Slack became a public messaging platform this morning with the wider rollout of a new cross-organizational direct messaging feature, and now it’s already taking steps to mitigate the dangers of operating such a platform without well-thought-out moderation protections.
Slack says in response to concerns the feature could be used to send abusive messages or harassment with relative ease, it’s now disabling the option to send a message alongside an invite. That way, if someone knows your email address, they can’t spam your inbox with potentially abusive messages.
“We are taking immediate steps to prevent this kind of abuse, beginning today with the removal of the ability to customize a message when a user invites someone to Slack Connect DMs,” Jonathan Prince, Slack’s VP of communications and policy. “We made a mistake in this initial roll-out that is inconsistent with our goals for the product and the typical experience of Slack Connect usage.”
Twitter employee Menotti Minutillo first highlighted the potential loophole left open by Slack Connect DMs. The feature, which Slack envisioned as a way for people across different organizations to connect, didn’t give individuals an easy way to opt out. Making matters worse, Slack forwarded the invites and any accompanying message using its [email protected] address, which meant you couldn’t filter the messages through your email client without blocking important notifications from Slack and your organization.
