Chat room

Hi everyone

Thanks for all the comments on this thread - we do understand that people value chatrooms and there is a need for them, which is great to hear.

I'm sorry that we made the change without giving any warning about it - we should have informed users in some way beforehand.

The reason we have made the change is part of wanting to improve the chatroom services we offer as we really felt that having so many people in a room like we were getting wasnt really productive and there were concerns that new users wouldn't be able to be heard. However, we have increased the number to 15 as a result of your feedback.

Our plan is to introduce an afternoon chat session from March 8th, just on Tuesdays and Fridays to begin with, between 2-3pm. Then we can see what the uptake is like. In the next couple of months we also do plan to introduce another evening chat if resources allow, and hopefully to offer themes for these so that some are more 'general' chats and some are for newcomers, affected others. etc. Hopefully this will mean more people can use the service and it will be more focussed around specific needs relating to problem gambling.

You can check out any changes to chat times here on our website as well - www.gamcare.org.uk/chatroom

Thanks

Rebecca

Hi Admin, that is good you have listened to your members and additional chat rooms is great, especially an additional evening chat as I thought the current evening chat was going to be replaced with an alternative chat. Good news. Wcid.

I had to leave chat tonight due to the room being full. 7 what I consider newbies within there first week needing support I could of offered. I'm sure the others left there will help but I might of offered different advice.

The room was flowing well I can keep up on my c**P phone. I can see that a cap has its benefits but Im sure it could cope with another 3-5 space available.

KTF

Hello Oldhamktf

I'm sorry to hear that you had to leave the chat last night. I appreciate that it must have been frustrating not to be able to stay and offer support to those new members. As you're probably aware, currently the limit is 15 people per chatroom, and this is to ensure that the rooms are as productive as possible, especially for new members who may not be as experienced at keeping up 'with the flow' within the rooms.

I'm not sure if you're aware but we now have daytime chats, running 2-3pm Tuesdays and Fridays. You'd be very welcome to join one of these rooms, which tend to be a bit quieter at the moment. Otherwise, you may find it easier to get a place in chatrooms if you join as close as possible to the start time.

All the best

Forum admin

Thanks for the reply admin.

I think you are missing my point I was there early Bang on 8o'clock like most night. I participated in the chat for around half an hour but in that time the room became full so to free up a space I felt it necessary to leave in case someone was in desperate need for help as they have been before and have been convinced that life is still worth living.

That sort of thing lays heavy on me that they came for help and was told "sorry we're full please try later"

As you say you've added afternoon chat which I'm sure is quieter due there being less demand for obvious reasons. Gambling isn't a cheap addiction and the majority of us CG's have gotten quite good at holding a job down to feed the beast.

They was a mention of extending the time available in the evenings which might help an update on that would be appreciated.

KTF

Hello Oldhamktf

I'm sorry that I seem to have missed your point there. It was really good of you to consider the needs of others wanting to use the room and I'm sorry you had to leave in order to do that. I appreciate it's far from ideal to have a cap on the number of chatroom users, and it's really useful to have your feedback on this. I'm aware that as a frequent user of the chatrooms it's frustrating to find that the way in which you can use chats has changed.

Extending the evening chatrooms is something we would love to do, but we are dependent upon resources to be able to offer this. To be able to extend the chats we first need to look at staffing arrangements to ensure that there's enough cover on the helpline. Rest assured it's something we're looking into over the coming months and we'll keep you posted on any developments. I'm sorry we can't offer you more at the moment but I hope you can still find the chats useful in some way. Again, thank you for your feedback, it's really important.

Best wishes

Forum admin

Hi all

Just an announcement to say that from Tuesday 29th March we will be running two chatrooms per night, on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays. These will be held at 7pm and 9pm.

This is in addition to afternoon chats on a Tuesday and Friday at 2pm.

On the other days of the week the chats will continue to run at 8pm.

This is response to user feedback about the need for more chatrooms to run, so we hope you find them useful. We will be monitoring the success of the rooms and may review this in future. Rooms may occasionally be cancelled due to staffing needs on the helpline.

Many thanks,

Rebecca

Thank you for listening I'm sure you will see the need for and it will hopfully spread the congestion.

Oldhamktf wrote:

Thank you for listening I'm sure you will see the need for and it will hopfully spread the congestion.

Seconded. Looking forward to seeing how it works. Tri

Hi everyone

We've noticed that on the evenings when chats are at 7pm and 9pm, the attendance numbers on those evenings have really dropped. As this was something that we thought members wanted it's a bit surprising. We'll obviously give it a bit more time but are there any thoughts about this?

Thanks

Rebecca

Was in the chat room this afternoon on my own.

Hopefully it'll pick up

Hello Triangle/all

We're very sorry that the chatroom did not run this afternoon due to technical problems at our end. I understand it's frustrating that you were unable to access support in that way today. The chatroom will run as normal this evening. As always, if you need support in the mean time please do call the helpline/netline.

Best wishes

Forum admin

Hi every1

Hi all

We are very sorry that the chatroom was cancelled this afternoon. This was due to unforeseen circumstances and unfortunately could not have been avoided. Tonight's chat room will not be affected. If anyone would like support before then please do use our helpline and netline services.

Best wishes

Forum admin

Admin has there been any feedback how the new times are being received?

Are there any changes coming?