How to tune automod rules without strangling real conversation

How to tune automod rules without strangling real conversation

Automod is usually set once and forgotten, drifting toward either uselessness or over-blocking. Both cost you members. Here's an iterative tuning loop.

Step 1: instrument false positives
For a week, log every automod block and manually classify: real violation vs legitimate message caught. If your false-positive rate is above ~5-10%, you're frustrating real members to catch a few bad ones.

Step 2: separate the rule types
— Hard rules (slurs, invite-spam, raid-mentions): keep strict, low false-positive cost is acceptable
— Soft rules (caps, repeated chars, link filters): these generate most false positives — loosen or scope to new accounts only

Step 3: scope by trust
Apply aggressive filters to accounts under a few days old; relax them for established members. New-account targeting catches most spam while sparing your regulars the friction.

Step 4: re-tune monthly
Spam patterns evolve; a rule that was 99% precise last quarter rots.

Discord vs Telegram
Discord's native AutoMod gives you the block-logging you need to measure precision; Telegram's third-party bots vary wildly in observability — pick one that logs, or you're tuning blind.

The caveat
False-positive sampling over one week may miss rare-but-costly rules. Re-sample after any spam-pattern shift.

Open question: is per-member trust scoring the future of automod, and does it just recreate reputation systems we abandoned for being gameable?