see those options from the form very good. I would be curious to see an explanation not just options. I'm really curious how many listeners will opt to stay out of this and why. 'Personal preference' doesn't say anything to me.
@cristiana33 - thank you for the feedback. I'm not sure I understand what changes you'd like to see in the form?
@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn
Hey! What I meant above is that I personally would have seen the form structured better with 'text box' where people can actually motivate why they don't want their username put in the search.
Putting such general options as 'personal preferance' and 'age doesn't matter' we won't be able to really find out why people aren't interested to include themselves in this initiative to improve the system. Hope I made myself better understood this time :)
@cristiana33 - While I agree that you can get more information from free text, often it's more useful to have standardized information so that you can look at quantitative, rather than qualitative, data. Being able to see, for instance, that a bulk of the concern comes from those who are worried about confidential information being shared, rather than from those who simply feel it shouldn't be important to a member could help inform future decisions, as well, whereas having to read through every comment to try to glean a summary understanding may not actually be as helpful.
@Anomalia - good points, too!
@cristiana33 - ah, I understand, thanks.
I think the critical thing is that we let people opt-out.
I think it's cool that @Laura provided a way to say why and I agree if there was an "other" with a blank to fill in that could be even better.
@Laura This is a great development! Thanks to you and the rest of the 7cups team. Good job!
I have a lot of gray hair amd I earned everyone one of them
I think the experience that come with age gives us knowledge and perspective
and I have no problem telling anyone who asks my age
listeners like wine get better with age
(or turn sour - pm me and decide)
Can you also please add a category for women who've gone through menopause, or perimenopause (as listeners) who can help women currently in perimenopause. No offense, but I keep getting connected to 20 yr old guys and having to disconnect because they don't get the whole mood swings and hot flashes, meaning of life stuff.
I feel like some sort of age matching thing would be good at least in some ways because i know at least for me it's easier for me to help someone close to my age