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The future of Under 16's Chat

The MixThe Mix The Mix HQPosts: 2,594 Staff Team
edited June 2018 in Group Chat Announcements
Hey folks,

This is an important update regarding Under 16's Chat. :)

As most of you will know, we run Under 16's Support Chats every other Saturday, from 6-7:30pm. The idea behind creating this sessions was to give our younger community a more focused space away from the hustle and bustle of the main chat sessions, which can get pretty busy at times.

We've been running these sessions for well over a year. Although they are used, they remain very quiet and the majority of group members tend to be older. So we've been doing some thinking about where we go with Under 16's Chat from here - do we continue with it? Are there things we can change or improve about it to make the space more useful? These are questions we've been pondering.

To give us time to think about these questions and decide where to go next, we're going to be hitting 'pause' on these sessions for now. This break will give us some breathing space to think about how we can best help our younger members integrate with our community and feel supported.

Part of this process will involve asking you guys what you think of the sessions - what you like about them, what you don't like, and any ideas you have for making them better. If you have some feedback or new ideas, great! Hold on to them and don't forget them - we'll be asking for your help soon.

Tl;dr: we won't be running Under 16's chats for a while, while we decide how best to more forward with them. We're expecting more concrete plans over the coming weeks and months and we'll be sure to update everyone with what we decide. :)

Any questions, just drop us a PM or reply to this thread. :+1:

Aife & Mike
We're @Mike, @Connor, @Emma_, @Italia and @Ed_ - the staff team here at The Mix. We don't provide support via this account, but if you have any questions about the boards or need a hand finding your way around, feel free to drop us a message. Alternatively, you can head over to the Help Desk.

Our response time to PMs might be a little slower than usual, please bear with us (:

Comments

  • DancerDancer Posts: 4,844 The Mix Elder
    I like the chats as I have a shorter wait and I am sad when I have a 2 day gap between chats
    It's Christmas time. There's no need to be afraid. At Christmas time we let in light and we banish shade. And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy. Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time.
  • AidanAidan Clever idiot Posts: 2,821 Boards Guru
    I've never used under 16 chat, but I can understand why younger people may find it harder to discuss their problems with those who are more mature and find support chat difficult. But as attendance is falling, maybe it would be better to put those resources toward other methods of support instead.
    "Do, or do not, there is no try" <(•.•)>              
    fadedangel
  • LaineLaine Wise One Gone for gooPosts: 2,648 Boards Champion
    I myself have never used under 16s chat personally but if it's seeming a little empty maybe you can get the younger board users opinions and advice on the matter,  ask the current users what they like about it and what could be Improved.

    If people find support chat difficult and find this one more quiet as Aidan said then maybe it would be better to tweak say the age gap a little to under 18s or 20s ect. 

    Or change the chat name to something else.

    It would be a good idea to get a poll going and contact the regular users so they have a say in the matter :)

    🌈Positive thoughts🌈

    "This is my family. I found it, all on my own.
    It's little, and Broken, but still good. Yeah. Still good." ~ Stitch

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    And in time I'll be fine. ~ The 1975

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    Dancerfadedangel
  • The MixThe Mix The Mix HQPosts: 2,594 Staff Team
    Thanks for your input, folks. This is awesome. We'll be collecting your feedback in a more structured way soon, so it's awesome to hear you have stuff to share. We'll definitely be taking this on board. :)

    Mike
    We're @Mike, @Connor, @Emma_, @Italia and @Ed_ - the staff team here at The Mix. We don't provide support via this account, but if you have any questions about the boards or need a hand finding your way around, feel free to drop us a message. Alternatively, you can head over to the Help Desk.

    Our response time to PMs might be a little slower than usual, please bear with us (:
  • independent_independent_ Resident Coffee Addict ScotlandPosts: 5,596 Part of The Furniture
    I personally find these chats really helpful, as a 15 year old (almost 16 though so the age thing won’t apply for long). I find the early Saturday evening time a quieter one and therefore have been able to get support here (support chat is often really busy I find).

    I like the suggestion above about maybe raising the age slightly, maybe to 18 or even 19 (and leaving the lower age where it is at 11).

    If I could think of any promotion ideas, I would share - but my mind is blank lol!
    “Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them.”
    LaineDancer
  • The MixThe Mix The Mix HQPosts: 2,594 Staff Team
    independent_ said:
    I personally find these chats really helpful, as a 15 year old (almost 16 though so the age thing won’t apply for long). I find the early Saturday evening time a quieter one and therefore have been able to get support here (support chat is often really busy I find).

    I like the suggestion above about maybe raising the age slightly, maybe to 18 or even 19 (and leaving the lower age where it is at 11).

    If I could think of any promotion ideas, I would share - but my mind is blank lol!
    Thanks @independent_. :) Apologies we didn't acknowledge this when you posted, but hopefully those thoughts were scooped up in the big chat review (and if not, we did see this at the time anyway!).

    UPDATE: We're still working through the feedback you all gave us to decide what we're going to do with these sessions. It's taking a bit longer than we'd like, but we're hoping to have something concrete soon. :) We'll post an update here with anything new.

    Mike & the team
    We're @Mike, @Connor, @Emma_, @Italia and @Ed_ - the staff team here at The Mix. We don't provide support via this account, but if you have any questions about the boards or need a hand finding your way around, feel free to drop us a message. Alternatively, you can head over to the Help Desk.

    Our response time to PMs might be a little slower than usual, please bear with us (:
  • The MixThe Mix The Mix HQPosts: 2,594 Staff Team
    Final update: we have a rough plan of how we want to resurrect these sessions. It's still in development so we don't want to share it with anyone yet, so keep an eye out for a formal announcement over the coming months. :)

    Thanks again for the feedback, everyone!

    Mike & the team
    We're @Mike, @Connor, @Emma_, @Italia and @Ed_ - the staff team here at The Mix. We don't provide support via this account, but if you have any questions about the boards or need a hand finding your way around, feel free to drop us a message. Alternatively, you can head over to the Help Desk.

    Our response time to PMs might be a little slower than usual, please bear with us (:
    independent_
  • AbigailAbigail Carer/musician Posts: 685 Incredible Poster
    The Mix said:
    Final update: we have a rough plan of how we want to resurrect these sessions. It's still in development so we don't want to share it with anyone yet, so keep an eye out for a formal announcement over the coming months. :)

    Thanks again for the feedback, everyone!

    Mike & the team
    Sounding promising, to getting back to annoy Jane :P Lol it will be benificialy for the younger lot. (Such a shame I am close to 18 then 16 now) 
    Some people think I am unhappy. I'm not. I just approach silence in the world that never stops talking.
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