I couldn’t have said it better myself.
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Blimey, well that was a hell of a shock. I come back from a 2 day break from social media and find the whole of FTT is gone. Poof.
Well, I guess the main thing I’d like to say is thank you @Lhx. You provided a space for discussion independent from the control of any single company and, I think, permitted and facilitated very free discussion - I don’t recognise the iron-fisted moderation described by some in this thread (and incidentally I also don’t recognise the overt Starling-fanboyism either; I think the objections to the pinned article were more about format and it coming across as an opinion of the community as opposed to one individual). As a personal project that you financed yourself with no advertising or donations, I understand that this must’ve been draining and I appreciate the time that it was around for. Some in this thread have kind of belittled it based on how small of a community it had become, but actually I found it close knit and generally welcoming and friendly. Just because it was small doesn’t mean it wasn’t valuable to those who frequented it.
I think it’s a shame it vanished so suddenly, and the rapid descent from what I believe was largely justified critique regarding the distinction between editorial content and community discussion to the plug being pulled entirely was unexpected for me, but I guess that’s indicative of the toll this whole thing was taking on Liam. And of course the personal attacks he describes that went on behind closed doors are deplorable and none of us regulars over there had any idea some individuals were being so vicious. No one deserves abuse like that, and especially not when they’re dedicating their time and money to provide a free-to-use social space online. Shameful.
And I agree with @N26throwaway, sometimes the slower pace of things over there was actually quite relaxing when things were a bit too fast-moving over here. Equally, when things got a bit barren over there, I enjoyed coming over to join in the discussion here - so the choice of dynamic was something I appreciated.
Oh well, not sure I thought I’d ever say this, but thank god for the Monzo forum!
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And the topic is back, at least temporarily, in a happy place
Let us hope it stays that way
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It took bloody ages on mobile 
But it’s the least I can do. I genuinely appreciated that place and the discussions I had, people I met and things I learnt there.
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I’m disappointed in myself for having not already said this in one of my posts on here, but very much this.
Thank you @Lhx!
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That feels a good place to leave this discussion.
I’m going to close the topic now. Let me explain why.
The Monzo Community has a code of conduct that precludes personal (or ad hominem) attacks. While the general tone of this topic has been reasonably calm, some of the language - either directly or by implication - isn’t. For that reason I’m also removing a long post by a formerly active forum member which contained certain allegations about another formerly active member.
Let me be clear: I’m not passing judgement either way. Nor am I somehow taking sides or trying to remove individuals’ freedom of speech. But the simple fact is that this isn’t allowed here.
I know that some of you will disagree with that. And that’s fine. And there will be some who will consider this an example of the Coral Crew overstepping. For the record, I don’t think that’s right. I’ve thought long and hard - and consulted others - before taking this decision, but it’s mine alone. I will ask @AlanDoe or @cookywook to review and - if they disagree with me - to open the topic and restore the removed post.
Thank you for reading. In the circumstances I thought a longer explanation than usual would be helpful.
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