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Tell us your chat ideas
Former Member
Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
This thread is to share ONLY PROACTIVE suggestions and ideas about chat to help us make sure we are meeting your needs and creating a supportive space.
Have a go at answering these if you need some help getting started:
Chat feels good when...
My idea for a positive change would be...
Some ideas we are thinking about already include - more support circles (smaller chats for small groups), capping numbers in regular support chat :chin:
If you have gripes or need to vent about chat please get in touch with myself or James via PM.
Any negative comments will be deleted from this thread - we want to hear about your bright ideas here :yes:
Have a go at answering these if you need some help getting started:
Chat feels good when...
My idea for a positive change would be...
Some ideas we are thinking about already include - more support circles (smaller chats for small groups), capping numbers in regular support chat :chin:
If you have gripes or need to vent about chat please get in touch with myself or James via PM.
Any negative comments will be deleted from this thread - we want to hear about your bright ideas here :yes:
0
Comments
I don't think that capping numbers in support chat is a good idea, I get where you're coming from with It though. I'm assuming it will be a first come first serve basis, meaning that if people do have work or something, or can't get home in time to come to chat as soon as it opens they won't be able to get support that they need as it's always the same people that are first in chat, which then means there will always be that people that need support that aren't actually able to access the chats when it could really benefit them to be there. I don't know if that counts as a negative comment or not, apologies if it does.
More support circle chats is a good idea, they tend to be more focused on actual support and more controlled which is really helpful at times.
:edited because wording was super bad the first time
I always go straight to GC when it opens, but does SC calm down at all once GC opens, and if so would it be better to have them running completely at the same time?
Not at all, that's a really valid point Hiccup!
Even so, it could potentially be a good idea having them running both at exactly the same time. I guess it'll save things being taken from SC and carried on straight into GC after.
I was pretty iffy about the idea when I first saw the comment about it, but after thinking about it, it might actually be for the best
Completely agree with hiccup capping numbers is probably the worse thing to do as I know I often come in half way due to other commitments and like hiccup I'd fear being unable to enter due to the chat being full. I think perhaps you could do shorter support chats? But two in one night? So currently it's 1h30mins so you could do 45 mins? Nd encourage people to go to one or the other? This way it may give others an opportunity to use chat.... However at the same time one may be way more busy than the other and people are likely to not use it like this as people join half way through etc. Anyway there are my ideas, not sure if they make sense but hopefully something can be done!
I was thinking something like this. It can also be quite difficult to arrive halfway through chat when there are conversations going and try and get support. I don't know how it'd actually work though, people would probably just all go to both? In an ideal world with infinite mods maybe 2 SC rooms at once might work, but I know that isn't practical in terms of mod numbers.
That is all.
What ella said.
Also to add, I think it's important to remember that it's about all helping each other, and yeah if people have issues with each other in chat, mute them.
Like ella said, the mods, and also the volunteers give up a lot of their free time to help us, and keep these services up and running, I guess it comes down to just being a nice human and being respectful.
Aye, I like this.
Wasn't this a thing when the whole new chat came in and they tried it out with the Wednesday chat along with the opening round and closing round? I think I remember the mods having an option to put the chat on a break, so nobody can talk, which I agree will come in handy when things are getting heated, but I don't see the point in it if chat is running calmly and all is going okay.
TheSite is a constantly changing and evolving place.
One thing I'd like to see stay through any changes is some kind of general chat, peer to peer support is invaluable - but sometimes a distraction and something lighter is just as valuable.
*nods*
And at the same time accepting that there is a place for more light hearted chat in support chat. Sometimes the conversation has turned lighter, everyone gets a bit cheered up but then someone comes along and says something along the lines of 'i thought this was support chat' as if just because there are separate rooms, support chat has to be all doom and gloom all of the time.
Sometimes this is part of the issue though, especially when general chat is on. I'm not saying there's an issue with having a general natter in support chat, but when people are trying to reach out for help and they get ignored or their comment gets missed because of all the general chat, that's when it becomes an issue.
I totally agree about the stuck in a rut bit and have been wracking my brains trying to think of a positive spin on it. I think when we're feeling low it can be very easy to slip into some sort of 'same old' routine. I've definitely been there, rocking up to support chat on every night it's available in the hope that it would improve my mood. But truth is its not a sustainable thing.
Chat can't be all things to all people every night. And people get disappointed that perhaps on this occasion they didn't get as much 'air time' --> disappointed --> frustrated --> still feeling crap --> potential arguments.
I'm sorry this isn't a positive suggestion as such, I guess for me potential solutions involve breaking the habit above, and also what Ella said about just respecting the service and the people behind it.
We obviously got GC for a reason though right, it was even bought up in support chat by a mod the other day that if they wanted to chat more generally, to go to general chat instead of focusing on it in support chat when we could be focusing on helping people who need it
I think the point of GC originally was to provide a space where people could chat without the chance of being triggered, as opposed to removing the general from SC. I guess now we have the two equally that's probably changed though, so fair point.
I think there either needs to be more of the support circles or 2 different SC's going on. I'm a regular but even so I still get lost amongst a rabble of discussions and disagreements and don't have much choice other than to leave or offer support. The new ones that join in find it really intimidating when it feels like everyone knows each other. More attention needs to be turned to other people newbies and quieter regulars otherwise it's very hard to be heard. Typing quickly and having bold font can only get you so far when everyone is ignoring it and arguing over something.
Completely agree with this. I'm the first person to hold my hands up and say that I have, at times, relied far too heavy on live chat. But over time I realised that actually, if I want to move forward in life then I need to do so myself. People can offer support and help but they can't make IT better. I know that a lot of it comes down to confidence; you can be honest and outgoing on social media, so maybe it's worth looking at ways to boost self confidence and self motivation in expert chats, for outside chat.
I'm not for one moment saying that we shouldn't be discussing our problems, but something I've felt for a while is that TheSite is becoming too support heavy, both in chat and on the boards. And that's fine, but I don't think attempts of general chat should be diminished- if anything it should be encouraged. Often the most random stuff can improve someone's mood (like James' nine incher), whereas I don't think dwelling on life throwing shit at us is healthy.
I also think that the way support is offered should be more varied. Obviously that will depend on the people involved and what we know about them. Instead of focusing on what is so wrong, how about asking "what can we do for you?" "what can you do for yourself?" "what do you want/need to happen?". I know that's easier said than done, but if support chat is to stay the negativity needs to lessen because it's not healthy for anyone. No one wants chat to end on a downer, where users are annoyed with each other (and potentially take than annoyance onto social media) or where moderators are worried about someone or pissed off because their time and efforts have been thrown back in their faces. Again.