Updates on our Community šŸ¤

Monzo Chat
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Hey everyone :waving_hand:

Itā€™s been a while since Iā€™ve posted but Iā€™m a long time reader, lurking in the topics digesting all your constructive feedback and suggestions! @AlanDoe and I are going to be the dream team to help improve the community forum and make it even more rewarding for you and Monzo.

Weā€™ve been making some changes to our forum you may have noticed already, and I wanted to make sure youā€™re all in the loop and understand why. Weā€™re working to improve things, continue keeping you all safe, and make sure weā€™re following all the rules (like the Online Safety Act and GDPR).

Weā€™ve removed direct messages (DMs) and private groups :open_book:

We want to keep things open and transparent, so weā€™re focusing on public conversations. You can still contact us privately by flagging a post and choosing ā€œSomething elseā€ for now.

Keeping an eye on language :face_with_symbols_on_mouth:

Weā€™ve updated the list of words we monitor to help keep the community safe and welcoming. Some words might need approval before posting, and others wonā€™t be allowed. Weā€™ll keep working on this to find the right balance.

Weā€™re checking everyoneā€™s age :no_one_under_eighteen:

Weā€™ll be asking everyone to confirm theyā€™re over 18. If youā€™re under 18, weā€™ll unfortunately have to remove you from the forum. This is to make sure weā€™re following our terms, as our forum isnā€™t for children.

Updated Community Code of Conduct :straight_ruler:

This explains how we expect everyone to behave and what weā€™ll do if the code isnā€™t followed.

Updated Terms of Service :page_facing_up:

Weā€™ve made our terms more descriptive, explaining more about what the forum is for, whatā€™s not allowed, how to complain, and what you can expect from us.

Updated Privacy Policy :locked_with_key:

Weā€™ve included the age confirmation we mentioned above, as well as explaining the information Monzo collects and why.

Weā€™ll keep an eye on how these changes go and weā€™re always open to your feedback. Weā€™ll also keep you updated on any other improvements we make.

Weā€™re really investing in our community to make it a safe and inclusive space for everyone. Thanks for being a part of it!

19 Likes
6

Can we set up our own group chat for people to chat off this forum?

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This will have been implemented just to cover them as part of the phased rollout, today was the deadline for them to have completed their initial access assessment - think they then have until July of this year to conduct a risk assessment and put a more robust system in place

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Joys of the online safety act

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The DMs were a problem for certain users to provoke others, so I welcome this though do feel it couldā€™ve gone to an accept or decline style messaging service instead of just allowing the messages to come through unwarranted.

The age thing is fine but itā€™s real easy to just lie about the drop down.

Having to be 18+ but then banning all toxic language is counter productive but I guess the forum is open for external visitors to read; unless you just change that to members only.

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Discourse doesnā€™t have that feature so can see why its had to be shut off completely, but I agree - maybe its something they introduce following the act, Monzo wont be the only business effected by the changes luckily

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reminds me of this classic onion article

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Overall, itā€™s been updated to sound less conversational and more legal - like removing the fact it says we could suggest changes that could be made to it:

Summary of Key Points:

  • Eligibility and Use: Users must be at least 18 years old and use the forum for personal, non-commercial purposes.

  • Content Responsibility: Users are fully responsible for the content they post and must ensure it doesnā€™t harm others or break any laws.

  • Privacy: Users should avoid posting personally identifiable information.

  • Code of Conduct: The forum promotes inclusivity and has zero tolerance for abuse, harassment, or discrimination.

  • Enforcement: Violations can lead to warnings, suspensions, or permanent bans.

  • Reporting: Users can report content that breaches guidelines using the flag feature.

  • Illegal Content: Monzo uses automated systems to detect and minimize illegal content, including terrorism-related material and child exploitation.

  • Complaints: Users can report or complain about content they believe is illegal or breaches the terms.

Whatā€™s New or Changed:

  • Automated Moderation: Introduction of automated systems to detect and manage illegal content, including specific actions like blocking, requiring approval, or flagging content.

  • Expanded List of Offenses: Detailed enumeration of content that amounts to an offense, such as hate speech, harassment, and fraud.

  • User Rights: Clarification that users have the right to bring a claim against Monzo if their content is restricted or if they are suspended or banned in a way that breaches the terms.

  • Complaint Handling: Enhanced procedures for dealing with reported content and complaints, including confidentiality assurances and swift action.

*with a little help of chatgpt

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This doesnā€™t really make sense.

Take away words that are in kids books and donā€™t let us message each other, makes it sound like you want this place to be safe for under 7s so that I canā€™t DM them and say words I shouldnā€™t or offer them sweets.

If youā€™re going to make it 18+, then why the extra work? And what are you worried about me saying to someone else? In the spirit of open-ness, you want me to say what Iā€™ve said via DM to someone else? This wasnā€™t deemed necessary when people sent abuse, so why now? Are you worried that thereā€™s going to be a coo?

And yet nothing about the moderation, the duplicates, the trolling, the flagging etc.

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Probably done incase Monzo need to retain certain user information, I donā€™t know how far their regulations as a bank and user retention extends

Or.. simply just down to moderation (people deleting accounts to avoid a ban)

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Remember that the OSA doesnā€™t just deal with under 18s - it includes vulnerable adults, too.

Otherwise, I agree with the general observations here from fellow forum members.

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Does anonymisation comply with GDPR though? I was under the impression the right to be forgotten meant all information held had to be deleted, including logs which Monzo may hold hence anonymising wouldnā€™t work?

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:cow_face:

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Are we sure that the new code of conduct isnā€™t a bit copy pasta?

What we should do when called out is ā€œListen without interruptionā€

I get that that is a good thing irl, but how does it apply here. How do we interrupt someone when they are typing?

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Hi @AdamLittle @AlanDoe

Could I please request that my account be deleted

Itā€™s not particularly due to the changes just feels like a good time to do it, due to personal reasons. But not sure how I would do it without the DMs?

Thanks

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Discord is horrible for privacy, I would never discuss anything other than cow stickers there. A Matrix or Signal group (with phone number privacy) is a much saner choice.

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@AlanDoe Iā€™m sorry I got a notification from you but it appears to have disappeared as I clicked off it to ponder, could you reach out again

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I work for a company that specialises in forum development and community management and this feels a bit bizarre, it does feel like this has raised more questions than itā€™s answered.

I assume the word filters still being in effect even with the 18+ check is because the forum can be browsed as a guest. Would also assume the responsibility to protect visitors only applies if the user is registered and not just browsing. But Iā€™m not aware of the online safety bill requiring sites to be locked down to the point that nobody can ever say a rude word, more that there are methods to report such content and moderation processes in place to have it removed.

All forum software has DM functionally too, as do platforms like Twitter and Facebook - are we saying they would have to be removed everywhere if the purpose is to protect users?

At this point there would be no point in a forum existing.

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find me there as ninja_giraffe. To clear up any confusion about imposters :sweat_smile:

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