Automated moderation

Automated Moderation

The Companion Moderation System is designed to enhance user safety and foster a respectful environment within a Discord server. This comprehensive system employs a range of features to prevent manipulation, protect against age exploit attacks, and ensure compliance with Discord's strict Terms of Service (TOS), which forbids any user under 13 from accessing the platform. Violating this policy results in a permanent ban, making it essential to implement safeguards that prevent malicious abuse and maintain the integrity and trustworthiness of the community.

Key Features

Anti-Raid

The program is like a vigilant guardian for Discord servers, always on the lookout for any signs of trouble. When a group of users tries to flood a channel with spam or inappropriate messages - often referred to as a raid - this bot springs into action.

First and foremost, it keeps an eye on every message sent in the server. If someone uses offensive language or shares vulgar content, the bot can quickly identify it and take action right away. This means that harmful messages don't linger in the chat, helping to maintain a respectful environment.

One of its clever features is called "slow mode." Imagine if everyone in a busy room started talking at once; it would be chaos! The bot senses when too many people are typing simultaneously and automatically slows down how quickly messages can be sent. This makes it much harder for raiders to overwhelm the chat with spammy posts.

The bot also conducts regular security checks behind the scenes. It examines server settings and user roles to ensure everything is secure and that only trusted members have special permissions. This way, potential vulnerabilities are addressed before they can be exploited.

If someone tries to impersonate an important member of the community - like pretending to be the server owner - the bot has built-in mechanisms to detect this kind of trickery. It acts quickly, ensuring that impersonators are dealt with before they can cause any harm or confusion.

Another important role of this program is filtering out scam links. It actively scans messages for known malicious URLs and removes them immediately if detected. This helps protect users from falling victim to phishing attempts or other online scams.

Additionally, every action taken by the bot is carefully logged, creating a record of events that administrators can review later. This transparency allows moderators to understand what happened during any incidents and helps them make informed decisions moving forward.

By observing user behavior over time, the program can also spot unusual patterns that might indicate an impending raid or coordinated attack on the server. If something feels off, it's ready to respond proactively.

Impersonation Detection

The Impersonation Detection and Moderation System is crucial for maintaining the integrity and safety of our Discord server. It identifies attempts to impersonate the server owner, preventing confusion among members and protecting the community from trust exploitation.

How It Works

1. Detection: The system actively monitors messages for signs of impersonation, analyzing content to identify attempts to mimic the server owner's identity.

2. Immediate Response: Upon detecting potential impersonation, a clear notification is sent to the server, advising members not to engage with the impersonator.

3. Actions Taken:

   • The impersonating user's message is deleted to prevent further confusion.
   • The impersonator is removed from the server to maintain community safety.

4. User Awareness: Notifications provide transparency by detailing the incident, helping to reinforce trust in the moderation process.

Importance of the System

• Community Safety: Prevents scams and harmful interactions that can arise from misrepresentations of authority.
• Trust and Integrity: Maintains clear lines of authority, fostering a trustworthy community atmosphere.
• Proactive Moderation: Demonstrates a commitment to creating a safe and enjoyable environment for all users.

Automated Channel Slowdown Moderation Methodology

The Automated Channel Slowdown Moderation Methodology enhances server management on Discord by dynamically adjusting the message sending rate (slowmode) for all channels. This methodology operates based on the total number of users present on the server and anticipates user activity within each channel.

Functionality

• Automatic and Universal Slowmode Adjustment: Continuously monitors user activity in real-time and applies a slowdown rate universally across all channels on the server as needed. Each channel can have its own tailored slowdown rate to ensure an optimal messaging environment.

• Advanced Measurement Capabilities: The process assesses and determines the appropriate slowdown level for each channel. This careful measurement allows for adjustments that align with the specific activity patterns of each channel.

• Rapid Response to High Message Volume: If the number of messages exceeds the expected volume, the methodology implements a significantly higher slowdown. This adjustment serves as a defensive measure, quickly regaining control of the channel and helping to restore a manageable environment for users.

• Anti-Raid Mechanism: Acts as a safeguard against potential raids—situations where a large influx of users can overwhelm channels. By regulating the message rate across all channels, the methodology helps maintain order, allowing moderators to effectively manage disruptions.

Use Cases

• High-Traffic Channels: In channels experiencing a high message volume, the methodology can automatically lower the message sending limit to ensure users can engage without being overwhelmed.

• Server Growth Management: As servers expand, this methodology facilitates seamless adjustments to channel settings, ensuring a smooth user experience during peak activity periods.

This automated moderation methodology is essential for sustaining order across all channels, enhancing user engagement, and safeguarding the community from disruptive behaviors.

Age Exploit Detection

This feature is designed to identify and mitigate the risks associated with messages that consist solely of numbers or lack sufficient context, which can leave users vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation.

For example, consider a situation where a user is asked a seemingly harmless question like, "How many sides does an octagon have?" If the user responds with just the number "8," it may appear innocent at first. However, because this response lacks additional context or explanation, it becomes susceptible to misuse.

Here’s how the exploitation process typically unfolds:

1. Initial Interaction: An attacker (User A) engages in conversation with another user (User B) and asks a simple question that encourages a straightforward answer. The question appears harmless, allowing User B to respond without suspicion.

2. Vulnerable Response: User B replies with just the number "8." While this answer seems appropriate to the original question, its lack of context makes it easy for the attacker to exploit later.

3. Manipulation Phase: After receiving the response, User A can wait a moment to create distance from the original question, which helps avoid raising any immediate suspicion. User A then edits their original question to something potentially harmful, such as "How old are you?" This alteration transforms the original innocent interaction into a misleading scenario.

4. Misleading Evidence: With this edited question, it now appears as though User B has responded to a question about their age with "8." This gives the false impression that User B is claiming to be 8 years old, violating Discord's strict policies regarding age restrictions.

5. Reporting Consequences: User A takes a screenshot of the conversation, which shows both the original innocent response and the edited question. They then report User B to Discord for allegedly breaching the age policy. Given Discord's zero-tolerance approach to users under 13 years old, this misleading evidence can lead to serious consequences for User B.

6. Enforcement Action: If moderators review the report and find it convincing based on the altered conversation, they may ban User B without giving them the chance to explain or defend themselves against these false accusations.

This feature is essential to prevent malicious abuse and protect vulnerable members of the community. By identifying messages that are contextually lacking or consist solely of numbers, the system helps safeguard users from manipulation, ensuring a safer environment on the platform.

Message Deletion and Wrapping

When a message is deemed vulnerable, it is deleted and replaced with a wrapped version showing both the original and modified content. This maintains transparency in moderation actions and ensures users understand the context of the change.

Leet Code Filtering

The leet code filter is a vital mechanism designed to identify and notify moderators of disguised age-related inquiries that attackers may phrase in unconventional ways to evade detection by moderation systems. Leet speak, often known as "leet" or "1337," utilizes alternative characters, numbers, and symbols to replace standard letters. For example, a seemingly innocuous question like "How old are you?" might be altered to "h0w 01d r u," effectively obscuring its true intent.

The primary aim of this filtering system is to protect users, especially those aged 13 to 18, from potential grooming and exploitation. Malicious actors may attempt to manipulate conversations by rephrasing age-related questions to avoid detection, posing a significant risk to younger users. By recognizing these variations, the leet code filter can effectively prevent potential exploitation and help maintain compliance with international laws regarding child and minor protection.

The filter scans messages for common leet speak substitutions and variations, detecting numbers used in place of letters (e.g., "0" for "o," "1" for "l," "3" for "e," etc.) and other unconventional character substitutions. It assesses the context of the message to determine whether it contains potential inquiries about age. By evaluating patterns and combinations of characters that suggest a question about age, the system can identify disguised inquiries.

When a message is flagged as a potential age-related inquiry, moderators are alerted, allowing them to review the context and take appropriate action. This may include issuing a warning in the channel or conducting further investigation into the user’s activity. Such measures ensure adherence to Discord's Terms of Service (TOS) and international regulations designed to protect minors from exploitation.

The leet code filter plays a crucial role in maintaining a safe environment for all users. By intercepting disguised inquiries and notifying moderators, the bot actively promotes user safety and reinforces community standards against grooming and exploitation.

Heuristic Vulgarity Filters

Heuristic vulgarity filters analyze message content for patterns indicating inappropriate or offensive language. By proactively removing such content, the system helps maintain a respectful atmosphere for all users.

Scam and Auto-Filter Checks

The system checks for known scam links and uses an auto-filter to detect harmful or inappropriate content. Messages matching these entries are automatically deleted to uphold server integrity and protect users.

Developer Commands

Developers can utilize special commands to manage bot permissions and the request queue:

• %CheckBot: Verifies whether the bot has permission to respond in a specific channel.
• %PurgeRequests: Clears pending moderation requests when necessary.

Response Management

The bot efficiently processes messages that trigger moderation actions, ensuring quick responses to potential threats. Messages requiring action are systematically queued and handled, helping to maintain a secure environment in line with Discord's TOS and protecting the community from exploitation.