Update, Wednesday, 2:45 p.m. ET:
Well, that was fast. Shortly after the new feature was announced, Slack said it would immediately remove the ability to include custom messages with out-of-workplace invites out of concerns that the feature could leave users open to abuse and harassment. Jonathan Prince, Slack’s VP of communications and policy, sent Fast Company the following statement:
“After rolling out Slack Connect DMs this morning, we received valuable feedback from our users about how email invitations to use the feature could potentially be used to send abusive or harassing 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. Slack Connect’s security features and robust administrative controls are a core part of its value both for individual users and their organizations. We made a mistake in this initial roll-out that is inconsistent …