SaveOurBank.coop is a popular website. Many people visit and comment. Unfortunately this means we also attract lots of spam - most of it posted by 'bots' that scan the net looking for places to post spam. Comments on SaveOurBank.coop have always been open. We have reduced the spam by having a CAPTCHA (which requires the user to decipher some wobbly characters and type them in to prove they are human).

Without CAPTCHA we would be massively overwhlemed but even with CAPTCHA we are now dealing with hundreds of spam posts every day. It's wasted time. It also means that comments you post don't appear until we get round to moderating and approving the posts.

So, following some experiments, we're introducing a new way of interacting with SaveOurBank.coop:

  • In order to post comments, you need to register on the site and log in. When you post, the username you have chosen will be shown against your post. This can be anything you choose - an alias for example.
  • You will need to give us an email address to register. This is used to send you a confirmation email with a link to activate your account. We promise not to share your email address with anyone.
  • When you register for the first time, you will be asked to prove you are human. This involves completing a trivial "game". You only need do it once. We have to do this otherwise we will be overwhelmed by bogus registrations. If you have any problems with this, please let us know
  • Requiring users to log in to post comments will allow us to change the Open Forum to allow threading: you can post an article and other people can then comment on it. This is much better than the free-for-all on the Open Forum to date. This new functionality will be available soon. We're hoping to attract some good articles.

We hope you like the new arrangement.

Save Our Bank team

Comments

I have taken a lot of stick from friends and relatives by sticking with the Cooperative Bank.  I love my Smile accounts and they absolutely meet my banking needs.  I can live with not having interest on the current accounts; I can just about live with no dividend, although this does feel like a compromise for mutual membership.  Now we are asked to accept big bonuses for senior managers - a step too far in my view.  What do we do next (apart from moving to another bank, and if so, which?).  I feel really let down today, but maybe I have been naive to expect better.

While the news about executive pay concerns many Save Our Bank supporters, it is about the Co-operative Group and not the Co-operative Bank - see our post here

Similarly, before he resigned today (11 March) Euan Sutherland was not Chief Executive of the bank. Niall Booker the bank CEO is still in place and expected to stay there.