How the discords.ai bot works

You keep forgetting to bump, or you would rather not be pinged about it at all. This presses the button for you once the cooldown has passed, including overnight.

1. 1

   Read the cooldown card at the top before you touch anything.

   It says when the listing was last bumped and when the next one is due. The cooldown shown is your plan's, unless the card says your plan could not be checked just now: then it is the longest any plan has, and yours may be shorter.

   Last bumped

   2 hours ago

   Your plan allows

   one every 30 minutes on Gold

2. 2

   Tick "Bump this listing automatically".

   Look for Bump this listing automatically

   There is no separate save button; it saves as you tick it. If the save is refused the switch goes back where it was, because a switch that stays where you left it after a refused save is a lie about the state of the listing.

3. 3

   Come back later and check Recent bumps at the bottom.

   Look for Recent bumps

   The switch on its own proves nothing. This list is the only place that shows it has actually done anything. Each bump says who made it: Auto Bump, You, or Someone else, which includes the listing's owner when a co-manager is looking.

   Auto Bump

   12 minutes ago

   Auto Bump

   1 hour ago

   Someone else

   2 days ago

Checked every hour, on the hour, so the first automatic bump lands within an hour of the cooldown ending rather than the moment it does.

Raid bots blast every channel they can write to without reading any of them. A channel with a sign saying do not post here catches exactly the thing that does not read, and almost nothing else.

1. 1

   Pick a trap channel, a trap role, or both.

   Look for Pick a trap channel

   A good trap channel is one no member has a reason to post in. A good trap role is one sitting in a role picker with a name no real member would choose: automation grabs every role it can, a person reads the name first.

   Pick a trap channel

   Somewhere nobody should post

   Pick a trap role

   Optional. The channel works on its own

2. 2

   Choose what happens to whoever is caught.

   Look for What happens to whoever is caught

   Ban removes them and stops them returning, which is what you want for raid bots. Kick lets them rejoin. Time out silences them for a day and leaves them there for staff to look at.

   Ban

   Removes them and stops them returning

   Kick

   Removes them but lets them rejoin

   Time out

   Silences them for a day

3. 3

   Leave it in report-only and watch for a few days.

   Look for Report only, do not actually remove anybody

   This is the whole point of setting it up this way round. In report-only it tells you what it would have caught and removes nobody, so you find out whether your trap catches a real member before it catches one.

4. 4

   Read What it has seen before you let it act.

   Look for What it has seen

   If the list is all bots, switch report-only off. If a real member is in there, fix the trap rather than the setting.

5. 5

   Switch report-only off and turn it on.

   Look for Run a honeypot on this server

The trap channel is read every minute, which is the fastest anything in this bot runs. For a raid that is the same outcome as instant: a bot that posts in forty channels is caught on the next pass.

You want a gate between joining and speaking. A raid is bought accounts, and bought accounts are new, so turning away anything under a few days old costs you almost nothing and costs a raid everything.

1. 1

   Choose what members do.

   Look for What members do

   Press a button is one press and they are in, which stops anything that cannot handle an interaction. Answer a question stops anything that has not read your rules, which is a higher bar and a slightly higher nuisance.

   Press a button

   One press and they are in

   Answer a question

   They have to type an accepted answer

2. 2

   Under Who gets in, pick the role they get and how old an account has to be.

   Look for Who gets in

   Roles taken away at the same time is for an unverified role, if you use one. The age is read from the account's own id, so it costs no request and cannot be faked.

   Role they get

   One of your server's roles

   Roles taken away at the same time

   For an unverified role, if you use one

   Turn away accounts younger than (days)

   0 lets everybody through

3. 3

   Under Where it lives, pick the channel and write what members read.

   Look for Where it lives

   The log channel falls back to your server-wide default, and every attempt is posted there, passed or turned away.

4. 4

   Tick The gate is on, then press Save and post the gate.

   Look for The gate is on

   It saves first and only posts if the save worked. Once a gate exists the same button reads Save and update the gate and edits the message in place rather than posting a second one.

   🔓 Verify

Nothing waits. Verification has no scheduled job: a member presses the button and has the role in the same moment.

The same raid usually hits several servers. If your honeypot catches somebody, every other server on the list can know that before they arrive.

1. 1

   Turn on Share what this server catches.

   Look for Share what this server catches

   This is the half that works today. Your honeypot catches and upheld cases go out to the other servers on the list.

2. 2

   Read the notice above the settings before you set them.

   Look for What to do about a flagged account

   What to do about a flagged account is saved and is not acted on. Nothing checks the members you already have, so neither telling you nor banning happens yet. The page says so itself rather than leaving you to find out.

3. 3

   Use it where it does work: your own honeypot log.

   Look for What you put in

   When your honeypot catches somebody, the log line says how many other servers have flagged them. That number is the whole value of the list today.

Somebody asks what happened to a member and the answer is spread across reports, mutes, notes, honeypot catches, tickets and bumps. This is all of it in one list, in one time format.

1. 1

   Search for a name or a reason.

   Look for Search names and reasons

   It reads the names and the reasons the other tools recorded, not the message text, which is not kept.

   Reports

   and what each one counted for

   Mutes

   and how they were resolved

   Honeypot catches

   and what was contributed to the raid list

   Tickets and bumps

   in the same list and the same time format

2. 2

   Narrow it down by who did what, or show everything.

   Look for Who did what

3. 3

   Open any line to go to the tool that wrote it.

   Look for Open

Somebody with Manage Channels deletes the wrong thing, or a compromised account goes through your server. A snapshot is the difference between rebuilding from memory and putting it back.

1. 1

   Press Take one now, so there is something to compare against.

   Look for Take one now

   One is taken automatically every few hours anyway, but the first one is worth not waiting for.

2. 2

   When something goes wrong, open the snapshot from before it and press Compare against now.

   Look for Compare against now

   role

   removed

   channel

   removed

   channel

   changed

3. 3

   Tick what you want back and read what it says it will do.

   Look for Nothing has been changed. This is what would happen:

   Nothing has been changed at this point. The list is what would happen, and you press again to make it happen. At most 25 at a time, so a misclick cannot rebuild a server.

One is taken every six hours. That is the most you can lose: anything changed since the last one is not in it, so take one by hand before a big change rather than after.

Something in your server happens on a schedule or after a moderation event, and you keep doing it by hand: thanking long-standing members, slowing a channel down at night, noting who was warned twice.

1. 1

   Give the rule a name and choose when it runs.

   Look for When

   On a schedule is the usual one. The rest fire off something that has already happened: a ticket being closed, a member being warned, a giveaway ending.

   On a schedule

   Every 5 minutes, hour, 6 hours, day or week

   A member is warned

   Fires when a warning is issued

   A ticket is closed

   Fires when a ticket closes

   A giveaway ends

   Fires when one is drawn

2. 2

   Set the conditions under And this is true.

   Look for And this is true

3. 3

   Choose what it does.

   Look for Then do this

   Some of these cannot be undone. Ban the member and Kick the member are the two to be careful with, and they are the two worth testing first.

   Post in a channel

   Nothing to undo

   Write a private note

   Nothing to undo

   Time the member out

   Reversible

   Ban the member

   Not reversible by this rule

4. 4

   Press Try it without saving.

   Look for Try it without saving

   It reports who the rule would have picked up and does none of it. This is the step to spend time on: a schedule rule that matches more people than you expected is far easier to find out about here.

5. 5

   Leave it in test mode for a while, then let it act.

   Look for Test mode - let it act for real

   A new rule starts in test mode. It runs on its schedule and records what it would have done without doing it, so you can read a few passes before anything is irreversible.

Scheduled rules are considered every five minutes, so a rule set to run hourly runs within five minutes of the hour rather than on it.

Somebody you banned wants to say something about it, and they cannot, because they are banned. Without a form the only route is a DM to whoever they can still reach, which is nobody.

1. 1

   Read the address under Where people appeal and put it somewhere a banned person can see it.

   Look for Where people appeal

   That usually means the ban reason itself, or your listing. Somebody who has been removed cannot read any of your channels.

   Where people appeal

   discords.ai/appeal/your-server

2. 2

   Choose what can be appealed, and write what the form says.

   Look for What the form says above the box

3. 3

   Pick where staff are told.

   Look for Tell staff in

   Nowhere is a real answer and means you read them on this page instead.

4. 4

   Decide each one, with a reason.

   Look for Keep the decision

   The reason is sent to them, and is worth writing either way: an appeal refused without one reads as nobody having looked.

You are running something at a set time and want it in Discord's own Events tab, so people are notified by Discord rather than having to notice a message.

1. 1

   Press Put one on and say what it is.

   Look for Put one on

   Name

   Game night

   Anything else

   Bring a headset. We are starting in the lobby.

2. 2

   Set when, and where it happens.

   Look for When

   The time is in your own time zone and everybody sees it in theirs, because Discord renders it per viewer rather than posting a fixed string.

3. 3

   Choose when to remind people.

   Look for Remind people

   A day before

   For anything people have to plan around

   An hour before

   The usual one

   15 minutes before

   A nudge

   When it starts

   For anybody who missed the rest

4. 4

   Optionally give people a role for going.

   Look for Give people a role for going

   Useful for a channel only attendees can see, and for knowing afterwards who actually came.

Reminders are sent on a five-minute check, so a reminder set for an hour before lands within five minutes of that rather than on the minute. The event itself appears in Discord as soon as you save it.

You are recruiting staff, or letting people apply for a role, and the alternative is a Google Form that cannot tell you who somebody is on Discord or whether they are even in your server.

1. 1

   Press New form and give it a name people will recognise.

   Look for New form

   The name is what applicants see. There is a place above the questions for anything they should read first.

   Name

   Staff application

   Read before applying

   You need to have been here a month.

2. 2

   Add your questions.

   Look for Add question

   Up to twenty. Each is a short answer, a paragraph, or a choice from a list you write one per line. Mark the ones somebody cannot skip.

   One line, for a name, an age, a timezone

   Short

   A paragraph, for why they want it

   Long

   Options, one per line. At least two.

   Choose one

3. 3

   Say where applications land and who decides them.

   Look for Post new applications in

   Who may apply defaults to anyone in the server. Nobody has to be given a dashboard login to review: staff decide from the review channel.

   Post new applications in

   The review channel

   Staff who decide

   Choose staff roles

   Who may apply

   Anyone in the server

4. 4

   Set what happens on a decision.

   Look for Give this role on accept

   Accepting can hand over a role. Somebody turned down waits out the cooldown before they can apply again, which is what stops a refusal turning into a queue of resubmissions.

   Give this role on accept

   Optional

   Wait before applying again, in hours

   Applies to a refusal

5. 5

   Share the link, and decide each application with a reason.

   Look for Reason given

   Applicants sign in with Discord, which proves who they are, and have to be a member to submit. The reason you give is passed on to them.

   AcceptTurn down

You want the number of members, or your vote count, sitting at the top of the channel list where everybody sees it without asking.

1. 1

   Press Add a counter.

   Look for Add a counter

2. 2

   Choose what to count.

   Look for Count

   Members, online now, channels, roles, boosts and boost level come from Discord. Votes, bumps and reviews come from your discords.ai listing and cost no request at all, which is why they can be counted as often as anything else.

   Members

   👥 Members: {count}

   Votes on discords.ai

   ⭐ Votes: {count}

   Boost level

   💎 Level {count}

3. 3

   Pick the channel it renames, and write the name.

   Look for In this channel

   {count} is replaced with the number. Everything else in the name is yours, so the emoji and the wording are up to you.

   Currently, and will become

   👥 Members: 32,148

4. 4

   Press Save.

   Look for Save

Written every ten minutes. Discord rate limits channel renames hard, so this is as often as it can be done without the renames starting to fail, and a number that is ten minutes old is the trade.

You post the same link in your server every time you upload, or every time something appears on a subreddit or a blog, and you would rather it posted itself.

1. 1

   Press Add a feed and pick what kind it is.

   Look for Add a feed

   YouTube takes a channel URL or an @handle. Reddit takes a subreddit. Anything with a feed takes an address ending in the feed itself.

   YouTube

   youtube.com/@fireship, or a channel URL

   Reddit

   r/discordapp, or a subreddit URL

   Anything with a feed

   https://blog.example.com/feed.xml

2. 2

   Choose where it posts, and whether it pings anybody.

   Look for Post in

   Nobody is the default, and is usually the right answer for anything that posts more than weekly.

   Post in

   The channel it posts to

   Ping a role

   Nobody, unless you pick one

3. 3

   Narrow it down if the source posts more than you want.

   Look for Only post if it mentions

   Only post if it mentions keeps a feed to the part of it you care about. Never post if it mentions is the one people actually reach for, usually to keep sponsored posts out.

   Only post if it mentions

   devlog, patch notes

   Never post if it mentions

   sponsored, teaser

4. 4

   Press Save wording and filters.

   Look for Save wording and filters

Checked every five minutes. Nothing tells the bot a video has gone up, so it goes and asks, and five minutes is how long a new post waits.

Somebody joins and nobody is awake. A first message that names them, points at the one channel you want them to read and hands them a role is the difference between a member and a number.

1. 1

   Choose where the welcome goes.

   Look for Where the welcome goes

   In a channel is the usual choice and everybody sees it. In their DMs is private, and is quietly dropped if theirs are closed, which is the normal case rather than a failure. Both does each.

   In a channel

   Everybody sees it

   In their DMs

   Private, dropped if theirs are closed

   Both

   Posted publicly and sent privately

2. 2

   Pick the channel, and the role they get.

   Look for Channel

   Both are optional. Bots have their own role setting, because most servers leave skip bots on and still want every bot in a Bots role.

   Channel

   Where the welcome is posted

   Give them a role

   No role, unless you pick one

   Skip accounts younger than

   In days. 0 greets everybody

3. 3

   Write the message.

   Look for Message

   Five placeholders are filled in: {mention} pings them, {name} is their name, {server} is the server, {count} is the member count with its thousands separator, and {ordinal} makes it "our 1,201st member". They work in every text field, including an embed description, which is where most of them actually go.

   Welcome to {server}, {mention}! You are our {ordinal} member.

   Turn on "An embed as well" and the preview underneath shows what Discord will render.

4. 4

   Press Save.

   Look for Save

   A

   discords.aiApp

   Welcome to Aurora, @newcomer! You are our 1,201st member.

Checked every two minutes. There is no join event for this bot to react to, so it polls, and that interval is the wait a new member has before they are greeted. The dashboard says the same thing rather than implying it is instant.

You want something blocked before anybody reads it. This is the one tool here that is faster than a bot with a live connection, because it is not a bot doing the blocking.

1. 1

   Press Add a rule and pick the kind.

   Look for Add a rule

   Words and phrases is the usual one. Names and profiles is the odd one out: it reads a display name, a nickname and an About Me rather than anything anybody typed, so it catches the scam link sitting in a profile waiting to be clicked.

   Words and phrases

   What most rules are

   Mass mentions

   Block a message mentioning more than a number you set

   Names and profiles

   Reads the profile, not a message

2. 2

   Turn on a ready-made list, or write your own words.

   Look for Ready-made lists

   The lists are the links and phrases these accounts actually use, so you do not have to think of them yourself. Your own words go one per line underneath.

   Any link in a name or profile

   A web address anywhere in a name or About Me

   Fake Nitro and gift scams

   Free-Nitro wording, and the misspellings of discord.com

   Crypto and wallet scams

   Airdrop, wallet-connect and seed-phrase wording

   Steam and trade scams

   Trade-offer and free-skin wording, and its lookalike domains

3. 3

   Leave Also block lookalike spellings on.

   Look for Also block lookalike spellings

   Discord does not do this itself. A rule against a word is expanded into the variants people actually type to get round it, which is most of what makes a word filter work at all.

4. 4

   Choose what happens when it matches.

   Look for What happens when it matches

   Block the message is the usual one. A profile rule cannot block a message, because there is no message, so it blocks their interactions instead until the profile is changed.

   Block the message

   Nobody sees it, not even for a second

   Block their interactions

   For a profile rule, which has no message to block

   Tell a channel

   Optional, and works alongside either

5. 5

   Save it. Discord is enforcing it from that moment.

   Look for Discord is enforcing this rule

   There is no delay and nothing to switch on in Discord afterwards. The rule you just saved is a rule in your server's own AutoMod settings, and editing it there changes it here too, because there is only one copy.

None. Discord blocks the message inside its own servers before it is delivered, so this is the one thing here that is faster than a bot with a permanent connection rather than slower.

Discord throws its own audit log away after 45 days, and it is the thing you want most when you are working out what happened three months ago. This keeps a year of it, and can tell you in a channel as it goes.

1. 1

   Turn on Keep a copy of this server's audit log.

   Look for Keep a copy of this server's audit log

   The copy is the point. Everything recognised is stored whatever the posting settings say, so changing your mind later about what you wanted told about does not lose the history.

2. 2

   Choose whether to post any of it to a channel, and which events.

   Look for Which events to post

   Filtered on the way out, never on the way in. Leaving everything unticked keeps the copy and posts nothing.

3. 3

   Leave anything noisy out.

   Look for Leave out of the channel

   A bot that rewrites channel names all day will otherwise fill the log with its own work.

4. 4

   Turn on the burst guard if you want to be told about somebody deleting a lot at once.

   Look for Watch for bursts of destructive changes

   It counts per person, per kind of change, inside a window you set. Tell us pings your alert role and changes nothing about their access. Tell us and take their powers away also removes the roles carrying Administrator, Manage Channels, Manage Roles, Manage Server, Ban, Kick or Manage Webhooks, and leaves their other roles alone. The person is sent a message first, saying what tripped it and that their other roles are untouched, in whatever wording you have set under Mod commands.

   Counted over

   The window, in minutes

   How many is too many

   Per person, per kind

   Tell us

   Pings the alert role, changes no access

   Tell us and take their powers away

   Also strips the roles carrying the dangerous permissions

5. 5

   Leave the guard in Test mode until you have seen it count a real day.

   Look for Test mode

   In test mode it records what it would have done and takes nothing away, and What has tripped it shows you. A threshold that is too low on a busy server is much better discovered here.

Polled every ten minutes. This is a record and a way to put something back, not a way to stop something happening: against a fast nuke the guard arrives after the fact, and against somebody working slowly it ends it.

Something has to be said at the same time every week and you are tired of being the one awake for it: a reset, a countdown, the rules going back up.

1. 1

   Press New.

   Look for New

2. 2

   Give it a name and pick the channel.

   Look for Name

   The name is only for you. Nobody in the server sees it.

   Name

   Only you see this

   Channel

   Where it posts

3. 3

   Write the message, and turn on an embed if you want one.

   Look for An embed as well

   The preview underneath shows what Discord will render, not an approximation of it.

   A

   discords.aiApp

   Weekly reset is in one hour.

4. 4

   Set when it first posts, and how often it repeats.

   Look for Repeat

   The time is in your own time zone rather than UTC. Once posts a single time and then switches itself off.

   Once

   Posted a single time, then switched off

   Every hour

   For a reset or a countdown

   Every day

   Same time each day

   Every week

   Same time each week

5. 5

   Save it, and use Post it now if you want to check it reads right.

   Look for Post it now

   Posting now does not move the schedule, so a test post does not cost you the real one.

Checked every five minutes, so an announcement lands within five minutes of the time you set rather than on the second. Worth knowing if you are counting down to something.