diff --git a/backend/README.md b/backend/README.md
index 45d16d68..863090f7 100644
--- a/backend/README.md
+++ b/backend/README.md
@@ -11,10 +11,12 @@ Example contents of a `.env` file for the backend:
 ```
 DATABASE_URI="postgresql://<username>:<password>@<host>/<database_name>"
 BACKEND_CORS_ORIGINS=["http://localhost", "http://localhost:4200", "http://localhost:3000", "http://localhost:8080", "https://localhost", "https://localhost:4200", "https://localhost:3000", "https://localhost:8080", "http://dev.oasst.laion.ai", "https://stag.oasst.laion.ai", "https://oasst.laion.ai"]
-
+REDIS_HOST=localhost
+REDIS_PORT=6379
 ```
 
 ## Running the REST Server locally for development
 
 Have a look into the main `README.md` file for more information on how to set up
-the backend for development.
+the backend for development. Use the scripts within the
+scripts/backend-development folder to run the BE API locally.
diff --git a/oasst-shared/oasst_shared/schemas/protocol.py b/oasst-shared/oasst_shared/schemas/protocol.py
index 83375d8f..e035d387 100644
--- a/oasst-shared/oasst_shared/schemas/protocol.py
+++ b/oasst-shared/oasst_shared/schemas/protocol.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ from uuid import UUID, uuid4
 
 import pydantic
 from oasst_shared.exceptions import OasstErrorCode
-from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, conint, conlist, constr
 
 
 class TaskRequestType(str, enum.Enum):
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ class TextReplyToMessage(Interaction):
     type: Literal["text_reply_to_message"] = "text_reply_to_message"
     message_id: str
     user_message_id: str
-    text: str
+    text: constr(min_length=1, strip_whitespace=True)
 
 
 class MessageRating(Interaction):
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ class MessageRating(Interaction):
 
     type: Literal["message_rating"] = "message_rating"
     message_id: str
-    rating: int
+    rating: conint(gt=0)
 
 
 class MessageRanking(Interaction):
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ class MessageRanking(Interaction):
 
     type: Literal["message_ranking"] = "message_ranking"
     message_id: str
-    ranking: list[int]
+    ranking: conlist(item_type=int, min_items=1)
 
 
 AnyInteraction = Union[