What are your thoughts on group chat?

Shaunie · June 2019

The Mix said:

Shaunie said:

So youre allowed to say youre uncomfortable. But not allowed to tell them to stop? Is that right?(users

Generally speaking, yep. If the mods are aware that people are uncomfortable, they can decide whether to allow/disallow whatever the conversation is. Modding is best left to the mods.

That's not to say people can't decide not to talk about a certain thing if it's upsetting somebody. If what they're saying is within guidelines, they can still decide to stop talking about it if they want to do that.

Mike & the team

Thanks. I agree. Answered why came to this thread

Jellyelephant · June 2019

I think there should be a rule about chat users acting like moderators.

The Mix · June 2019

Jellyelephant said:

I think there should be a rule about chat users acting like moderators.

This is a good point @Jellyelephant. It's been an unwritten rule for a while, but it should be on the guidelines page (looks like we added to the boards ones but not chat).

Good spot.

Mike & the team

The Mix · July 2019

Hey everyone,

Blimey, it's been a while since we updated that and said there would be 'more to come'. Still, better late than never eh.

Here are some recent changes, some based on feedback from you guys:

We made the decision to get rid of moderator avatars

This is to give moderators a little more individuality and character, and to avoid the mod team coming across as a uniform or higher ranked group of people. They're members of the group like everyone else (with a few extra responsibilities) and we want their image to reflect that.

We added backseat modding to the guidelines (see italics)

How do I stay safe in group chat?

All group chats are moderated by a mixture of paid staff and volunteer mods.

Their role is to oversee the group and to make sure that everyone is sticking to the guidelines so the chat remains a safe and welcoming space. Moderators are trained in offering emotional support, listening, signposting (sharing links to resources online) and managing the group. They are not expert advisers and cannot provide 1-2-1 support.

We ask that you avoid sharing any personal contact details in the chat room such as your email address, phone number or social media. It’s okay to share photos of yourself or your pets if you’re comfortable with that, but please don’t share photos of anybody else. Don’t forget that once you post something online, there's no way to stop somebody saving it.

Stepping into the role of a moderator when you're not one is generally not appreciated - it creates friction between community members and it makes the moderator's job more difficult. If you see something that needs mod input, it's okay to give supportive suggestions, but it usually doesn't go well when someone tries to diffuse an argument or enforce the guidelines when they're not a moderator.

Backseat modding has been against boards guidelines for quite a while, but we didn't add it to the chat guidelines when we made that change. It's always been discouraged in group chat but it's now more clearly against guidelines, and something we may consider breaks for if it's a persistent issue.

Confidentiality information was added to the guidelines

Will mods share what I say in group chat with anyone else?

The general rule is 'what's said in group chat stays in group chat'.

If we believe your life is at immediate risk, we may inform emergency services to make sure you're safe. The moderator will tell you if we decide to do this, and we will only do so if we believe your life is at risk. This is extremely rare. You can read more about this in our confidentiality policy.

This information has been in the confidentiality policy for a while, but wasn't explicitly talked about in the group chat guidelines. In the interests of being as transparent as possible with you guys (particularly newcomers who don't know how things work), we decided to include it.

Username guidelines have been clarified (see italics)

How do I choose a username?

You will be automatically logged in as a guest on your first visit, but you can also create an account. If you have an account on the discussion boards, you might want to use the same name to help the community get to know you. Try and stick to the same username once you’ve picked one. It avoids confusion and helps you to settle in and build relationships with the group.You're welcome to use a name that shows how you feel.

If you choose a name like that, depending on what it is, a moderator may ask you to add a different name in brackets. This is just to make sure other members have something they're comfortable calling you by. In extreme cases, you may also be asked to change it completely (e.g. if it uses triggering language) but this is rare.

It was already fairly established that moderators can ask someone to change their username if they felt it appropriate, but it wasn't written anywhere so we decided to add it. Similarly to the backseat modding update, this a move towards making things as clear as possible and away from having unwritten rules or things that are just part of chat culture.

We're working with the moderation team around their input

We've had conversations with you folks on the boards about the role of moderators - that they're not expert advisors or there primarily to give support. But it's important that we also have those conversations with moderators, because we can lose sight of that too.

When we're all reminded of the purpose of group chat and the way it's designed to work, we hopefully have the best chance of everything working well.

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You can use these URL shortcuts any time to give us feedback:

If you need to vent: bit.ly/GroupChatVent

To give more more detailed feedback: bit.ly/GroupChatDetailed

We'll keep beavering away behind the scenes to make sure group chat is the best it can be.